Blaec Iustise
by Fatti-chan
Summary: A notorious group of criminals, yet no one knows their names or who they are. Kidnapping, brainwashing and arson are not above their deeds. Even though the international police are hot on their tail, they still elude discovery. Two crossed swords, a cluster of stars, a chess piece. The presence of these images creates despair.
1. Elaborate mission failure

**Arc one:  
**

 **Boredom is the root of all evil**

 **The despairing refusal to be oneself**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Elaborate mission failure  
**

Unknown location in Hoenn.

Middle of the night:

Shiny black boots cracked the glass shards littering the polished floor.

Norman was furious and the investigators on the crime scene gave him a wide berth. Moving closer, he resolutely stared at the broken glass cage as if looking at it will force the cage to magically repair itself. His reflection on the glass shattered into a million pieces due to the spider web cracks decorating the unbroken pane. Tearing his gaze away, he looked around the room. It was perfectly undisturbed, the cameras were fully functional, the security system was un-tampered with and yet, this incident took place.

Legendary pokemon Rayquayza was magically stolen from one of the top research facilities in Hoenn. If it weren't for the alarms blaring when the cage broke, Norman would've thought the creature broke out by itself. A review of the camera records showed a masked thief teleporting inside the room and that was it, how the thief escaped or when he stole the pokemon...None of the above events showed up on video.

"Sir, the crime scene has not produced any evidence apart from this...It's similar to the other cards we found when Mewtwo and the other legendries where stolen. Also we can safely assume this heist is related to the other one associated with the swiping of classified information on Ky-"

"Enough" Norman cut in "...Let me see the paper"

A stiff square card was handed to him, despite owning a dozen or so of these cards, top investigators still couldn't make out what they are for and their only guess was that it functioned as a calling card of sorts. One half of the card had a picture of two maroon swords, crossed over each other. The other half sported portraits of various pokemon: a Pikachu, Sunflora, Munchlax and a white dragon whose name he did not know yet. The back of the paper was white, save for an elegantly scripted E in the middle.

E...E for what? He stared at the two crossed swords...Elimination...Execution? He paled at his own conclusions, were the captured legendries being put to death?

Gritting his teeth, the gym leader huffed, tossed the card back to the investigator who presented it and marched out of the room.

Littleroot Town.

Ruby's House:

Norman carefully opened the door to his home and stepped in. His wife and child were obviously fast asleep and he did not want to disturb them. Taking off his shoes, he walked through the corridor and stopped by the lounge.

The room was glowing with a faint bluish light.

Entering it, he saw the television was switched on and lying on the couch was his son Ruby, his half lidded eyes were glued to the screen. The programme showing on T.V appeared to be some sort of Pokemon contest. Crossing the room he turned the device off.

"Go to bed Ruby" he sternly stated, "It's almost sunrise again."

The teenager picked himself lethargically and dragged himself to his bedroom.

* * *

One week later

Evening

Cerulean City:

Orbs of golden light formed part of the extravagant decor inside the ballroom. Streams of orange and yellow flowers hung from the ceiling, reflecting light in all sorts of directions. The twinkling of glasses complimented the soft chatter and lilting music echoing around the room. Large windows were draped with mauve curtains but all this lavish adornment was lost on a certain jet haired individual leaning against a Greek styled pillar. He sighed, arranged his gel stiffed bangs in front of his eyes and continued to read the news on his cellphone.

"Can't believe they don't have any idea on Rayquayza's culprit" he muttered, his voice drowned by the elegantly dressed crowds "...Why am I even here? Stupid Blue, she could've sent Gold or someone else. Why me?"

He reminisced about his earlier predicament:

"Because you are the only one who can do this Red!" she exclaimed whilst Green watched with a slightly apologetic smile on his face. The girl dragged him over to the dressing room and handed him several articles of formal clothing, due to her insistence he had tried them all on, alas, she seemed unsatisfied. Finally she decided on a deep grey one...the problem was the price. Stingy as she was, Red was touched when the three of them split the expenses between themselves.

It was getting closer to the appointed time and an argument had broken out. Red listened with apprehension as she ranted on about his unruly hair; he patted his upright bangs and wondered what they did wrong. With an evil look marring her pretty face, she seized Red and began to apply gel on his hair, forcing his hair down over his blood red irises. Combing it vigorously she commanded him to go change. As he came out of the bathroom in a sheepish manner she gasped.

"Woooowww" she stretched out her words "you should become a model, like this, no one will recognize you" Blue gave a thumbs up whilst Red fidgeted with his tie.

Phasing back to the present he noticed the lights had dimmed slightly. On top of a grand wooden staircase and illuminated by a spot light stood a young woman draped in a glittering cyan ball gown. The top layers of the dress were made of transparent material and as she came down the stairs, they layers seemed to move, flowing like water. Surroundings forgotten, Red stowed his phone away and wondered if his flirting skills had rusted beyond hope.

Gold would totally own this.

The woman had reached the bottom of the stairs and was immediately surrounded by a posse of men trying to gain her favor, recalling his mission, Red shouldered past them and tried to offer her a dazzling smile, however, he was taken aback by how feminine she looked.

Tomboyish gym leader my foot! His mind supplied. Her short hair had been stylized into a side ponytail and adorning her neck was a string of pearls. Soft pink lipstick went well with her light blue eye shadow. Upon seeing Red, she made a bee line for him.

Misty, gym leader of Cerulean city was standing right before him. His words seemed to stop in their tracks as she scrutinized his appearance. He simply stared back, trying to say something savvy and desperately trying not to break out in a cold sweat.

"So they sent you..." she pondered aloud, then looking up she gave him a smile and introduced herself. Red was acutely aware of the murderous looks directed towards him by the men who had surrounded her as she came down. Brushing away unease, he grinned in return and presented himself.

"My name is Red from Pallet town" he bowed "it would be a great honor if you graced me with a dance."

Misty did not blush, nor was she impressed. Rather she peered around the decorated hall as if wary of someone or something. Barely listening to Red, she seized him, none too gently and began dancing, swaying rhythmically to the violin and piano piece that begun playing. Feeling awkward, Red shuffled closer to her and gingerly encircled her waist.

And he panicked.

Seeing her opening the dance, the rest of the guests coupled off and started dancing themselves. The ballroom floor was littered with pairs. The red eyed adolescent noticed his dance partner was fidgety, despite being a noble and obviously knowledgeable in the art of dance, she kept on making mistakes. Most of them consisted of stepping over his leather shoes. Instead of looking at him like a love-struck princess, her sharp blue eyes darted about, flitting from one person to another, from one couple to another.

"Is there something wrong?"

She jolted at his sentence, her cheeks flushing to show embarrassment. Taking a deep breath. She looked at him.

He found himself drowning in the deep blue sea.

"Have you heard about that criminal organization targeting legendries?" she asked.

"Yes, what were they called again?"

She ignored his question and carried on with what she wanted to say.

"Well...I'm in possession of Suicune and I've been informed by the international police that they will be targeting me next. Since parties and formal occasions are prime time to carry out such deeds. I'm on high alert...Speaking of which, you should be on high alert too!" she admonished.

They continued to waltz around and Misty kept on casting suspicious looks. Red gave up trying to get her to focus his attention on him. He still kept a gentle hold on her; it would be troublesome if they got separated. As these thoughts ran through his mind, the lights in the mansion all went out. Dumbfounded by such an out of place experience, he stood there with a perplexed expression. As the emergency lighting came on, a sickly orange glow, the sound of shattering glass stimulated Misty into action. She grabbed Red, pushed through the crowds and climbed the stairs. Locating an ornate vase placed on the second floor, she let go of him, picked up the porcelain vase and threw it at a ceiling to floor length window with all her might. The glass broke into pieces and the silk curtains bordering it swished back and forth in the breeze, hitching up her dress, she jumped.

She jumped out of the broken pane. Fearing for her safety he walked to the window and peered through. Misty was on the ground, perfectly safe, she looked up and beckoned to join him.

He had no choice.

Once he was with her on the ground, he observed her ripping off the lower part of the dress. The street lighting was dim and all he could hear was the sound of tearing cloth. A true gentleman, Red averted his eyes. As she took hold of his arm, he risked a peek.

The gym leader had torn her too expensive ball gown so that it barely covered her knees. If Blue were here, she'd weep.

"In case you are wondering why I tore the dress...I can't run in such an extravagant gown" saying this, she took off at break-neck speed, tugging Red along the way.

"Target has escaped and is running away with an accomplice. Team E head out, get the legendary at all costs." a figure standing on a nearby skyscraper and looking through a pair of high magnification binoculars commanded. Instantly two persons, rose from their position on the ground and jumped off the rooftop unclipping their shimmying ropes along the way, confirming Misty and Red's location through a palm sized navigator, they gave chase through another route, taking care not to be seen by the residents of town.

He was out of breath, how was this woman so fit, he contemplated. Wind whipped his hair and he used one hand to keep his bangs in place and shield his eyes from the sting. They had careered to the edge of a canal and he hoped she'd stop her mad dash across the city. Instead of slowing down, she pulled a pokeball out and threw it at the water. A Gyarados materialized and in one smooth motion she leapt on its back, clutching the fin like projections for support. He rooted on the spot, his mouth hanging open with awe and admiration. To the passerby, the adolescent looked like a rich but homeless person. His suit was dusty and torn in several places.

"I don't have any water pokemon with me" he croaked. He was parched.

"Fine, then come stand with me, make sure you don't fall off." she stated and moved up to make space. Feeling the situation uncontrollable, he hesitantly stepped on the creature. Misty, impatience distorting her features, pulled him roughly and clung on to him lest he fall.

Seriously was an international police agent supposed to be this timid?

As the blue serpentine creature surfed through the water. Red spied two masked individuals on the opposite side of the canal. Their gazes pierced him and his body automatically became rigid. Sensing him tense, Misty turned and enquired, in response he pointed to the two people who summoned their own pokemon and were now pursuing them on a Politoed through the water. They put on speed and left white churning waves in their wake, water sprayed everywhere.

Misty urged the Gyarados to go faster and it did. Shooting through the water like a submarine missile. Red screamed in surprise, his vision partially obscured with foam and stray droplets of water. The two suspicious people were steadily gaining ground.

"It's not working" his shouted over the din of crashing waves.

With a defiant look, Misty precociously balanced by Red's side and said:

"Let's battle them."

Red perked, she was speaking his language.

Pulling out a pokeball he released his Pikachu, said pokemon made a disgruntled noise to his greeting.

"Is he sick?" Misty asked with concern lacing her voice, having ill pokemon for battle would not do, those masked adversaries appeared powerful.

"Nope" came a cheerful reply "Pika's just mad because I stuffed him in a Pokeball. He hates being inside one"

The pokemon squeaked in agreement. The gym leader hesitated to bring out her Pokemon; the only one she had left was legendary pokemon Suicune. It was what these people wanted. Seeing her hesitation Red stepped up.

"Don't worry; I'll handle them on my own." He announced and sent Pika forward.

Behind his silly mask, his eyes widened. What was that man doing? He was not going to take them both at once was he? Mood morphing into annoyance, he decided to call out his own Pokemon in a hurry, unfortunately before either he or his consort could do so, disaster struck.

"Thunder!" Red commanded and the electric mouse complied. In a blink of an eye, the dark surroundings darkened further. Thunder clouds obscured the pale moonlight, wind howled, agitating the water and offsetting balance. The gathered clouds rumbled ominously and amidst all of this, a single flash of lightning illuminated everything into a stark, blinding white world. When it subsided the targets were gone, floating calmly along the canal whilst he and his companion flailed in the water. Their pokemon had fainted.

"Help me, I can't swim" he gurgled, his mask had fallen off revealing a handsome face.

"You are so useless!" his friend growled, swimming over to help him.

After being hauled to dry ground, he fished out a two way communication device and turned it on.

"You won't believe this" he began speaking in the transmitter rapidly "we lost Suicune and more importantly..."

* * *

Misty was speechless.

Utterly speechless.

He stood there in all his glory, a smile splitting his face and in his hands were the pokemon, resting contentedly in its master's embrace. Where...Where did she see such a move again? She racked her brains, it was a fuzzy memory, somewhere on television, a black haired youth with his hair sticking upright. Thinking deeply, she remembered a flirty, goofy young man challenging her gym a little while after she became the leader. Since he left an impression on her, she followed his progress, naturally (and as she had hoped) he was crowned the supreme Champion of Kanto. He also had a Pikachu and she distinctly remembered him using the move 'thunder' as well. Could they be the same person?

"Agh!" Red screeched and she decided that the Champion and he could not definitely be the same person, really, which elite individual in the pokemon world would be subjected to such torture by their beloved partners?

The red eyed adolescent examined his surroundings; they were getting further and further away from the main town and were now cruising on the outskirts of Cerulean city. Gyarados swam at a comfortable pace through a narrow channel and was nearing a cave. A cold draft was blowing around and he took of his jacket and draped it over Misty's shivering form, as soon as he did so, he instantly regretted his actions.

Now he was the one getting cold.

However, a soft thank you from the grateful gym leader warmed him up a little.

Red felt like moaning. He was confused, his clothes and hair were singed from when Pikachu electrified him, twice, his muscles were sore from gripping Gyarados' fins when they were surfing through wild waters. Most important were his torn clothes, Blue was going to kill him. And his mission, he watched Misty jump off her pokemon and lead the way to an imposing cave. A semicircular opening loomed before them. On a small rickety sign, placed to the side, read: Cerulean cave.

Why were they coming in here? He wanted to ask, but Misty's purposeful strides cut off all questions.

Upon entering the cave Red could hear the sound of water droplets; a dank and earthy smell assaulted his nose. He was not a stranger to these ventures, however, once he took on his new position, all his adventures had come to a complete halt, not because he disliked them, he simply had no time for such luxuries.

A flapping noise stopped the duo, and slowly the noise, like the beating of webbed wings grew in intensity, the cave's bad lighting made identification impossible from a distance and out of nowhere, a swarm of Zubats flew out of various locations from within the cave and engulfed Red from head to toe, they kept on coming and before long he was cocooned in a mass of small, furry bodies. Their incessant chatter made Misty's head ache and she backed away not knowing what to do. Amongst the heaving mass, a bright yellow mouse leapt to the ground, cheeks sparking it unleashed a thunder shaking the entire cave. Loose rocks, soil and dust rained down from above and the orange haired female held her breath. The creatures encircling Red had stopped moving and one by one they began to fall off.

Similar to petals falling from a dying flower.

Misty watched in horror. Red was in there, in the middle, her eyes swung to the electric mouse who sported a twisted, yet satisfied expression. Surely Pika hadn't sent his Master to an early grave right? As the Zubats dropped, the male brushed off the rest of the creatures from his person with an unhappy look and the gym leader heaved a relived sigh.

"I thought your pokemon finished you!" she exclaimed.

"Nah, Pika will never do that" he scratched his pokemon behind its ears "right?"

Another squeak of agreement.

The duo continued walking through the rocky tunnels holding an amiable conversation. Their voices bounced off the walls of the tunnels. They kept on advancing through twisted paths and Red dispatched the various wild pokemon they encountered with his trusty partner. Finally, the narrow trail opened to a circular chamber. Seated on a camping chair before a small fire was woman who was obviously waiting for them. Bounding forward Misty greeted:

"Ms. Cynthia, sorry to keep you waiting."

At the entrance Red froze.

Cynthia, champion of Sinnoh was a beautiful lady. Platinum blonde hair fell over one eye and she was clothed in black from head to toe in a form fitting outfit. She directed her piercing gaze at Red who slinked inside the cavern.

"Who is this?" she queried.

"The agent you sent me..." the gym leader trailed off, a bit confounded.

"I do not recall sending someone looking like him, nor do I remember his face" turning to Red she brusquely asked "who are you?...And why do you resemble the missing Kanto Champion?"

Droplets of cold sweat formed on his forehead.

"Maybe I'm related to him?" he joked.

The Sinnoh champion arched a perfect eyebrow.

"...It's true you sent another agent for Misty, unfortunately he was intercepted by the criminal organization that had somehow learned of our plans. Therefore Lt. Surge sent me in his place with an impromptu decision, in order to minimize the risk of information leakage."

"I see" she nodded "makes sense, Surge never tells the rest of us what he is up to."

The champion got up from her seat and moved to Red, she brought up her hand and pushed his stiff bangs upright, he saw Misty's pupils widen.

"You did not answer my second question. Why do you resemble Kanto's champion to this degree? I don't think it is coincidental that he took off unnoticed. He is known to get bored and disappear from the Pokemon league building simply because he had nothing better to do."

Red stared at her merciless eyes.

"I've been found out it seems" his shoulders sagged; Cynthia let go and offered a knowing smile in return.

The two new guests sat in unoccupied chairs placed around the small fire. Misty related her experiences whilst Cynthia stoked the fire. Earlier she had called out her Garchomp to guard the entrance to this cavern, in case intruders make it into this place. The fearsome Pokemon bared razor sharp teeth and flew off. Red attentively listened to their conversation and found his thoughts straying elsewhere. His evening had been going quite well till the blackout happened. Firstly who or what caused the blackout anyway? He was pretty sure _they_ did not. Also, power outages were uncommon in a prosperous city such as Cerulean. It was unthinkable in the place Misty lived in, which was reserved for rich, high class nobles. Putting all this into consideration the blackout must have been caused by a person...who?

His ruminations were cut short when a light briefly flashed. After it died down Red almost gasped.

Suicune, the Aurora pokemon.

It was a quadrupled beast. Twin tails rippled by its sides in an imaginary breeze. Aquamarine fur covered the majestic creature and its body was decorated by white diamond shaped markings. Growing out of its forehead was a blue hexagonal horn and a purple mane billowed backwards.

Legendary.

"I will have you hold on to the Pokemon" Cynthia stated as Suicune rubbed against Misty "since you could thwart their attempt, it will be a while before they will try again, also the organization will probably think you handed Suicune over to us for safe keeping, thus drawing attention from you."

Feeling like a third wheel, Red simply smiled. Fingers tapping on the spindly arm rests.

His mission was done.

Gone to the winds.

* * *

The next day

At the crack of dawn:

"Seriously that was really rude of you! And here I just strung you around like some foot soldier. I am really sorry" Misty bowed. The meeting inside had dissolved and Cynthia vanished. Red and the tomboyish mermaid had made their way back outside where he received a heartfelt regret from the orange haired leader.

"Don't worry, I had fun and I learnt a lot of things. Besides you still have Suicune right? Keep him safe. He is one legendary creature."

Nodding, she beamed at him.

And he found himself drowning in the blue ocean.

He was in trouble.

Big... _big_ trouble.

"Right, we'll part ways here." Make-up smudged, dress shredded and legs scratched, Misty summoned her Gyarados and leapt on it waving "make sure you do your work seriously! And don't forget to visit!"

He watched her disappear, melting away in the rays of the rising sun. Fishing a pokeball, he called on his Aerodactyl and flew off.

An hour later:

Somewhere in Kanto:

Red sat before two individuals and kept his head low, he sensed an outburst in three..Two..One:

"HOW DARE YOU!" Blue exploded "do you know how much the suit cost?! Do you RED?" she exhaled "Don't forget I spent my money on this article of clothing for you when I could get something for myself! Be more grateful!"

"Yes ma'am" he droned.

"More importantly" Green's voice cut in "how did you blow the mission? We created the perfect opportunity for you to get the pokemon."

"I tried, but it was not clipped to the belt around her waist."

"Wait...You groped her? Shame on you Red!" Blue made a disgusted face.

"No, no I didn't, Misty and I were dancing. She keeps Suicune with her all the time so I thought..." he trailed off, another thought popping into his head.

"By the way...who cut the power to her mansion? After the blackout everything went haywire! I told you guys not to interfere!" he sternly stated.

"...Emerald, he was fiddling with the mansion's security systems and accidentally tripped a switch or something...My bad" Green ran a hand through his hair.

"And you are accusing me of not being able to swipe Suicune?" Red yawned "I'm going to sleep; I've been up all night." As soon as he raised himself off the chair, a drop kick on his head forced him back down. His entire body was rendered numb. Nimbly somersaulting on the desk, Sapphire lifted her hand, formed it in to a fist and almost smashed Red's nose. Green's hand stopped her.

"He...He attacked us! He used Pika and left us to drown" the girl spat furiously.

"Yeah, I was pretty shocked too...Sir, what did my Politoed do to receive such treatment? Thunder almost paralyzed me." Gold strolled in with his pool stick balancing on his shoulders. He gave his senior a joyless grin.

"My cover would've been blown...why did you send them after me Blue? I was with our target."

"I told her not to" Green commented.

"My apologies, I thought you were in trouble from the way the gym leader was dragging you, did you know it was them?"

"Of course, I can spot Gold's mischievous glint anywhere" Red replied, pride underlying his words.

"And you still did not hold back?" Blue asked.

"Obviously not! It's the reason why I respect him!" Sapphire announced all traces of anger gone. Next to her Gold nodded.

Under their glares, Red related all the information he learnt from the secret meeting held between Cynthia and Misty. As he finished, a stack of documents courtesy of his best friend Green was placed in front of him.

"You relayed some valuable information. Fill those documents up and go to sleep." Saying this he left.

"Wait...I have to do this now?" He looked ready to pass out.

"Yes" his other best friend giggled, smoothing out her skirt. Silver is returning by tomorrow and after that I have to go to Unova...we are on a tight schedule Red...tee hee." Blowing an air kiss, she too vanished.

Gathering the papers, the missing Pokemon champion trudged to his personal room, upon opening it he saw someone laying on his bed. Black hair poked from beneath his covers, He put the documents on a nearby table and pulled the duvet.

There were not one but two boys fast asleep in his bed. Imparting a soft smile, he went to his table: an ornate piece constructed entirely of dark red glass, pulling a matching arm chair, he slumped in it and fell fast asleep.

Soft snores of three individuals punctuated the stillness in the room.

* * *

 **A/N:** I finally get to put a story that is knocking around in my head for ages! This is my first Pokemon story and I mixed elements from both the games and the Pokemon Special manga, hence it is not categorized under anything. To make things clear: Green is the male whilst Blue is the female (in case anyone is confused). Reviews and constructive criticism are more than welcome. Also, feel free to PM me for any questions regarding the story, I won't bite (unless you are chocolate, then you better be beware!)

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, merely this story. Hopefully just putting this here will be enough. The arc introductory quote is by Soren Kierkegaard.  
**


	2. Galactic states

**Chapter 2: Galactic states**

Night

Sinnoh

Eterna Building

Silver's shoulder length hair was tied up into a high ponytail and with an inaudible sigh he scrubbed the pristine white floors of the lab corridors. It was a few hours after all the workers left and the only occupants in the multi-story building where the cleaners and a few security guards. Dipping the mop back into a bucket of murky water, he sloshed it around and raised the cleaning equipment, after wringing it; he set it back on the floor and continued to clean. The mechanical hum of machines and an aged security guard were the only source of comfort offered in this stark area.

He continued to mop.

"Silver...How long have you been working here?" the guard, back from his rounds questioned. Normally, the reserved red head would not talk, but it was rather lonesome and besides, a little conversation won't hurt.

"Two months" he replied in a monotone.

"I see" the man nodded "although, I don't understand why a young man like yourself is assigned to cleaning duty. You should study boy! Nowadays we have twelve year old kids challenging the gyms and making it to Pokemon league!"

"I'm not interested" he wiped sweaty hands on his grey overalls "also, someone needs to keep these areas clean. If all of us are busy with grandiose dreams, we won't have cleaners and security guards anymore." He picked up his pail and shouldered the mop. Together with the guard, they moved forward into a new area. Tripping over his own feet, Silver crashed into the person in front of him. The bucket of dirtied water flew up and rained down on them. Both people's clothes were soaked.

"I'm so sorry" he shot up and bowed, snatching a rag from his back pocket, he moved towards the fallen man, helped him up and began to press the rag onto the wet areas of his clothes. Taking a step back, the cleaner bowed once again and muttered several apologies.

"Son...you are clumsy aren't you?" the security man chuckled "Don't worry; there are spare uniforms downstairs in the supply closet. I'll just head over and get changed. Will you be okay on your own?"

"Yes, I'll be fine" he reassured "once again, I'm sorry"

The man's laughter echoed down the bare corridors as he left. Silver watched him go. As the guard vanished, he smirked and looked at the key card in his hand. Retrieving a pokeball from a belt hidden underneath his uniform, he called his Weavile out.

"We have to get to work..."

Discarding the bucket and mop he moved forward, wary of the cameras dotted throughout the facility. Lowering his cap, he made sure his face was well hidden as he passed. Weavile darted back and forth, pausing before some doors and sniffing the air. It ran further down the winding passage and stood before a set of double glass doors. Inhaling the air, it growled softly at Silver. The young male peered through the doors, trying to see what lay beyond, alas, the lights in the room where all turned off. Locating the card reader next to the doors, he swiped the security guard's key card and the pneumatic doors hissed open. Just as he was about to step over the threshold, he remembered something. Rummaging through his pockets, he brought out a stiff square card, with a flick of his wrist; he tossed it into the corridor and walked in. The doors hissed shut.

In a gloomy monitor room, a guard snored, fast asleep. There was a cup of half-drunk coffee on the desk. Several screens blinked and changed, showing different parts of the facility. Only the topmost bank of monitors showed the same floor. One of them sported the unblinking image of a forsaken card. The piece of paper showed a cluster of stars.

* * *

Early morning of the same day.

Kanto

Underneath Celadon city game center

Yellow fidgeted. Red was going to get an earful from his best friend. The ruby eyed male was assigned to steal Suicune from the water gym leader: Misty. Unfortunately he failed and instead procured vital information on the inner workings of the International Police. Green had dumped a stack of documents that required filling up before afternoon today, but it seems like the man had fallen asleep at his table and chair, laying his head on top of the stacked papers and drooling on them. Despite being in such an unflattering posture, Yellow still smiled. The person sleeping before her occupied a special place in her heart. Putting her clipboard down, she gently began shaking him awake.

"Red, wake up" she nudged and the male groaned something incomprehensible "wake up or else Green is going to yell at you!"

At her words his head shot up and collided with her chin. She let out a pained cry and shuffled backwards.

"Huh...? Oh Yellow, sorry bout that" he grinned sheepishly and simultaneously scratched the back of his head and wiped his mouth "...you were saying something?"

"You need to complete your documents..." she trailed off when the pokemon trainer in front of her visibly paled. It appears as if Green had walked into the room. His emerald green irises glittered viscously.

"Uh...Green" Red stammered "nice to meet you! Great day isn't it?"

His friend and co-worker merely glared, his poisoned gaze shifted to the quivering blonde and his expression mellowed.

"Yellow we are leaving" he sighed in irritation "leave Red to his own devices; if he does not complete the documents by noon...He can forget about the holiday he so badly wanted." Casting an apologetic glance at the stiff man, Yellow bowed and retreated with her superior.

Red sat in his room alone. Yesterday was an extremely hectic day, he looked towards his bed and found it empty, the two individuals sleeping in them must have left. Wearily, he got up from his chair and went to his closet. Shrugging off the dusty and torn suit, he changed into regular clothes. His hair was still slicked downwards with Blue's obnoxious brand of gel. He reached up and felt his bangs. They were dry and hard. Moving towards the bathroom, he turned the faucet on and put his head underneath it, washing his hair. There was no time for a shower if he wanted to complete his work by noon. No time for breakfast either, he mused. Grabbing a towel, the roughly dried his hair and checked the mirror, thankfully his hair had was sticking up again. Slouching back into the room he eyed the pile of waiting documents.

Suddenly, he had a brainwave.

Gathering the papers up, he exited the room and into a busy corridor. Several familiar trainers rushed past, each busy with whatever they were required to do. He spied Diamond drifting lazily about with a donut stuffed in his mouth. Making his way towards him, Red greeted and the teenager's eyes shone.

"Red...You are back? Was the mission successful?"

His superior replied in negative. Fishing a rice ball out from a small back pack Diamond always carried around, he offered it to his senior, who gulped it down in one bite. Dia's cooking was legendary amongst them. The duo entered a spacious room punctuated by large French windows. Sunlight filtered through, bathing the area gold and providing natural lighting. The wooden floors creaked as Red made his way to a pool table situated in the middle of the room and dumped his documents. In one corner, before an ornate wooden desk sat Black, the table was littered with a small globe showing the different regions and a pile of books and scrolls. Ignoring the world around him, the brunette busied himself, making marks on a map, taking notes in a book and reading. Off to another corner stood a suit of medieval armor and an ancient brass telescope, Sapphire's warnings of breaking the armor suit had no effect on Gold who had brought in the piece. There was a bookshelf lining an entire back wall and a few meters in front of it, a sand bag hung from the ceiling. A granite counter housed several computers and a section of the chaotic room was draped with a maroon colored banner depicting two crossed sword and an E lettered in Old script.

E, E for execution. Team execution.

They carried out plans.

"Where are the rest?" Red's voice echoed in the empty room and Black turned around to reply.

"Senior Gold is flirting with Crystal. Sapphire is arguing with Ruby" he stated. Picking off a large spherical stone off his desk, he stowed it away and grabbed a stool, placing it before the pool table, he sat down and stared at the documents.

"Fetch them" the eldest male ordered and Black scrambled off his chair and bolted out the door with a jubilant shout. Dia simply continued to eat. Feeling somewhat dismayed, the team leader started to shuffle the documents and read what was required to fill in. He let out a snarl. The papers were unnecessary, it was mainly due to Green's impeccable organizational skills that they entire organization was forced to do these useless work. Maybe he should saunter over Sapphire's sand bag and punch it a few times to get rid of stress. As he was entertaining the thought, the rest of his crew piled in with smiles.

And full stomachs. A growl from his own made his team mates chuckle.

"Need us for something?" Gold queried and lifted himself on the table, sitting on it, the others grabbed chairs and crates and huddled around.

"I have to finish documents" he forlornly stated "Green is being a moron."

"Oh yeah...Silver is returning tonight...Who was supposed to fetch him?"

"Pearl" Diamond answered, he dug around in his bag and began assembling a small meal on the table, reaching out, Red grabbed several food articles and ate them hungrily. "He departed for Sinnoh last night."

"Tsk...Wish I could go...I'd bust him out in no time"

"You suck at espionage" Sapphire jeered.

"Like you are any better" Gold jabbed back, he took out his pool cue, extended it and used the stick to pull a few papers to where he was sitting. Work forgotten, both Dia and his leader were immersed in the wonders of the culinary world.

Half an hour later, the ruby eyed male passed the documents around the room; his group members began to either read or scribble furiously on them. The commander sighed contently; it was nice to have a loyal group of people under your command. A small squeak alerted him to his Pikachu who had bounded out from somewhere and sat on his head.

"I don't understand what's written here" the dex holder from Littleroot complained "what does rend...rendezvous point mean?"

A snicker alerted her to the golden eyed male. He showed a pitying smile and a mouthful of teeth. Growling, Sapphire formed a fist and accurately smashed his nose. Seeing them at it again, Red got up and retrieved a tissue; he handed it over to Gold and replied to her query.

"It means meeting point...You can leave the space blank." She nodded and went back to writing. Time slowly ticked and the room grew quiet as a grave, only the turning of pages and the scratching of pens filled the still space.

"Done."

"DONE!"

"Done..." Want another donut Mister Red?

"Yeah thanks"

"Done!"

Four voices echoed and they simultaneously glanced at an ancient clock. It was a little past noon.

"Someone...Get these documents to Green pronto" Red moaned "I'm famished...Dia make something for lunch, we'll eat it here."

Like before, Black gathered the documents up with frightening speeds and rushed out of the area like a whirlwind. Diamond left a few minutes after him. The only female member of the group pushed the pool table aside and faced Red. She bowed and requested a match with him.

"He just said he is tired..." pointed out Gold and kept his mouth shut when his half dead leader sprung up from the chair and commanded his pokemon to battle. Knowing his infamous strength, the female battler set out her strongest pokemon. A flaming Blaziken, the creature burst out of the pokeball and took a fighting stance.

"Discharge" droned a low tone.

"Inferno" countered a high pitch.

Surprisingly, the fire based move struck first. Following the first move, a second fire punch was commanded, however, Blaziken's arms refused to obey commands.

It was paralyzed.

"Match over!" the golden eyed referee announced "and it is an unsurprising victory for Red!" he marched over and raised his leader's hand.

"How...How did this happen!" demanded the girl "Inferno struck first!"

"Double team Saph" he rubbed the younger trainer's head "Pika used double team when he sensed the move was going to strike first. You did well."

"I need more training" she mumbled unhappily "will you train me? Please, I know you trained Gold while you were still champion and you sneak in some sessions with Dia! Why not me?"

"Green will be a better trainer for you." She heard these exact words coming out of Red's mouth countless times. Huffing, she turned away and started punching her sand bag with her pokemon.

* * *

A little bit past midnight.

Eterna Building

Topmost floor

He switched on the lights and shielded his eyes from the harsh fluorescence. Chrome and glass. Chrome and glass everywhere. The entire room gave off a smell akin to surgical steel. His footsteps echoed thunderously loud in the area as he purposely moved forward. Weavile was darting back and forth again, the dark pokemon left little scratches on the innumerable glass cabinets set into the chamber's walls. Not paying any attention to the wall sized shelves, Silver continued to walk and he came across another obstacle.

Namely a gigantic, circular steel door. An electronic key-pad was set in the middle and he grit his teeth.

The key-card was unusable here.

A pale hand remained poised over the green buttons, if he entered the password wrong. It was over. Taking a deep breath, he pressed a key and a beep confirmed his choice. Haltingly he pressed another button. He was about to press a third one when a familiar voice jolted him.

"SILVERRRRR! Where are you son?" It was the aged security guard. Scowling, the red head ignored him and focused on the task at hand. He had dutifully turned off the lights when he entered the inner chamber and the only lighting came from the sickly green glow of the keypad, it reflected off his face. He briefly wondered if he should summon his Feraligatr and simply break the door down. The prospect seemed much easier.

"No...I'll leave a huge trail behind" he spoke to himself. He had spent two months here and each night, after completing his duty, he sneaked into the archives and read. He knew the layout of the research facility like the back of his hand; the officials trusted him and sometimes slipped him secrets. After all, he was a simple cleaner whose goal to become a respected trainer has been crushed.

Or so they thought.

A small grin worked into his face as he typed in the rest of the password and held his breath. A soft pressure on his leg alerted to his partner who gripped him comfortingly. With a whirr, the huge door swung open on oiled hinges and Silver stepped in. The next room was worse than the first.

In the center of the room, a pedestal was guarded by numerous lasers, cameras and other high-end security devices. Tonight's target was the object resting inside the glass plinth. In the dim interior, the orb glowed yellow. Stripping off his cleaner's uniform, the thief put on gloves, raised the collar of his shirt and cartwheeled over the first laser. He continued in this fashion, dodging the lethal light beams with all his might. Taking out a mini night-vision binoculars, he peered into the four corners of the room, counting the laser devices.

"Weavile, take down the large ones on the corners, they are hidden in niches about a meter above the floor." he whispered and waited on his spot. The pokemon discreetly carried out its orders and one by one, numerous red laser lights blinked out of existence.

"Thanks..."

He continued his harrowing journey across, careful not to trip or make the loud sounds, it was possible there were sound detectors inside here. Landing with a soft thump, he struck his arms out to prevent himself from losing balance and falling. Exhaling lightly he stared at his prize:

The griseous orb.

The sight was enthralling. Nestled in a black velvet pillow, the palm sized orb exuded an unearthly amber light. Briefly forgetting about safety procedures, Silver gripped the glass plate and lifted it.

And all hell broke loose.

Cringing at the alarms blaring throughout the facility, he roughly grabbed the orb and pocketed it. Recalling his pokemon back into a pokeball, he rushed backwards into the outer chamber and looked around, trying to locate a window big enough for him to squeeze through.

There were none.

Keeping his calm, the red head took out the key-card and opened the doors, outside waited a multitude of guards armed with pokemon and handguns, all pointing towards him. The security officers all gaped in shock.

"Silver...don't tell me you..." the aged man's face morphed into an expression of utmost sorrow, throwing him a nonchalant look, the thief strode in the middle, holding his hands up in a resigned manner. One of the guards lowered his weapon and brought out a set of metal cuffs, as he came closer; Silver grasped him, pulled him and thereafter roughly shoved him into the small army of officers. In the ensuing chaos, he sidestepped and broke into a run.

"After him!" the leading official bellowed.

The sirens blared louder and warning lights were put on. Shutters were being lowered to prevent him from escaping. Without missing a heartbeat, he called on his honchkrow and the large bird type pokemon simply crashed through the closed shutters or drilled holes through the ones which were being lowered. Silver himself slid under several and after coming underneath one particularly low one, a blow to his head disorientated him. Rolling to avoid another one, he scrambled to his feet and stared at the perpetrator.

A shock of electric blue hair with a face set in such an emotionless visage; he could be mistaken for a doll, or a robot. A futuristic suit enclosed the attacker and chest of the outfit sported a large golden G.

"Apprehend the thief" it spoke in a monotone and marched in a robotic manner towards him.

"Drill peck" Silver commanded and his pokemon flew. A Purugly swiped a claw in response.

"Take down the thief...Orders confirmed. Purugly...Take down"

The cat-esque pokemon charged, a whirlwind of wind blew it to the other side of the corridor and Purugly crashed into a wall with a sickening crunch, glancing at his watch; Silver spared the strange human (or humanoid) a glance and tore down the hallways. To his horror, a mass of the aforementioned people poured out of the corridors on all sides. They marched mechanically, cutting off his path. Blank faces, shining like porcelain. Twisting half-way he attempted another corridor and was met with the same scene. They came like ants, blocking every path except the one he came through.

"..."

Whipping around, he careered down the hallway and the masses surged towards him. He switched his Honchkrow out for Feraligatr and both pokemon and trainer haphazardly ran down the passages, feet pounding against the tiled floors. The incessant chattering of flat tones unnerved him as he continued his mad dash.

 _The roof_ his mind supplied and he took a quick turn. Feraligatr, being a bit slower and bulkier skidded to a halt and after a few seconds, lumbered after his quickly vanishing trainer. Shouldering a door open he tumbled on towards the roof and stared in dismay.

His retrieval team had not yet arrived. He looked at his watch, he was not early.

They were simply late.

Multiple hissings of monsters reached his ears and he faced the open door with his trusty water pokemon. The first wave oozed forth and a timely roar sent them crashing back down. More came in their place and Feraligatr opened his jaws wide. White teeth gleamed and a torrent of water issued from the back of its mouth and struck with full force. The jet stream of water broke down the door and a bit of the structure, burying the humanoids under concrete and rubble. A sound of rotating blades prompted the red head to look around.

"I came to pick you up!" Pearl roared from the helicopter, he was leaning out of the vehicle with a wide grin on his face.

"You are late!" Growled Silver, displeasure and relief evident in his tones.

"Sorry, I had to borrow a helicopter" the blonde added.

Borrow was the wrong term, behind the trainer; the master thief spied an Inferape aiming a flaming fist at an obviously terrified pilot's head. The man's face was drenched in sweat. Sweeping low, the airborne vehicle landed on the roof of the building and Silver dove in along with his pokemon. With an almighty roar, the blue haired gang regained their footing and was slowly advancing towards their escape vehicle.

"Who are those people?" Pearl screeched over the din of chopped air.

"Some organization...I don't know anything else, seems like they're after the griseous orb. I got chased by them" he returned his blue crocodile back in its pokeball.

The chopper slowly rose, down below, the enemy pokemon were readying a group attack.

"Go faster" Silver urged the pilot, fear rendered the aviator mute and the individual simply nodded.

Boom.

A multi-colored energy ball struck the tail of the copter and their transport system twirled around nauseatingly. To his alarm, Pearl swayed dangerously over the edge and jumped back in closing the door.

"That was FUN!" a dizzyingly cheerful voice spun around the enclosed area. Silver gripped the seats tightly and peeked out of the small windows, another energy projectile was closing in.

"Protect" rang out a shrill voice and the helicopter was capsulated by a barrier. Attacks rebounded with dull thuds and the vehicle stabilized. It gained altitude and the two passengers slumped in their respective seats.

"Mission accomplished?" the younger trainer asked the older one.

"Mission accomplished" he droned and fastened the seatbelt tighter. The helicopter soared through the sky amidst search lights and pandemonium down below.

* * *

Five in the morning

Kanto

Blue watched live news on the television and snorted. Next to her Ruby looked up.

"What happened?"

"Silver messed up" she responded and the black haired male's eyebrows disappeared in his hat.

"Seriously? I told you someone should've gone with him...Stealing the orb under such tight security is unheard of, you can't-"

His superior cut him short.

"No...If he can't do it, no one else can...Besides it's rather okay. Now the international police's attention will be fixated on Eterna city and Sinnoh, we will be able to stroll around Unova for a while. I can't wait to check out the latest fashion trends!" she sighed blissfully "Anyway, have you packed everything Ruby? If you remember something on the last minute, you will have to leave it" she eyed his humongous luggage.

"Yeah...I think so" he distractedly answered. His eyes were glued on the wall sized television. "Who else is coming with us?

"Platina" drifted Blue's voice "and remember, you two are on guard duty..."

The teenager got up from his place on the lush carpet and stretched, muttering something underneath his breath, he left the room and sauntered down the corridor. It was nearly dawn and he was exhausted. Numbly turning into a room he saw his team mate was still wide awake and reading something.

"We're leaving two days from now" he relayed his message and made his way back to his room.

* * *

 **A/N:** Like it? Dislike it? Leave a review to tell me your thoughts.

On another note: Much thanks to fluffandrows57 for reviewing and following the story, you deserve chocolate! Please keep on supporting the story further.


	3. A constellation of stars

**Chapter 3: A constellation of stars**

Mid-afternoon

Aspertia City, Unova

Pokemon Academy

"So...want to exchange contacts? You can call me anytime you like on my Xtransciever" his voice flowed silkily. The boy leaned over her and she gazed helplessly to another classmate who was standing a few meters away and glaring.

"Oh...I'll protect you from that Quilfish as well"

"...Hugh and I have been very good friends since we were children" Whi-2 pointed out, she shrunk against the locker and thought it was a good idea to simply slide to the floor. With one arm barring her way, Lack-2 smiled charmingly. A bevy of young girls behind him glared at their lucky female classmate and sighed at their male one, each one vying for his attention. Alas, it seems he was completely enraptured by Whit-2. The somewhat ditzy girl was an outstanding trainer. It also did not help that she was really pretty as well.

From afar, Hugh kept on scowling with undisguised displeasure. He had grudging respect for the male trainer. He was strong. Really strong and cool. Whatever he did, even something as mundane as running his hand through his hair, it was immediately the center of attention. The girls swarmed over him like combee to honey.

Except Whi-2 and unfortunately that caught his attention. And he made it his life's mission to snag her attention at all costs. Hugh, who had a crush on his long time childhood friend found this extremely infuriating. No matter how much he tried, he could not compete with his rival. He stood heads above and was proud of it.

Sighing, he shut his metal locker, cast another glance at Whi-2 who had was sliding to the floor and began walking towards class. Recess was over and they had to get to their rooms as soon as possible. Sifting through the text books in his arms, he took out the timetable and looked at it. He had to go to room one hundred and four. Cheren will be taking the class. Speaking of their pokemon professor, he too favored Lack-2. The purple haired youth stopped.

Everyone favored Lack-2.

Exhaling angrily, he made up his mind to prove his worth. Sneakers thumping on the corridor floor, he located his classroom and went in. A huge blackboard dominated the far end of the room. Seeking out his desk, he dumped his books on it and sat down. The board was filled with notes from the previous class and he gazed at it with interest. It was his ambition to one day stand at the very top; to become the Unova pokemon champion and he took his goals quite seriously. He read the notes on the board attentively. They were on Pokemon types and the mastery of one over the other, back in the days, the typing of pokemon was simple, and it was often rare to come across a pokemon with two different typings. Now, the former has become rare. Pokemon with a single, pure typing were rare to find, something about evolution allowing only the strongest to survive. The class began to fill up with people and he observed Whi-2 discreetly shuffling in and seating herself in her desk. Wanting to find out if she was okay, he went over and queried.

"I'm fine Hugh" she smiled at him and he found his heart racing "who are we getting now again?"

He sighed. Sometimes she really was inattentive.

"Professor Cheren" he replied "yesterday he said something about a new teacher coming in so today he'll be explaining the details, thereafter we have Ms. Bianca for pokemon habitat study."

She shifted in her seat and shoved her hands into her bag to bring out text books, in the process the female trainer had also brought out her pokeball and set it on the desk. Turning around, he trudged back to his seat and sat down just as Cheren walked in.

"Alright class, tomorrow you will have a new temporary teacher coming in our Pokemon academy. Her name is Ms. Blue and she is a renowned trainer from the far off region of Kanto. She is also good friends with Professor Oak's grandson, Green Oak who is a remarkable researcher himself and knows the Champion of Kanto personally."

"Champion of Kanto...What was his name now again? Didn't he disappear or something?" Hugh mused.

"Anyway" their professor continued "Ms. Blue will be teaching evolution methods via trading. This is a good way to bond both with your pokemon and with your friends, so look forward to her lessons. For now my time is up, Ms. Bianca will be taking the next class and there will be an examination on the work she gives out...Lack-2" the young professor noticed his student sneaking in from the back door, halfway through class "I've been lenient towards your actions because you are an outstanding trainer, but if you continue to persist coming in late, I'll have to take measures. Next time you do this, I'll force you to reflect on your actions." Giving him a stern look, Cheren picked up his folders and other papers off his desk and moved out of class. Immediately some girls drifted over to their scolded classmate and showered him with gifts and kind words.

Ms. Bianca, a bespectacled young woman came in next. Her cheerful demeanor managed to lift Hugh's sprit and even Lack-2, famous for goofing off, straightened up and whipped out his pen and book in order to take notes. The blonde woman began to lecture them about pokemon habitats and today she talked about pokemon living near graveyards and other places imbued with high spiritual energy.

"You will find ghost pokemon living in cemeteries and graveyards" she began and drew famous landmarks from across different regions, although her drawing skills were not exemplary, they were not terrible. The students could pick out the Celestial tower of Unova, Lavender tower of Kanto and Mount Pyre of Hoenn. "Here, in all regions you will see a pattern in the pokemon residing in them, mostly ghost and dark types; it is seldom you will find a pure physic typing near these areas." She adjusted her red rimmed glasses and carried on "sometimes you might find normal pokemon in these places due to them having lingering attachments to their trainers. If they are not adopted by others or are set free, they will keep coming back. In other cases it might be two pokemon who were good partners and one died, thus the other simply goes back in order to visit. We can take this as an example of how Pokemon with different typings can share the same habitat. Check your charts for Mount Pyre, what typing do you find out of place there?" she asked.

The learners pored over their charts in order to find answers, pages and cards rustled.

"Meditite and Growlithe are the strangest" rang out two simultaneous voices.

"Very good Hugh, Lack-2" Bianca praised "now why would they make their homes there? It's a graveyard and a mountain." she quizzed.

The spiky haired trainer in training did not know, unfortunately his rival did.

"Mount Pyre is a mountain, it's got grass and is situated in a high place, and therefore it makes for good nesting grounds for Wingulls. Meditite is there because of the high concentration of spiritual energy and as for Growlithe, the thick grass makes for ideal habitats" he smoothly answered with a satisfied look on his face. The entire class clapped.

"Nice" their teacher beamed "I think you qualify as a Dex holder Lack-2"

Her words had a freezing effect. Being a dex holder was the utmost honor a trainer could be graced with. Hugh's mind reeled; if he recalled correctly the Kanto champion and Green Oak were dex holders. So was Gold, a young trainer who was the only one in history to defeat the undefeated champion of his own region and the Champion of Kanto. However he too had disappeared off the face of the world after his outstanding victory. And over time, people forgot about him. Both of their professors were also dex holders and he heard rumors of another pair who had simply vanished on the day they received their poke-dexes.

He frowned; there were a lot of poke-dex holders missing. Was there a connection between all of them?

"Oh, that also reminds me." The lecturer cut in his thoughts "Whi-2 and Hugh, you guys as well. Professor Juniper and I were discussing potential dex holders the other day in her lab and the three of you popped up in my mind. Keep on working hard and one day you will go places in order to collect data and become famous trainers!" she exclaimed happily. Conspiracy theories forgotten, Hugh smiled happily.

A Dex Holder, what a privilege it was to be one.

Lack-2 yawned. He was bored. Professor Bianca changed topics and was now discussing about the differences and similarities of Fire pokemon habitats over several regions. He did not need to know these things, he pondered, and his only concern was to keep the girls' attention on him and to get the Poke-dex that he so obviously was destined for. He wondered how this Ms. Blue looked, was she pretty? If so then maybe he'll pay attention in her class. Besides, pokemon evolution via trading seemed like a rather interesting subject. Eyes drifting shut, he woke up with a jolt when Professor Juniper walked in.

Why was she here today?...Maybe he'll get his Pokedex at the end of the day! The mere thought made his eyes shine.

Instead of whipping out the Pokedexes, she held up a large spherical mass of black rock. It was so perfectly round, he knew it had to be special, besides, a famed Pokemon professor won't just bring in any ordinary stone right? Sensing things were getting serious; he sat up straighter and wiped the lazy look off his face.

"This is the Dark stone" Professor Juniper held up the black rock in front of the class and after all the students got a good look at it, she set it back down on the desk. "I know I'm not supposed to be here today so this is a special lesson. Due to unforeseen circumstances, this stone will be handed over to higher officials and this was the last day I could impart the lesson to you." she took a deep breath and her stern gaze swept through the trainers "This stone and another one called the Light stone are legendary artifacts housing two great Dragon pokemon, hence they are also known as Dragon stones. This dark one is the holder of Zekrom who represents ideals and the light one is the holder of Reshiram who represents truth. Long ago, when the region of Unova was created, these two pokemon were a single one and this legendary dragon was wielded by twin brothers who created this region. Unfortunately differences between them arose and each sought something different in their life, to mirror their desires the single pokemon broke into three."

Three...

"Why three professor?" Lack-2 put his hand up and asked without missing a beat.

"Good question, until now we were aware of only Zekrom and Reshiram, some time ago we discovered the presence of a new, third unnamed dragon. We still have much research to do but I theorized that this third Dragon could be a shell of some sort" the brown haired professor frowned in contemplation.

"What about the light stone? Can't you show it us?" Hugh piped up and the lecturer froze.

"We are currently unaware of the whereabouts of the Light stone" she stiffly answered.

 _So it's most probably stolen_ Lack-2 contemplated.

"Are there pictures of the dragons?" hearing the feminine voice both his and the Quilfish's head rotated at the source who was none other than Whi-2. It was surprising to hear her speak since she always makes an effort not to draw attention to herself. In response to her question, Professor Juniper showed them some slides depicting the two dragons. The flirtatious boy found his breath stilling; he had yet to see anything as majestic as those two dragons. One, pure white, giving off an air of life and fire. The other was pitch black, so black it sucked everything in like a black hole.

The bell rang, pulling the trainer out of his thoughts. With a sly smile he made his way over to Hugh and Whi-2 who were preparing to leave together.

"Aww, let me take you home" he voiced smoothly "after all, we can't guarantee Quilfish over here would be able to protect you properly, since I'm the best trainer in our class, I'll do a splendid job" to emphasize his point, he gave a dazzling smile. And smirked when his spiky haired classmate bristled.

"Hugh and I are walking home together" she stated firmly "we live a street apart so it's okay, but thank you for you offer Lack-2" she gave a quick bow and thereafter spun around in order to catch up with her quickly retreating friend.

He watched her leave, eyes crinkling in delight.

* * *

Mid-afternoon

Kanto

Underneath Celadon city's game center.

Ruby plopped on a white leather couch and ticked off items on a list, his luggage carrier lay open on the laminated floor in front of him, designer clothes and disguises spilled out of the overstuffed trunk. Near the back wall of the room sat Blue before a large expensive looking desk. Behind her, the wall was decorated by a huge screen which currently flashed pictures of a virtual aquarium. The spacious room was lit with flush lights and an excessively decorated crystal and gold chandelier was set in the middle, the lights were dimmed and additional lighting came from two additional screens depicting the life outdoors. The middle section of the room was built on a lower platform and could only be accessed via a short flight of stairs. Ruby pulled his hat over his ears and looked around. Unlike Execution's room, Team constellate's chamber was relatively clean, neat and fashionable looking. A few glass shelves lined the walls and they displayed expensive ornaments. As was the norm, the entrance to the room was bordered by a large cyan banner sprinkled with a cluster of stars and a C lettered in Old English script.

Taking a break from her reading, Blue looked up to see Silver walking in. The red-head had a well-rested look on his face, he meandered over to the center of the room and his head disappeared out of sight. Sighing, he eased himself on one of the chairs and switched a computer on, as the device became usable, he frantically began typing away.

"Silver" the head of the department called.

"Yes Blue?"

"Don't worry too much about it, after all we got what we wanted, Green didn't blow his head off"

Unseen by anyone his shoulder's slumped.

She diverted her attention to Ruby, the male had dove into his trunk and appeared to be desperately searching for something, clothes flew here and there. Glancing at the clock, she knew it was time to leave for Unova and as usual, her underling had probably misplaced something, or was searching for some unnecessary accessory.

"Ruby" she intoned "we don't have time, get ready we should be in Vermillion by now, the ship leaves in an hour"

"...But I can't find my sunglasses" he wailed.

"Then leave it, you won't need them."

"Are you crazy? Those are my favorite pair, I bought them in the Sevi Islands and you out of all people should know how difficult it is to get there! And the glasses are limited edition material; it took nearly all of my savings to buy it!" More clothes were flung across the room and the brunette female briefly wondered if she should get Sapphire in here to knock sense into his nonsensical head. Her mood brightened up when Platina entered the room, unlike Ruby, she looked prim and proper and ready to go.

"Ms. Blue, we should depart immediately" her porcelain visage betrayed slight amusement at her superior's doings, the male fashionista had almost emptied out his carrier, sweeping his hands along the back for any signs of his precious glasses. "What is Ruby looking for?"

His head shot up. "My glasses" he replied "the one's I bought in Sevi Islands"

She sniffed gracefully.

"If you want, I'll procure another pair for you senior, please get ready or once again we will be behind schedule."

"...Fine" he relented and started to repack his bag, as he did so a jubilant shout rang out and victoriously he held up a silver framed pair of glasses.

"I found it!" at his antics, the two females sighed and with renewed vigor, he stuffed all of his things back in the luggage and zipped it up. As the three man team turned to leave Blue called over her shoulder.

"Tell Green we left, and take care Silver." The adolescent had come up to bid his friends goodbye as they left. When the room was quiet again he looked at his weavile who was running around the empty space.

"Want to eat something?" he asked his partner and it nodded "I'm starving...I wonder if Diamond..."

Afternoon

Vermillion City

Harbor

The whistle sounded and the huge luxury cruiser came to a stop on the pier. The doors hissed open and the small elegantly dressed crowd entered the ship named as S.S Anne. Blue and company were of course not going for a luxury cruise trip; nevertheless it beat flying on pokemon. Unova was situated almost on the other side of the Poke-universe and even if her co-workers Green and Red preferred flying on their pokemon or taking the train all the way there, it was none of her problem. She and her team preferred traveling in style. Silver included.

With a gentle sway and another blast of its horn, the ship moved away from Vermillion port and began to set sail. Deciding to go to the deck and possibly swindle some innocent stranger into buying her a drink, Blue located her room, dumped her luggage and shrugged her coat off. Letting her hair down, she exited the room and made her way upwards. Ruby and Platina watched her go.

"Senior Blue is trying to trick someone isn't she?"

"What do you expect? Ruby answered, he had taken his hat off and was meticulously arranging his bangs to hide the scar on his forehead "it's what she's good at or else she won't be the head of the espionage department, she can even fool Green who is generally unfool-able"

"Un...Fool-able?" she gave an entertained laugh.

"You get what I mean, are you busy or do you want to go over the briefing with me?"

She nodded in affirmative and the two made their way into the deserted dining area, since it was a bit after lunch and supper was way off, not many people mingled about, locating a table near the windows, the duo sat opposite each other and began quizzing and re-checking facts.

"Targets" Ruby asked his red irises scanning their papers.

In response, Platina held up two pictures, one was a handsome young boy with a visor strapped to his forehead and the other was a girl, her long brown hair arranged in two Chinese styled buns on either side of her head, she too also sported a red and pink visor atop her head.

"What else?" the red eyed male further queried.

"Information on the Dark stone, most possibly the original rock will be in the possession of the International police, our fiasco at Eterna lab must've caused quite a stir." Platina looked out of the porthole windows and her dark eyes softened at the scenery. The blue water stretched as far as her eye could see and skimming over the surface of the water were a few bird pokemon, some sea pokemon like goldeen leapt out of the water and its ruffled fins were a delight to the viewer.

"Senior Ruby, what is our duty?" it was her time to interrogate.

"Keep a watch on the targets from a far and gather intel on the dark stone. We have a maximum of four days to gather all the information we need and make our way back to Kanto. Blue dubs it as guard duty."

Above on the polished deck dotted with way too many people, Blue petrified. Leaning against a railing was a certain someone she absolutely did not want to meet. Steel gray hair swayed in the breeze...What was _he_ even doing here? Getting over her initial shock, she approached him with a smile on her face and prayed that Ruby will not, under any circumstances, run into this particular individual.

Steven Stone. Filthy rich, with a penchant of collecting precious gems and possessing a strong streak of justice. He is also a high ranking member of the international police and most likely the one with the most knowledge about the Dark stone. Flipping her hair backwards and approaching with a cheery attitude, she greeted him.

"Hello" he acknowledge her with a polite smile, pulled in by Blue's charismatic conversational skills the duo held an amiable conversation; she noted his expression was guarded and effortlessly she changed topics to orbs and stones. Almost instantaneously the CEO of Devon corporation's eyes lit up. Before long, he was the only one doing the talking whilst Blue merely listened with feigned interest. She looked for an opening to strike.

"So Steven, have you heard about the Light and Dark stones?" she enquired in a casual manner.

His face turned dark.

"Why do you know about them?"

"Oh! I'm a researcher of sorts, haven't you heard of Green Oak? I'm a friend of his." This statement always did the trick, his distrustful expression morphed into admiration.

Everyone knew about the famous Green Oak. A top researcher unrivaled by none and a formidable pokemon trainer to boot.

Poor them.

Haltingly he told her about the legends surrounding the stone and after divulging a bit of information, like Blue he switched topics and talked about the new items his company was currently producing, his female companion was beginning to get bored and she let out a relieved breath when the dinner bell rang.

Departing for downstairs, she waved at the man and walked back in with a bounce in her step. Behind her Steven watched her leave, steel blue irises shrinking in mistrust.

Evening

In the dining area

"Our biggest nightmare has arrived" Blue glumly stated as she stabbed at her food, hearing this, Ruby who was trying to spoon salad in his mouth looked up in shock.

"Wait... _Dad_ is here?" he sputtered and the spoon fell back into his plate with an unpleasant clang "Dear Arceus...save me"

"No, not Norman...Steven"

The black haired male almost fainted at the name.

* * *

Two days later

Aspertia City

Pokemon Academy backyard.

"The students have all gone home and we gave a thorough sweep of the place, rest assured this facility and areas are both secure"

"Yes I understand" Steven spoke, "Although I'm sure the security in Eterna was also tight" at his words Bianca flushed in mortification and Cheren narrowed his eyes.

"The criminal organization will not suspect the handing over of such a precious artifact taking place at an area like this, we can use it to our advantage." the police agent nodded and the two pokemon professors disappeared, after their departure a third figure strolled in the area and seeing him Steven bowed respectfully.

"Sir, how are you faring?" He asked his superior.

The person looked at him sharply.

"I had to come all the way from Castelia for this!" he gritted his teeth "Next time I see Surge, I'll give him a piece of my mind to chew on! If I asked the professor, she'd gladly hand it over to me but no, we have to use convoluted methods in order to disguise our actions." He let out an irritated breath as Professor Juniper approached with the black sphere cradled in her hands. The leader watched in an uninterested manner as she handed over the stone to Steven who took it and signed some papers.

"Will we get this orb back?" the professor asked "it belongs to the Dragonspiral tower and we researchers need it in order to study about pokemon origins." she clarified.

"As soon as we catch this group of criminals, we will deliver it back to you" the leader cut in before Steven could respond. "If I remember correctly, it was a brown haired brat who took the Light stone from right under your noses...trust me; the dragon stone is much safer in our hands." Without waiting for a reply, he spun around and began striding back with his agent in a tow.

"Where are you staying?"

"A hotel in Castelia city I'll be here for two days then I'm leaving" Steven answered.

"Why so long?"

"I have to gather intelligence on this stone and its counterpart, unfortunately, it is in their hands." His superior hissed in agreement "we are sure the boy who keeps the stone with him can wield it."

"Out of all the candidates...Why is it a criminal? Do we even _know_ who he is?"

"No, the only thing we know is that he is a Poke-dex holder"

Far away, in a base constructed underneath Celadon city's game center. Black who was playing video games with Diamond and Gold, sneezed.

* * *

 **A/N:** And there you have it, another chapter. Much gratitude to ScarletMab, Jack54311 and a Guest for reviewing/following the story (POWER). A ton of virtual chocolates to you. And don't forget to leave a review to tell me what you think :)


	4. Child soldier

**Chapter 4: Child soldier**

Late afternoon

Train station

Anville Town

The small train deposited them in the middle of a bustling hub. Trains came in and out at strictly regulated intervals and Blue gave her surroundings a sweep. This place was situated far away from mainland Unova and she decided on this course after she overheard Steven was will be changing ships and sailing all the way to Castelia city. Although, she too wanted to disembark there since it would be much easier to travel and find hotels and information, she decided not to risk it. Besides, it would be a huge, huge problem if he accidentally spied Ruby. Norman and Steven are very good friends and if the gym leader had an inkling of what his son was _really_ up to...Let's just say she will be missing one outstanding agent from her group. Heels clacking on the floor, Blue and her little team made their way to the next platform in order to catch another train, this one will take them straight to their destination: Aspertia town. Tomorrow she will need to go to the Pokemon academy and teach there. The thought excited her immensely, if she wasn't in this line of work, maybe she'll become a teacher...Or an actress. Right, actress definitely sounds better.

Platina was not used to this, carrying her own luggage that is. Back home, the servants and pokemon did everything for her and once she entered the organization, Blue outright refused to get any attendant for her, citing that a spy did their own work since there is always a high chance the individual could be stranded and without anyone willing to help. Thus she had to do everything herself. Back at base, her two best friends, Diamond and Pearl would often help, but in the field. She was alone. Ruby was not that sort of gentleman who would reach out a hand and with a charming smile ask her if she needed assistance with her luggage. In fact, Sapphire often had to do things for him. Struggling a bit, she managed to elegantly haul her designer trolley case onto a new train bound for their destination. This vehicle had more passengers than the last and Platina felt slightly uncomfortable. Her senior had vacated his seat for her and now he was standing, gripping one of the overhead railings for support. In the crowd, he stood out like a sore thumb and she was aware of several females around his age casting appreciative glances at him and giggling. If Sapphire was here...She'd poke their eyes out.

Subconsciously, he reached upwards and rearranged his bangs. To the teenage girls watching him, it looked downright cool and handsome, not to him though. It was irritating. His superior had told him to put his hat away and now he felt subconscious. He briefly wandered if he should get out a bandanna and tie it around his forehead, but no, it was hot in the train and if he wound a piece of cloth around his head he will start sweating, which was not cool for his image. He really wished the girls would stop gawking at him, he was not the flirting type and besides, they were not beautiful, did they not have any fashion sense? Who on earth wears a skirt of that color anyway? He found his eyes gazing at the offender and the girl he looked at nearly dropped to the floor from shock. Trying to disguise his awkward manner, he gave them a tiny smile and all three twittered obnoxiously and turned around.

Good, now they won't discover his horrible disfigurement.

* * *

Early morning the next day

Aspertia city

Pokemon Academy

Lack-2 caught a glimpse of her before she entered the premises and he could not believe his eyes. Ms. Blue was gorgeous! He wanted to loiter at the gate but Hugh, the stupid Quilfish, had dragged him inside when the bell rang. In class, he redirected his attention to Whi-2 and several of his admirers as he charmed them to kingdom come and back. Only the brunette was very uninterested and after a short while, she left and joined Hugh who was poring over his books in a zealous manner. When the homeroom teacher, Cheren walked in, the budding trainers all scrambled to their seats and after greeting, they sat down in a uniform manner.

"As promised, here is your temporary teacher, Ms. Blue" and she walked in with a dazzling smile on her face. Whipping out a notebook and pen Lack-2 sat up straighter and Hugh imparted a disgusted look at him.

"She is our teacher for Dialga's sake" he hissed, is there anyone you don't hit on?

"Yeah, I would never dream of going out with a Quilfish like you" he flippantly stated back.

"Do you need a burn heal Hugh" the girl sitting next to him held up an orange colored spray bottle.

"Shut up!" he angrily spat in return.

Blue entered the classroom wearing a pinstriped suit which she thought was both suitable for her position and awe inspiringly formal. Her long hair was pulled into a bun and she wore glasses, at of Ruby's insistence. As soon as she stood in front and introduced herself, her eyes zoomed in on the targets and she was slightly peeved at how the male target was gaping at her. As part of her introduction, and winning over fellow students, she disclosed her hobbies and interest and watched with mild disturbance as the young trainer took note of every single word escaping her mouth. A mischievous gleam filled her eyes.

"You seem rather attentive to my words, what is your name?"

"Lack-2" he coolly stated.

'Reminds me or Ruby...and Gold' she thought.

"Lack-2, nice name" she beamed and he smiled back "have you already gotten a Pokedex from Professor Juniper?"

His confident smirk faltered for a while.

Bingo, first step to dealing with targets, cut them down to size.

"No ma'am, but I'll soon get one. I'm the best trainer in the class." He proudly stated. Next to him, Hugh saw red. He wanted to speak out as well but this new teacher was probably smitten by Lack-2's self-confidence and assurance. Due to his fidgeting, Blue's eyes wandered over.

"You look pretty capable yourself, what is your name?"

Spirits rising at the unexpected praise he said:

"Hugh, my dream is to become the Unova Pokemon champion."

There was a certain solemnity underlying his words. Unlike Lack-2 he seemed much more deep, simmering. Blue was sure he would turn out to be something wonderful one day. His somber and slightly impatient gaze indicated this. Flashing him a gentle grin, she diverted her attention to the female target. The girl was looking at her with an enraptured gaze and as soon as their eyes met, she flushed, pulled her visor and forced herself to stop gaping. Not deterred by her actions, Blue made her way to Whi-2's desk and asked the shy girl to introduce herself. After learning that the girl's hobby, favorite flower and food, she moved off to the other students pausing at each of their desks and taking time to get to know them personally. Before the morning session was over, the entire class had warmed up to her and several of the girls had started asking her personal questions. Ms. Blue answered them all, she encouraged them to be open with her since she will be staying for a few months only.

"She is good" peering through binoculars from the roof of a nearby house, Ruby commented in his mike. Both he and Platina were scouting the school from different angles, he was sure the aristocrat chose a comfortable spot. Lying on concrete was painful not to mention his clothes were getting ruined. "Did you see the targets Platina?"

"Yes, the flirtatious boy and the shy girl. The boy reminds me of senior Gold" her voice was scratchy through his earpiece. Irritated by his circumstances he shifted in his place and started complaining bitterly:

"Platina, I want to shift my position, I swear I'm getting fried on this asphalt. Do you know how hot it is? My skin is breaking out in hives and sweat is pouring in my eyes. Yuck, I need a shower, what would my pokemon think of me when the see me in such an ugly state?" he blathered and his companion pulled her ear piece out and set it down next to her "they won't recognize me as their trainer. I need a shower, ugh Blue, why did she force us to keep a watch on the school like this? I could've sneaked in and fixed hidden cameras and Emerald would've been able to take care of the school's security system. Or better yet, we should've disguised ourselves as transfer students and take part in class! Are you listening to me Platina?"

Once his rant died down, she delicately picked up the device and fixed it in her ear. Platinum Berlitz was lucky, she walked to a nearby store and politely asked them to borrow her chair, the owners complied with her request and she dragged the seat to a nearby secluded place surrounded by foliage and sat there. Fixing her binoculars to her eyes, she had a splendid view of the classroom. "Senior Ruby...You cannot shift positions in the middle of an operation. If Blue issues us emergency orders, she will be unaware of your new place and thus unable to direct you accordingly. Please bear with it, besides it is almost time for recess." She heard him grumble on the other side and a small smile appeared on her face.

Her co-workers were such colorful characters.

Back in class, the temporary teacher had already begun giving a preliminary lesson on trading Pokemon.

"A trade or Link" she spoke, pleasant voice washing over the attentive learners "is a process in which a Pokemon Trainer sends one of his or her Pokemon to another Trainer in exchange for one of the other Trainer's Pokemon. This process was at first thought of as a way to deepen bonds with fellow trainers and pokemon however, after some research, we have found out that trading Pokemon can sometimes cause them to evolve into higher forms. This new method is now known as Pokemon evolution via trading. Now as with the criteria of trading, the trainer receiving the pokemon should be able to handle his new friend. If the pokemon dislikes the new trainer, there is a small chance they will not evolve, also if the pokemon does not listen to its new trainer due to being over leveled, it might not also step up into evolution. The entire process might seem a bit confusing and intimidating, but if you will get used to it. In the next lesson I'll teach you about-"

"Are you dating anyone Ms. Blue?"

The neophyte lecturer was writing notes on the board, at his question, she involuntarily pressed a bit too hard on the chalk and it broke into pieces. Curbing the desire to throw one of these pieces at Lack-2's forehead and knocking him out, she slowly turned, adjusted her glasses and looked at him inquisitively.

"Excuse me?"

"Are you dating anyone?" he repeated his question with an innocent smile "like Green Oak? You are friends with him right? Mr. Cheren told us. Or maybe the Champion of Kanto? What is _he_ like?"

The con-artist almost gagged. Her dating Green? She'd have a better experience and chance with a giant rock. And Red, sure he might at times look like model...But gross, he's sleeping habits and one track mind was pretty disgusting.

The bell tolled and saved her from answering his embarrassing questions.

With a sigh, Blue dumped the armful of books on her space. The little cubicle was decorated with a few yellow flowers and a welcome note. Smiling to herself she read the note and tucked it away in her bag, as a souvenir for when she leaves this place two or three days later. Checking her wristwatch, she fished her mobile phone from her bag, dialed a number and waited.

"I HATE THIS JOB!" Ruby's voice exploded from the other end and she pulled the phone away from her ear, cringing from the loud volume. It was a relief that the staffroom was deserted or else, things might've been really complicated and weird to explain.

"Where are you two?" she asked in an even tone.

"Eating ice-cream at a store Ms. Blue" a voice delicately chimed "please excuse senior Ruby's outburst, he is angry because his shirt has been soiled. You will receive an earful of complaints when you get back, so please be prepared."

"...I understand"

Stuffing the phone back in her bag, she uttered a slight moan and put her head down on her desk.

* * *

After school was over, she noticed the brat was still tailing her. His arms were folded behind his head and with a wide zany smile plastered on his face, Lack-2 followed her. Although it was flattering to be admired, this was becoming downright vexing.

"Do you need something Lack-2?"

 _You are being rather annoying_ , her mind supplied.

"Uh...No, not really" he shuffled "I think you are a wonderful teacher Ms." saying this spun around on his heel and ran off.

"..."

Evening

Aspertia City

Hotel

"So the boy's name is Lack-2. Despite his character, he is an excellent battler and stands heads above everyone else. His statistics are outstanding for a person his age" sitting together on the floor, the two members listened to their leader as she debriefed them about their targets "in fact, the only other person whose stats mirror his is Gold...So we can be sure he is a bit of prodigy. Anyway, the girl's name is Whi-2 and she is rather timid, her skills too are very good. I noticed that she does not call attention to herself and she does things in a discrete manner. Still, she is a sweet kid."

"Are you done?" the male's voice was strained.

"Not yet Ruby, patience, there is another trainer whom I'm very interested in. His name is Hugh; I wish we could recruit him as well. I have a feeling he will be an exceptional addition to our organization."

"Red and Green already decreed that we may not recruit more than two members...It will call attention to us" the female underling pointed out in a rational manner.

"I know..."

"Are you done?"

"Yes Ruby...Is this going to take long?"

The ruby eyed teenager exploded.

"My clothes are ruined!" he relayed in a high pitched voice "and I looked like monster before I showered! Zuzu didn't even recognize me, that is how filthy I was. Why did you force us to go on such a mundane mission? Emerald was on site and he was willing to offer help! I suffered thanks to yo-"

"Oh for Articuno's sake be quiet" she hissed "I was sitting in the class and because of one thirteen year old brat hitting on me I thought my disguise was going to break apart! Do you know how much tension and stress I was under? You think acting is for the weak willed? Next time let's switch roles and see how you fare bett-"

With a beep, Blue's pokemon gear began buzzing; fishing it out from her bag she answered it. The little screen showed Green's impassive face.

"Is everything proceeding smoothly?" he queried as all three of them crowded around.

"Yes" Blue nodded "Is there a problem? You rarely call during our missions."

"You have another mission, I'm already sure you know Steven Stone is in Unova" at this Ruby's face paled a few shades and Green smirked in understanding "he is currently in possession of the Dark stone and..."

"Please don't tell me we have to steal it from him" shrilled the black haired trainer "he is a monster, the _undefeated_ champion of Hoenn! There is a reason why they call him that!"

On screen, the spiky haired commander smiled evilly.

"You have to steal the Dark stone from him and quickly, he will be leaving Unova by tomorrow since he is done collecting all the information he needs. We found this information a few hours ago thanks to Emerald. Also one of the four top bosses is in Unova with him. Intelligence tells us that he too will be leaving with Steven, so be very careful. This person is ruthless...Red stop touching my hair!"

In the course of his conversation, his best friend and Black had squeezed themselves inside the video message. Black was waving at them and he held up the light stone whilst Red and Green were engaging in friendly banter.

"Is there anything else we need to know?" Blue felt all the energy draining from her arms.

"...All your missions should be completed by tomorrow night. I want you back in Kanto by late afternoon the day after tomorrow." Saying this he stepped back and ended the video call, the last thing the trio saw was Red waving at them enthusiastically.

"Monster" Ruby groaned "Green Oak and Red are monsters, this is impossible!"

"No it's not" Platina cut in "we did a lot in the past and we can do more in the future. Please cheer up senior. If we analyze our tasks, we will be able to complete them in a timely manner."

Blue smiled at her maturity.

"First, we cannot drag our leader into this so it is up to us to steal the stone." The heiress took a laptop out of her bag and began working on it "we know our target is in Castelia city, he is staying in one of the hotels and we need to find out which one. Thereafter it is a matter of sneaking in his room, waiting for the right time and stealing the stone and all the information that comes with it. Ms. Blue, your thoughts?"

The leader was lying face down on her bed, her words muffled by the pillow.

"Good strategy, I'll leave you two on your own devices, just get the stone and make sure Steven does not recognize Ruby. You will need disguises."

Night

Castelia city

Five star Hotel lobby.

The curtain of hair before his eyes was making vision difficult; nevertheless whatever he saw was breathtakingly beautiful. Emerald tiles underfoot and in the center of the lobby was a giant fountain. It depicted a Milotic spewing water from its mouth, despite it being made out of glass, the fixture was painstakingly painted with a fine attention to detail. Forgetting why he came here, the teenager moved towards the fountain and gazed at it admiringly. It was simply stunning.

"There is a guest in one of the rooms named Steven Stone" Platina informed him and he turned around and blushed. She had dressed herself up in a cream colored form fitting dress and Blue had tied her hair up in an elegant up do. They were posing as a couple and next to her, in his ridiculous wig, Ruby felt foolish. She linked her arm through his and together they made their way upstairs. He found his heart pounding as his junior dragged him all the way to Steven's room and politely knocked on the door.

"He's so gonna recognize me!"

"Hush, we are going to find out."

The door opened to reveal a smartly dressed man, without skipping a beat, Platina entered into a conversation and Ruby felt his legs go slack, Steven's eyes had glanced at him several times but they registered bewilderment.

Of course, who in their sane mind would walk around with hair covering their face?

"So, the diamond is not for sale?" Platina's frosty tones broke his thoughts; she was doing a perfect job.

"No Ms., it is for research...And may I ask who the individual next to you is?" The taller male next to this young woman looked a bit familiar.

"Oh..." her voice did a 180 degree and became deceivingly warm "he is my boyfriend" to emphasize her point, she leaned on to him akin to a giddy girl in love.

"Seeing you do that was pretty disgusting" the duo had infiltrated a vacant store room and were rearranging their disguises. The fashionista pulled his offending wig and discarded it in a bin. "I'm not wearing this thing ever again." Pulling out a tube of gel, he located a polished surface, stood before it and began applying it to his hair, pulling it into stiff spikes, once done; he retrieved a black strip of cloth and wound it around his head similar to a bandanna. Lastly, pulled out a little round badge and pinned it to his bandanna, after scrutinizing his new appearance, he have a little whoop of glee.

"I look perfect!"

"Yes you do" his co-conspirator droned emotionlessly, "now how are we supposed to get into his room? The first attempt did not work."

"Simple," Ruby smirked "Steven Stone is in dire need of room service."

* * *

"Please!" he pleaded "I'm homeless and in need of a job, can't you at least allow me to work here for one night?" He tugged at the cloth decorating his forehead in a helpless manner.

The staff manager blushed, for someone who claimed to be homeless, he certainly was well dressed...And good looking.

"I understand your predicament but you see we don't have a vacant sl-"

"I can take out the trash" he persisted, far away Platina winced at the tone coming through the earphones, she thought her senior was doing a splendid job, before long, the manager would gave in under his wailing and besides, if he could get his way with Sapphire, he could do the same with anyone.

Half an hour later a stylish hotel attendant brought her drink, casting a wary glance around the area he spoke in a hushed whisper:

"I'll go pester him with something and see if I can enter his room. Stay outside" she nodded "when I tell you, break in from his window...and don't look at me like that, how else are we supposed to steal it from _him_?"

The aristocrat mutely nodded and left the hotel. Checking his reflecting on a silver tray, Ruby sneaked into the kitchens, stole a delicious looking cake and set it on the cart he was pushing along as part of his job. As he made his way to Steven's room he paused in front of the door.

The hallway was deserted.

Rummaging in his pockets, he brought out several small vials and boxes. Locating a little box with greenish powder he opened it and contemplated.

"Sleep powder...If he does find something fishy with this cake...Nah, I won't do it." Stuffing the vials back he rang the doorbell and almost instantly the dreaded police agent was at the door.

"Yes?"

"Special service sir" Ruby piped in a cheerful tone and pointed at the cake "for your patronage"

"I didn't order any cake"

The black haired teenager's eyebrow twitched.

"Well yes, I just said it was a special service, we are doing this as part of our hotel anniversary which is taking place the day after tomorrow. To show appreciation, we are handing out free cakes." He beamed and lied through his teeth, it must have been pretty convincing because Steven smiled genially and let him in. As soon as he walked through, his eyes began to scan the room. Like every other hotel room, there was a bed, fancy decorations, a little closet, Steven's cheap and unfashionable luggage case and off to one corner...A cube made out of black glass.

It looked horribly out of place. Putting the cake down on a table and bowing to him, he took noted of the black cube's location as Steven shut the door behind him; Ruby put some distance between him and the champion and called his co-worker.

"Listen" he began and laid out plans for an ambush. On the other side Platina confirmed his words and her eyes grew wider with each passing second...She always knew Ruby was a bit flamboyant but this...this was beyond ridiculous. Although, to give him credit, the plan was almost foolproof, she only wished Silver were here because, who else was better to steal an ancient artifact than a Phantom thief? Sighing, she extracted a square piece of paper out and stared at it.

It showed a cluster of dark blue stars.

* * *

 **A/N** : Thanks to Jack54311, fluffandrows57 and FluffyCanaries for reviewing and/or following my story. It always makes my day (POWER). And now, I present to you another chapter, please enjoy!

Oh yes, for those who are curious, Blaec Iustise means Black Justice in Old English, nice title no?

Anyway, don't be shy to leave a review or constructive criticism, they are all appreciated.


	5. Dex criminals

**Chapter 5: Dex criminals**

Middle of the night

Castelia City, Hotel

Steven's room.

He heard a knock on the door and blearily forced his eyes open. Sluggishly, his pupils focused on the luminous digital clock next to his bed. One o'clock it showed.

One o'clock. Who in their right mind is awake at this time and knocking on the door?

Wearily, he ran a hand through his messed hair and put on the lights, thereafter he made his way towards the door, on opening it he stared, his brain processing things a bit slowly due to being half asleep. On seeing the individual, he became wide awake.

It was that over cheerful hotel attendant that delivered him chocolate cake a few hours ago. What was he doing here?

"Hello sir, so sorry to interrupt your beauty sleep, but I came to fetch the plate." he smiled.

"It's the middle of the night" Steven croaked, what was wrong with the universe?

"I apologize for my untimely interruption, you see I'm new and not used to the work around here, anyway I was tasked to wash dishes tonight and while I was sorting through the pile of dirty plates, I suddenly remembered about you, since I forgot to take back yours, so here I am!"

For some reason, the grey haired adolescent found himself being enraptured by the attendant's rambling.

"You are new? When did you start working?" going inside, he retrieved the plate and handed it back to Ruby.

"Tonight sir, the hotel staff manager was running short on hands for their anniversary and since I possess both beauty and fashion sense" he adjusted his bandanna "they called me up to help."

Steven chuckled at his antics, speaking of which, this person reminded him a bit of his friend's son: Ruby.

"You know, you remind me of someone" He was still questioning why he was up in the middle of the night, wearing pajamas and standing in the doorway of his room talking to an inept attendant, the stress of juggling his champion and international police duties must be getting to him.

Ruby was maintaining his facade rather well, but the moment he heard those words come out of Steven's mouth, he paled once again and hoped he was not sweating too profusely so that the makeup would run down his face. He was stretching things a bit and he sent a brief prayer to Arceus so Platina could hurry up, his job was to distract the trainer in front of him till the large window situated on the other side of the room broke. Grinning, he launched into a tangent about the totally fake anniversary that will be taking place. True to his rather kind nature, the champion merely smiled lazily and listened to every false word, nodding at times and commenting a few words. As Ruby thought he was nearing his limit, the sound of shattering glass startled them both. Steven's steel gray eyes sharpened in concentration and he spun around. Taking advantage of the situation, Ruby summoned his Swampert and commanded it to knock out the champion with a punch.

Against all odds, Steven avoided it by ducking and rolling across the floor. His instincts screamed at him to protect the Dark stone and as he scrambled to the cube, a torrent of water struck him squarely on his back and he went soaring to the other side of the room, his body hit the wall. Climbing in through the broken window in an elegant manner was a young girl; she was being helped up by an Empoleon. Near the doorway the 'hotel attendant' walked in with a milotic slithering beside him. The woman made a beeline for the Dark stone and the male followed her, seizing a chance, the police agent was about to get his pokemon when the tail end of the milotic stiffened like steel and pressed against the skin of his throat.

"Don't move" the male commanded in a hard, low voice completely unlike the cheerful tone he used before "Milotic here will slit you."

Helplessly and soaked to the bone, he watched as the duo sifted through the room, they collected the cube carrying the Dark stone and all the information he collected over the past two days. His fists tightened, what was his superior, Cynthia going to say? More importantly, what was _he_ going to say? The two thieves collected what they needed and spoke in hushed tones; the female wore a masquerade mask over her face. More than scared, Steven felt mortified, the people they were so desperately searching for was right in front of him and escaping away with the black stone...

They were the same people right?

He swallowed nervously and the milotic turned its head to glare at him.

"Got everything we need?"

"Yes, please let me leave first"

Holding the case in one hand, Platina jumped out of the window and recalled her Empoleon; Ruby stared at the card she handed over to him. It showed a fancily scripted C and on turning over the card, he sported a cluster of stars on one half and on the other, a Milotic and Empoleon. Tossing the card at Steven's feet, he followed his companion out of the broken pane and retrieved his Pokemon. Shivering, the duped champion snatched the card off the floor and stared at it, his mind whirring.

"Two people, two pokemon" he muttered "so the pokemon they use are depicted on here...But he, the boy, used another one, I didn't get a good look at it but I'm sure it was not the Milotic. Groaning miserably, he reached for his phone, a few rings later the person on the other end picked up and snarled:

"For Celebi's sake it's two in the morning! I need my sleep! Something better be horribly wrong for you to call me at this time, don't forget I have a painstaking job to do in the morning!"

His voice failed him.

"Steven?"

"Sir...I'm sorry to report that the Dragon stone and all its information has been stolen by them, however I found out how their card works...Somewhat." He was surprised when instead of yelling, the person merely laughed.

"Oh, nice, we needed this information...Although; Cynthia is _so_ going to kill you. Anyway, I hope you aren't wounded or anything, go back without me, I need to sort some stuff out." Saying this, the call ended.

* * *

Five in the morning

Aspertia City

Blue's room

"Did he recognize you?" Blue eyed Ruby who had ditched his temporary work clothes and was fixing his trusty hat on his head. Before her lay the Dark stone and a thick folder of notes on the legends of the twin dragons. Black will be elated because they had also managed to find some information on Reshiram. Now the poor boy won't have to sit and study for long hours trying to crack the mysteries of the stone in his possession.

"I don't think so...Although, he did comment about how I remind him of a certain someone...geez Blue, I need a vacation. If I'm not home, Mom and Dad are going to start worrying. For all they know, I'm currently in Kanto participating in Pokemon contests." he replied and sat down on the floor. Next to him, Platina had already begun working on her laptop, dark eyes swinging like a pendulum as she researched.

"We have to leave Unova by tonight and arrive at Kanto by tomorrow, most likely near late afternoon. Superior, where does this leave us?"

"Lack-2 and Whi-2 do not have their Pokedexes yet, according to Green we can't wait for them to become Dex holders...Therefore, it's up to you and Ruby to steal the Pokedexes from Professor Juniper's lab in Nuvema town...Which is situated on the other side of Unova, way past Castelia. And while you two are at it, take two starter pokémons as well." Blue calmly stated much to her two underling's chagrin. The young girl was cultured enough not to say anything, the black haired boy however:

"...Seriously? Don't we get to sleep today? I'm tired Blue, very tired"

"Sorry Ruby, I'll make sure you won't get another difficult mission for a while. Also, I'll handle our two targets, with the time constraint, the only thing we can do is kidnap them. Deal?"

"Deal..." he grumbled and began searching through his backpack, extracting a belt, he stuck six pokeballs on it and fixed it at his waist. Platina had also gotten ready, she fixed her beanie and put on a short, light pink jacket, around her slim waist was a belt akin to Ruby's also with six pokeballs. The two made their way to a window and Ruby halted.

"Hey leader...None of us have any flying pokemon do we? Call Green and tell him to deposit his Charizard into a box, we'll use the computer downstairs to retrieve it.

An hour later, the adolescent's eyes sparkled at the majestic fire breathing creature, like its trainer, the orange dragon stared impassively at them as Ruby danced around it and commented on Charizard's aesthetic beauty. Finally it snorted out embers and the duo climbed on his back. Powerful webbed wings beat the air and slowly they rose, with impressive speed they flew off to Nuvema town.

Late morning

Aspertia City

Pokemon Academy.

Whi-2 listened attentively as their new teacher dished out notes and a list of pokemon who evolve via trading. It seems this method of evolution is not as simple as she led to believe. Some pokemon only evolved under certain conditions whilst others evolved by holding an item and being traded. If the owner of the new pokemon wanted it back, they had to trade once more. The influx of information was making her giddy, yet she paid rapt attention, there was something captivating about the woman lecturing them, the way she showed a special interest to each and every one of her students, even someone like her, who generally made it a point not to be noticed. Her eyes slowly travelled around the classroom and landed on Lack-2, he was sitting up straight and taking notes. She giggled, this has to be the first, a few seats away from him sat Hugh, a warm flush spread across her cheeks as she beheld the frowning trainer furiously scribbling in his books. Sensing the teacher's eyes on her, she immediately went back to her notes with her head bowed.

Blue smirked, she had her suspicions but now they were confirmed. The girl, Whi-2 would make an excellent spy. Her timid and shy behavior covered up the way she discreetly took note of her surroundings and she was rather cute. Perfect to work under her.

"Right, since we are already familiar with Pokemon that need a certain item to be held before trading, now I want to introduce another way, this will most probably be the most difficult way of trading but it's well worth it if you have to fill in the Pokedex" Blue smiled, acting skills raising a few notches "this pokemon also comes from Unova so you can blame your region for being so problematic."

A few light hearted chuckles were heard.

"Karrablast and Shelmet evolve to Escavalier and Accelgor respectively, but there is a catch. If you want an Escavalier your trade partner must trade you a Shelmet. Same with Shelmet, in this case you need a Karrablast"

The class groaned.

"If it weren't for you Ms. Blue, I'd really, really hate this subject" a random learner complained and she beamed at the praise.

"Ah yes. Whi-2, Lack-2 I want to see you during break time, please come to the staffroom, this has to do with handing over your Pokedexes" in the periphery of her vision, she saw the third promising trainer raise his head and immediately regretted the slip up. "Hugh, you too as well, although personally, I think you don't need any re-evaluation."

Lack-2 scowled, he wanted to be praised as well.

The rest of the morning passed by uneventfully. The boy fantasized about what he'll do once he got his Pokedex, of course he had a duty to travel around the entire region and collect data on pokemon, the lessons on pokemon trading helped, now he knew it was impossible to fill the Pokedex with only wild pokemon, one had to form interpersonal relationships and friends in order to complete it. He smiled to himself, after he's done with Unova, maybe he'll go to other regions and meet famous trainers. Hmm, perhaps also participate in the Pokemon league? He'll probably be up against his Quilfish friend, unlike him who thrived on raw talent, Hugh worked hard, he'll definitely become some hotshot one day, in that case, he too needed to work hard. Although he was in an extremely reputable position already. The bell rang and pulled him out of his sweet day dreams.

"Hey Quilfish" he called "Let's go see Ms. Blue together."

For reasons unknown to him, she unnerved him, like there was some deep dark secret to her jubilant personality, sure she was kind and warm and nice, however, there was something.

Something sinister and painful about her. He had resolved to find out, alas, he felt slightly awkward in her presence.

"Stop calling me that!" the mauve haired trainer gritted his teeth and marched off, Lack-2 and Whi-2 trailed behind him. The trio navigated through several passages and came to a halt before the staff room, knocking politely, they entered. The room was occupied with a few teachers and near the other end, in a cubicle sat the woman they were looking for. Hesitantly they went inside and Blue adjusted her glasses and conveyed a warm smile.

"I wanted a one on one session with you, starting with Hugh; will the rest of you step outside please?"

To Lack-2 the first session felt agonizingly long even though his watch told him only two minutes have passed, as the third minute reached to a close, Hugh came out with a happy grin on his face, he inclined his head to his classmate and the young trainer went in. Standing in front of Blue, who scrutinized him, he wished that he combed his hair more neatly this morning. Charming her did not work, experience told him so.

"Do you think you are a qualified trainer for the Pokedex?" she initialized their discussion "if so, why?"

Why?

 _Why?_

He certainly did not need a Pokedex.

"I want to travel the world and meet new pokemon and outstanding people like you Ms. Blue" he suavely stated.

"...Any other reason? Do you have a goal?"

Does he have a goal?

His gaze sharpened.

"Yes" he solemnly answered "I want to become an international police agent when I grow older. I look up to people like Steven Stone, Norman and Falkner who are doing their best to deal with their personal jobs and still have time for civil service. Although, I won't be diligent like them, my main work is will be in the policing field"

"Lack-2, your brutal honesty scares me..." Blue commented and took down notes. The child simply grinned and took his leave. The next session with Whi-2 went without a hitch; the girl diligently answered all her questions in a straightforward manner, this calmed the con artist down as Lack-2 was a bit annoying. She'll toss him over to Red, she decided, that idiot needed a headache to deal with, she mused with a savage gleam in her eyes.

Dawn of the same day

Nuvema Town

Professor Juniper's lab.

Ruby and Platina slid down Charizard's back and the older trainer recalled the dragon into a pokeball. The two had landed a ways off and after visiting the local Pokemon center and Mart to check the condition of their pokemon and purchase some needed merchandise, they scoped the area around the lab. Like Professor Oak's laboratory situated in Kanto, Juniper's lab was also in a residential area, although, it was built at a further distance. Platina made a little map of the area whilst Ruby mentally marked out escape routes, should a disaster occur. The sun had not come up yet and the dewy grass was soaking his shoes. Silently the duo crept towards the lab, keeping to the shadows and walls of houses. Silver had trained them well. After some ground, they alighted near the lab and crouched low near the hedge decorating the facility. Taking off the backpack, Ruby pulled out spy equipment and they fitted themselves, the noble took out her portable computer as well and contacted Emerald.

"Heya!" The short technician waved "need any help?"

"Yeah, thanks to your leader I didn't get any sleep! Whatever, we are at Professor Juniper's lab and I want the cameras malfunctioning in the next minute."

"Whoa slow down Ruby, I'm a genius but I can't do that."

"Well this is what Green wants from us! Your superior is ugly and ruthless!"

"...Did you say something Ruby?" Green's sinister tone replaced Emerald's one "Team constellate specializes in independent work, I'd like to know why you are contacting Emerald..."

His voice sent shivers down their spines.

"Sir...We are doing double duty, so I thought having Rald help us out will make our miserable lives easier" he answered in a defeated manner.

It took the strategy department around five minutes do disable all security measures in the laboratory.

"Thanks Rald."

"No problem" the blonde's last words were whispered "and if you need help, just call me." Beaming, he cut the connection off.

Getting up from his crouching position, the ruby eyed teenager put on a mask and after giving a few instructions to Platina, he moved to the side of the lab and used his Pokemon to punch a neat square shaped, man sized hole. His companion shook her head at his fastidiousness and gave a thumbs up as he traversed deeper into the lab.

"Jeez, it's really dark in here" Ruby held up a flashlight and studied his surroundings. The electrical hum of machines greeted him, and the white beam of light picked up computers, cabinets and shelves lining the walls. A note board was stuck with post-its and the teenager took some time to read the information relayed on it, one note caught his attention and he held up a little camera and took a picture of it. Footsteps echoing faintly on the grey floor, he inspected the facility, on a table, piled high with documents, a computer and a photograph, lay three Pokedexes, nearby the devices was a long rectangular box. The trainer pocketed two Pokedexes without second thought and unclasped the box next to it. Inside the cushioned interior were three pokeballs.

"Starters" he muttered "let's see, I have to take two of them...Question is which ones?"

Through the clear covering, he peered at the three pokemon who had also looked up inquisitively at the human who disturbed them. Red tinted eyes skimmed over Tepig, Snivy and Oshawott.

"...Tepig does not possess beauty...And judging by Black's Emboar...his evolutions are no better" a gloved hand gently extracted the grass pokemon and with sea otter-esque one, Ruby had a staring match. The determined little pokemon gazed at him with small, beady eyes.

"Senior...Please hurry up, the sun is coming out" his companion's voice floated through his earphones. Letting out an exhale, he picked the water pokemon up and shut the case. Thereafter he swept the torch around the room once more and made sure nothing else was disturbed. Nodding to himself, he exited the lab the same way he came in.

"Call Blue" he commanded "tell her we secured the Pokedexes and starters."

It was a bit past afternoon when Blue actually got her underlings' message. Fed up with trying to call her, the field agents sent her a message and she had neglected to view it due to her work. She sat in the staffroom, packing away everything...Since she won't be here tomorrow. The thought made her a bit despondent, working here was quite fun. Clasping her bag shut, she made her way outside and was pleasantly surprised to see her two targets waiting at the school gates. Seeing them sitting on a bench, she made her way towards them.

"Aren't you two going home?" she queried in a warm tone. "School has been dismissed."

"Yeah" Lack-2 answered "I offered to take Whi-2 home today but she won't leave without the Quilfish, speaking of him, he's still in class taking supplementary lessons from Professor Cheren."

"Oh, how hardworking"

Whi-2 agreed with Blue, her eyes sparkling with admiration.

"Say, do you two like music?"

"Yes/ Yes Ms. Blue" they both chorused.

"In that case...Wigglytuff, _sing_ for them please" her words turned soft.

"Huh?" was Lack-2's response as he struggled to stay awake; however, the Pokémon's hypnotic tones had already washed over both of them. With a blurred vision, he saw his classmate pitch forward and he held out his hands in order to catch her, holding her firmly, he tardily turned his head to his smiling teacher and his eyelids drooped shut. Before the two children fell to the floor, Blue instructed Wigglytuff to carry the boy whilst she dealt with Whi-2. Securing the girl on her back, the woman and her pokemon disappeared without a trace and reappeared in her hotel room. Once there, she began wiping traces of her existence and taking all her things with her, thankfully both Ruby and Platina had finished their preparations before they left for the mission this morning and only their respective luggage cases lay in their rooms. Taking out her phone, she looked at the time, and began pondering about her course of actions.

Calling Platina, she told the girl and Ruby to meet her at Anville train station, they were going to leave Unova by late afternoon today. Distinctly she heard him groaning about how sitting on Charizard for such a long duration was going to be bad for his skin. Ignoring him, she changed Whi-2's clothes and put on a casual dress on the girl, whilst Lack-2 was changed by her pokemon into a jeans and t-shirt. The two children were stripped of their visors, Xtransciever and pokeballs and these are put in with Blue's things. Finally she called out her Ditto, had it transform into an Abra and teleported out of the place, besides, she won't be able to fly carrying two unconscious children and three people's luggage.

Charizard flew in an amiable manner and on top of the fire dragon Ruby fidgeted. His partner sat calmly, almost elegantly and sipped tea from a flask, occasionally, she'd pick up her binoculars and peer through it, commenting about the landscape below or the Pokemon flying past them. If she saw something interesting, an expensive camera would flash and take pictures. The sky was blue and cloudless and the sun steadily trickled downwards, as mid-afternoon passed, the air began to cool down and with it the older male calmed down a bit, shuffling towards the beast's head, he ran a hand through its coarse fur. The duo was silent, their mission was done and because the hype died down, they were feeling rather tired. More than twenty four hours without sleep, he ruminated. Still, it was nothing compared to Silver, during one of his assignments, when he was tasked to steal Mewtwo from Team Rocket's lab, the adolescent had shown up with the Pokemon secured in a master ball. His appearance was so disheveled that Ruby had a hard time recognizing him. The red-head keeled over after delivering the pokemon to Blue and slept for one week straight afterwards. Concerned about his health, he was never again given such an arduous project to do.

They passed the outskirts of Mistaltron and entered a long and wide stretch of woodland. The atmosphere here was much cleaner than in the cities and mainland Unova. Platina still kept on doing what she doing except now she had no tea to sip. Taking out a water bottle, Ruby took a long gulp and glanced at the sky, it was imbued with orange and pink as the sun sunk westwards. Evening was going to set soon and at this altitude, it was getting cold. He shivered; at least his far saner junior had the foresight to bring a jacket. Suddenly Charizard began descending and he stretched, as the wings beat the ground, both he and Platina hopped off. Tucking the pokeball safely away they began walking to the station where Blue awaited.

* * *

His eyes fluttered open, where was he? Ah yes, sitting on the school bench flirting with Whi-2 as they waited for Quilfish...

Or not.

With a jolt, his body became rigid as he came to. He was dressed in strange clothes and was sitting on a wooden bench in what looked like a station platform. Next to him, Whi-2 leaned with uncharacteristic weight. She was still fast asleep. He half twisted in order to wake her up and in the process spied a lady with long brown tresses. Seeing her, he gritted his teeth furiously.

"What did you do to us? Where are we? Take us back home!" he growled with undiluted fury and put his arms around his classmate in a secure manner.

"It's not nice to talk to your older sister like that Lack-2" her tone was sickeningly sweet "we are going home don't worry" she leaned closer to him "if you make a fuss...I'll permanently damage your brain so sit tight till the train comes in." He trembled wordlessly and pulled Whi-2 closer to him. Blue checked her watch and a few moments later a train began coming in. She inwardly panicked, where were her co-workers? If they were any late, she'd have to board the train without them. As the pneumatic doors hissed open, Lack-2 trudged forward and dragged an unsteady Whi-2 with him. Blue followed after and just as the train was about to leave, two new occupants burst in through the doors. One was a black haired male and the other was a rather beautiful female with an appearance akin to a porcelain doll.

* * *

 **A/N** : And the deed is done. Like it people? Drop a review to tell me your thoughts/ask questions/give constructive criticism, it is all appreciated. Once again much thanks to Jack54311 for reviewing, it is food for the writer's soul. Read and enjoy!


	6. Chess master

**Chapter 6: Chess master**

The next day: Late afternoon

Kanto

Beneath Celadon city's game center

Their presence was suffocating. Lack-2 stood protectively in front of Whi-2 as they faced Blue and another male sporting a mop of black hair and whose fringes were sticking upright. They were in a small circular conference room and those two imposing adults were sitting in comfortable chairs, A third one remained vacant. Crimson irises looked at them in a somewhat kind and interested manner and the boy felt red hot with rage. Wherever they were, it was not a good place he concluded. Angrily he glared back at the two; the strained air in the room was broken when a third male walked in. On seeing him, the young trainer almost fainted with shock.

It was Green. World famous, professor Oak's grandson Green.

"These are the two new recruits Blue?" he quizzed and gave them a once over "what are their stats?"

"The boy is Lack-2 he's a mixture of Gold and Ruby and has awesome battling stats, Red can have him..."

Wait, Red...

Red

 _Red_

" _And he is RED! The youngest champion of Kantoooo!"_ The television announcer announced. Toddler Lack-2 clapped his hands in tune with the cheer and his eyes glazed with wonder. A champion, he wanted to become on as well, then he'll also have confetti rained down on him.

"Also" Blue continued "I'm taking Whi-2, she is a sweet child and it is my responsibility to take care of her...Sorry Green, no new members for you~"

Behind him, the girl hugged him tighter. He was finding it difficult to breath. Red's red eyes were still trained on him and he found it a bit infuriating.

"What are you staring at?" he scathed.

"Nothing" the adolescent replied in a kind manner and scratched the back of his head. "Come on, you two need to stop clinging to each other, I have to introduce the rest of the department to you." Saying this, he got up from the chair and went towards Lack-2 trying to coax him out. Instead, Red got a vicious punch for his efforts.

"First tell me where the hell I am!" the boy spat vehemently.

"You are in our headquarters; we are the organization responsible for wiping out Team Rocket off the face of the Poke-universe and the recent stealings of legendary pokemon and their information. You two have just been recruited as the newest members since both of you were slated to be Pokedex holders. Rest assured, you will get your dexes and starter pokemon shortly. My name is Green...You probably know that already and these are my co-workers Red, champion of Kanto, although he hardly does his proper work nowadays and Blue...A pesky woman."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'd advise you to go with your respective department heads; you need to get familiar with this place."

"...You think I'm just going to take this sitting down? I'm going to bust myself outta here and hand you people over to the POLICE!" Lack-2 bellowed and panted. At his outburst Green smirked.

"Fine, have fun trying to get past Red...A word of warning though. He'll probably wipe the floor with you while still half asleep, his pokemon are so well trained, they can hold their own against elite trainers without him commanding them. He's a kind individual; you will warm up to him for sure." Imparting these few sentences, the stoic individual left, Blue moved to Whi-2 and his friend let go of him to forlornly follow that trickster of a woman. Shoulders drooping with defeat, he too followed Red out of the little room and after a series of convoluted turns that steadily slanted upwards, they alighted in a large, chaotic room.

The room was empty.

Seating himself on a pool table. Red smiled at him. Lack-2 refused to let his guard down. As his new leader began talking, another individual whizzed into the room balancing a pool-stick on his shoulders.

"So this is our new recruit senior Red?" the black haired male winked at him "looks promising" the new trainer was getting dizzy, very dizzy. The person who walked in was Gold, a few years ago, this trainer had made headlines all over the universe for being the only one to best champions from two regions and now...now would be a good time to take a nap and wake up from this bizarre dream.

"DIA! A new MEMBER!" Someone else screeched and entered the chamber. Turning himself around to inspect the newcomer. Lack-2 fainted.

He outright fainted.

In the grinning boy's hands was the missing Light stone.

* * *

An incessant tapping resounded throughout the room, Crystal watched her leader with mild concern, for the past few days he has been on the computer typing away, doing research no doubt, she mused. Out of the three commanders, Green was the most diligent and intelligent. He did things with frightening accuracy and assurance and till date, they were not discovered. Picking up a broom, she began sweeping the dark wooden floor. The room's three adjacent walls were fitted with desks, a bank of computers and other electronic equipment, the fourth wall was lined with a humongous titanium bookshelf containing files, notes and thick books, this shelf was covered with sliding glass doors. Wires crisscrossed through the entire chamber and a movable white board was situated in the middle, acting like a partition. Before the white board, a couple of comfortable plush chairs and sofas were placed with an olive tinted glass coffee table in the middle. A few windows were placed around the room, but the light came from overhead ceiling fixtures, large floor lamps and from the computer screens. On the back wall, on top of a row of computers, an emerald banner depicting a chess piece was slightly swaying to an air conditioned breeze.

"Green..." a soft voice caught his attention "We have to check on the legendary Pokémon's condition" Pulling his headphones off, he eyed his underling tiredly. Yellow was clutching a sheaf of papers and after leafing through them, she extracted one and handed to him. After he skimmed through the document, a small groan escaped from him.

"I'm doing duty with Red? Great!"

Wearily he got off his office chair and glared at the energetic brunette who'd come to get him, together, the duo traversed a few corridors, fought off an over eager Gold and made their way to a large area. Green pulled out a keycard and swiped it, with a beep, it was confirmed and the doors to a hangar like area slid open. A din of Pokemon cries, howls and growls greeted the two and with a wide grin, Red broke off from his friend and stopped at a large cage suspended from the ceiling with thick chains, inside it twittered Zapdos, the bars were insulated with a foam like material and the bird flapped around in an artificial habitat. Tubes running into the cage suspended a permanent thundercloud over the Pokémon's head. Red shuffled closer and read off a small screen attached to the coop, it showed the thunder Pokémon's statistics, as expected, they were normal. Moving off, he went to another tube made of Perspex glass, floating inside a clear liquid was a bipedal, humanoid creature with a few feline features, its thick purple tail twitched when the trainer approached and as he took down the notes off the little screen, it opened its eyes.

Amethyst and luminous. The tail swished through the viscous fluid and smashed against the glass.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice

And Red retreated.

Over to another corner of the area, Green peered irritably into a dark cell, despite the floodlights lighting the area, he still could not see the pokemon inside it. The statistics were all normal but he wanted to observe the dark Pokemon with his own eyes. Bringing up his forefinger, he tapped the surface hard and in an instant, the black cloud condensed to a shadow pokemon with a white plume atop its head. A single bright blue eye stared at him in an incensed manner. Man and beast glared at each other for a while and when the brown haired male left, the cell was again a flood of darkness. Moving across grey marble, he alighted to a gigantic encasement filled with rocky terrain and lava. A red plated Pokemon lumbered across and the heat made Green fan himself, stealing a glance at the digital green numbers and words, he quickly escaped. Near the back of the room, he met up with Red who was gazing at a small Pokemon whose head vaguely resembled a star. Jirachi, the wish Pokemon.

"Regretting something?" Green strode to his best friend and checked the little creature's condition.

The black haired trainer folded his arms behind his head and smiled.

"Nah" he replied, "just worried about the new recruits, seems like my one hates me."

"At the end of the week, you'll get sick from the amount of people worshipping you" Saying this, the spiky haired trainer walked back and exited the room. Red followed lazily, sweeping his gaze around the storage area and the various legendries contained within. Swiping his key-card, he exited the room and ambled to his own.

Evening

Celadon City

Dex Criminal's main base

When he opened his eyes, he quickly shut them again. There were three males were hovering over him, one had gold irises, the other blue and the third's one was brown. This was a nightmare, what did he eat for lunch anyway, he was used to girls flocking around him not boys...Wait, where was he?

Cautiously, Lack-2 cracked his eyelids open again, yep, he was not dreaming, the trio in front of him gave him blinding grins and his mood soured considerably. Check: He was kidnapped by this gorgeous teacher who came in as a temporary lecturer, he and Whi-2 had to endure a terribly frightening and lengthy journey all the way to Kanto, was it? He stood before world famous figures, who also doubled as notorious criminals, and was sorted into some department and after witnessing that this organization were made up of the 'missing Pokedex holders' he fainted from shock.

Curse the Pokedex; he did not want to be a holder of one!

Angrily he sat up and looked around.

"Will one of you tell me where I am?"

"Your bedroom" the eldest male answered "pretty neat huh? Right now it's a bit bleak, but you can spice it up however you want, mine has posters of famous idols around the Hoenn region." he grinned.

True, the bedroom was spacious and dominated by a queen sized bed which he currently lay on. The walls were painted a pleasant shade of blue, there was a window, but no light came through it. Overhead, a fancy chandelier illuminated his surroundings.

"I meant the location" he hissed "the spiky haired dude told me this place was a base of some sort...I get it, now where in Zekrom's name AM I?

"Kanto, in Celadon city, underneath the game center. This was Team Rocket's old hideout and now, since they are gone, we are using it." A new voice entered the scene and Lack-2, normally a collected individual wanted to smash his face in once more. The red eyed man simply smiled and placed several items on the fuming boy's bed. With alarm, he noticed it was an azure colored Pokedex and a pokeball.

"What should I do with these?" he asked with a defeated sigh although he already knew the answers.

"Be my underling of course, we have jobs to do. Come on; let's have a friendly pokemon match."

Friendly pokemon match?

Friendly pokemon match with a criminal?

No thanks!

"Why are you doing this? What is your purpose?" Lack-2 voice rose in volume "why are you people, a famous Champion, researcher and..." he broke off, what did Blue do anyway? "...model... banding together and wreaking havoc?"

"Uh buddy, we are NOT wreaking havoc" Gold put in.

"I was bored" came Red's reply "So I roped Green and Blue into starting this organization"

So he was the real leader...

He trembled in rage.

"Bored? BORED WERE YOU? Oh really? I suppose it's fun to kidnap people and force them to join your organization? I bet the ones working under you hate your GUTS!" he gripped the bed sheets in frustration.

The screaming boy quailed when the other males apart from Red began laughing.

"We all look up to senior Red" added the blue eyed, chubby teenager "he's the kindest and strongest trainer we've ever came across."

Lack-2 didn't understand, these people were insane, he thought, maybe the pesky woman brainwashed them.

"I was bored of being on the pinnacle" The young man continued "once you reach the top, there is no other way except going down, it's lonely being up there you know, no one...No one in a few years could best me and I on the other hand was becoming proud and arrogant of my skills. I was losing sight of what I wanted to be. Yes I wanted to be a champion and I had attained it with my skills, hardship and training. Once I took the mantle up, everything became hollow, trainers challenged me but none could beat me, I dominated two regions, budding trainers from Hoenn were shipped to Kanto in order to face me, yet they too failed. I saw defeat in their eyes and in time, my souls mirrored their own. So I ditched my work and became something else"

"Your touching speech does not justify your actions. You could've gone to civil service."

"True, but my, no, our goal is to create a world of equality..." he scratched his head sheepishly "I sound like one of _them_ don't I? Anyway, I want a place where there every trainer can come across hurdles and surpass them with ease and in turn, champions, people like me, won't have to go through the pain of loneliness and suffer because of it. You say I could do public service but I was basically jailed in the Pokemon league, I was not allowed to go out."

The new addition to the organization deflated, he too knew the pain of being lonely, the sting of being a prodigy. Reaching out a hand, he took the pokeball and released the creature inside it. Slowly, his hand inched towards the Pokedex and he looked at the information of his new partner. The entry read as follows:

Oshawott: The scalchop on its stomach is made from the same element as claws. It detaches the scalchop for use as a blade. The water pokemon sniffed around the room and after some time, it sat stiffly next to him. Red put another object next to him; this one looked like a polishing stone.

"For Oshawott" he clarified "he needs to sharpen and keep his scalchop in tip-top condition. When you are feeling better, come to Execution's room, I'll introduce the family to you." saying this, the occupants in the room took their leave.

Family...Huh?

Whi-2 wanted to cry and she did. Blue held her in a warm embrace as the young girl's tears leaked out of her eyes and stained everything. This was unfair, she had a perfectly comfortable life and the sudden shock of losing it all was a bit too much to handle.

"Why did you do this Ms. Blue?" she sobbed.

The woman squeezed her comfortingly; at least her kidnapper was a nice person.

"We need talented people like you" The beautiful lady soothed "Whi-2 I know you are angry, sad and confused, but trust me, the life of a Pokedex holder is not always pleasant, you get embroiled with criminal organizations which, mark my words, are far more sinister than our own." The department head reached for a tissue and began wiping the young girl's tears away "When I was very young, around five years old, my adopted brother, Silver and I were kidnapped by this group called Team Rocket. The first thing they did was to separate Silver from me, he was only two years old. Thereafter, to break me and prevent me from escaping, they used bird pokemon and...The experience was too horrible. I was absolutely terrified of flying types for a long, long time, of course I mastered that fear and when I joined Red and Green to make this organization, the first thing they did was to get rid of Team Rocket. These might sound like excuses, but I hope you understand my point of view."

The new recruit had stopped crying.

"Then why are you targeting the legendary pokemon?"

"To stop them from falling into other evil hands of course. We also do research on them, how they affect the world, their origins and habitats. If you want, I can show you where they are kept."

This made the girl smile and Blue eased off the bed.

"I have a few presents for you" she beamed "be right back."

Sitting on her bed, the young girl heaved a sigh. Almost twenty four hours have passed since she was whisked away from Unova, her thoughts began straying to her mother, was she doing okay? Squeezing her eyes shut, Whi-2 briefly envisioned her room, her flat screen television and gaming systems (which were strewn on the floor), her study table placed in the corner and all the little pictures and posters she put up on her walls. An unfamiliar ache settled itself in her chest and slowly, her ruminations turned to Hugh and she wondered what the hot headed, spiky haired trainer was currently doing, no doubt shouting and screaming and looking for his missing classmates. Unlike her, Hugh was an open fire, poke him a bit and he roars.

Her ponderings came to a halt when Blue re-entered the room. In her hands were a rose tinted Pokedex and a pokeball. The elder woman released the pokemon inside it, Snivy, a small grass snake type pokemon with a cream colored underbelly, after staring at her with unexpressive eyes, it hopped on the bed and snuggled against her. Taking the Pokedex, she read its entry and smiled at her superior.

"I hope you have a pleasant life here Whi-2, if you ever need anything, or if Lack-2 or Gold tires to flirt with you or makes you cry, tell me and I'll show them hell."

She nodded, her mixed emotions preventing speech.

* * *

Night

Unknown Region

Police headquarters

"He's still not back?" a voice boomed and Steven huffed in mild irritation, next to him Looker fidgeted in his seat.

"No Sir...I messed up my duties in Castelia, the organization took the Dragon stone from me and therefore he stayed behind to clear things up"

"So he is still in Castelia?" The man, oblivious of everyone's open disgust of slovenly manners, put his boots on the table and crossed his arms over a muscular chest.

"Most likely" the Hoenn champion replied, he was aware of Cynthia's cold gaze on him.

"Calm down" another low tone implored "out of all of us, he is the most relentless, let him do whatever he wan-"

"WHATEVER HE WANTS?! The police should thrive on discipline, not on ideas and spontaneous acts of work; we need to know what that moron is doing!"

The International police thrive on discipline? Funny. Some of the members' eyes drifted to Norman and Volkner. The blonde was almost falling off his seat due to sheer boredom and the black-haired man was busy staring into his Poke Navigator, eyes glued to the little screen, even if he showed scorn of his son's chosen career, the gym leader would watch the recorded pokemon contests whenever he had free time, apparently, free time also consisted of meetings which decided the safety of the world.

"That reminds me, the person who managed to dupe me reminded me a lot of Ruby" at Steven's sentence the teenager's father looked up and put his device away.

"Impossible, the night Rayquayza was stolen, he was at home, watching television...Also I find it offensive that you are comparing my son to a criminal."

"I did not say that," the steel haired adolescent countered "I was simply pointing out the similarity in their personalities, besides; obviously the thief was faking it..."

Murmurs were heard in the room.

"Did Red come back to his position?" This time, Cynthia posed a question, just as she started speaking again, a messenger knocked on the door, entered and deposited a sheaf of papers on the table and burly man in the room snatched it up, scrutinized the documents and snorted.

"Obviously the idiot didn't come back, he hates the place and more importantly look what I found." He held up two papers and photographs of a boy and girl "Slated to be Dex holders, they were kidnapped yesterday after school; we got this information just now. There have been a lot of Pokedex holders missing no? Shuffling the papers, he held up a photo of Gold, and a blurry image of Black.

"What are you thinking?" Norman's pupils shrank in anger as he eyed his superior.

"Keep a watch on your son; talented Pokemon trainers are being kidnapped."

"You don't have to worry about Ruby nor Sapphire, they are capable trainers and can hold their own," the black haired gym leader rose from his seat "I'll take my leave, if I need to know anything else, call me or leave a message." Head held high, Norman vacated the area.

"...Anyway, I want to process an application for a new member" Sinnoh's champion stated and handed over a file to the male sitting opposite her.

"Misty?" his tone was inquisitive, "water gym leader from Cerulean City, Kanto...I guess the more people we have, the better we can do our job...Volkner, don't sleep!"

The man lazily yawned in response.

"Alright, meeting dismissed" Cynthia decreed "and Steven" the young champion flinched "from now on, we'll be doing our tasks together, seems like you have forgotten some...basics."

At her words, his heart plunged in his stomach. Amidst scraping chairs and electronic beeps, the rest of the people left the chamber. In the empty room, against a high shelf on the wall a single pokemon shifted inside his ball.

The horn coming out of his forehead glowed bright against the ebony darkness.

* * *

 **A/N** : To clear some things up: Black and White are older than the Sinnoh trio. As it stands, Lack-2 and Whi-2 are the youngest with Dia, Platina and Pearl being older than them. Black and White are about the same age as Saph and Ruby.

Much thanks to Jack54311 and fluffandrows57 for reviewing my story, your comment of Ruby being fabulous cracked me up :). And here is another chapter, hopefully this answers some questions. Don't be shy to leave a review.


	7. Planning and their execution

**Chapter 7: Planning and their execution**

Morning

Kanto

Pallet Town

"Ahhhhh" Red stretched and inhaled deeply, "nice to be back home after so long" he commented in a content manner, after stroking his aerodactyl's head a few times he recalled the Pokemon back inside a capsule and took a look around the quaint hamlet. Although it was small, this area enjoyed great popularity since Professor Oak and the current reigning champion both hailed from this town. Sneakers crunched grass underfoot as both Green and his black haired friend entered the vicinity. Their sight was set to the laboratory situated on the opposite outskirts of the town. With a determined gaze, Green strode first whilst Red ambled behind. With a smile on his face and arms folded behind his back, he walked in taking in the sights. A few rows of red tiled homes and a single paved path ran in the middle, taking the route, he came across the facility, glass doors slid open, and he observed his brown haired companion already in a heated discussion with his grandfather. Despite being quite old, he still dominated the research field and back in the days, he was a formidable Pokemon trainer as well. Glancing at the screens and shelves filled with Pokemon, statistics and other research, he made it all the way to the back and greeted the elderly professor.

"Good morning Professor Oak, nice day isn't it?"

"I need information on Mewtwo and Mew" Green insisted, "grandfather, please give them to me."

"Green..." the elder wearily sighed and sat on a worn armchair, he reached for a steaming mug of coffee which was placed on his desk, after taking a lengthy sip of the scalding liquid, he exhaled once more and eyed the duo who came to visit.

"Red...For Mew's sake could you two please stop what you two have started? Kidnapping...Who in their right mind kidnaps children Green?! They had a bright career before them and leave it up to you two to ruin it! You people can steal legendries, information, research, important artifacts belonging to the creation trio...Whatever you like and want but seriously, forcing them against their will in your convoluted little world is going too far! You will pay for this, both of you, and you will pay dearly." Tired eyes peered sternly at the two young men who were both looking at the floor in shame. The whirring of computers and drone of machines were suddenly very loud in their ears.

"I just want data on Mewtwo and Mew, I... We have a goal we want to accomplish, nothing will deter us. I don't regret the path I've taken Grandpa and neither has Red, in a few days the children will warm up."

"You were never the one to listen were you? Still arrogant. Anyway, if you still contribute to the research of Pokemon and how to better understand them and release this information to the general public and interested trainers, I'll support you." Getting up, he went to an ancient looking portable computer and booted it up. After what seemed like an eternity, Oak stuck a flash drive into one of the ports and began copying it to the drive. Green crossed the floor to a bookcase situated right at the back of the room and skimmed through some of the titles, he took down a few tomes and returned, his Grandfather handed the flash drive to him and flashed an exhausted smile.

"Did you visit Daisy?" he asked.

"No, I don't have time today" the adolescent replied in a distracted manner "more importantly...You are overworking yourself again, get rest or you will ruin your health."

"I'd probably get a good night's sleep if the news stopped showing me your organization's atrocious deeds" the man chuckled "Red, are you also busy?"

"Yes Professor, we'll visit again someday and hopefully stay by for lunch" waving, the ruby eyed male followed his friend out the door. Seeing them leave, Oak set the mug down closed his eyes and uttered a slight groan. It echoed around the empty laboratory.

* * *

Late morning

Celadon city

Dex Criminal's hideout, Execution's room

"Oshawott use Tackle" The water pokemon ran on little feet and aimed at its opponent grinning across the room, as it tried to slam it, the creature did a back flip and sent it tumbling back to its trainer. Lack-2 gritted his teeth and glanced at Gold who was busy playing pool with a couple of his other Pokemon and at the same time, flirting with a dark blue haired girl who was glaring at him. Forcing his attention to his pokemon, he was given an unpleasant surprise when Oshawott lay at his feet panting and drained of energy, he was unable to battle even though he hadn't fainted.

False swipe, he thought and eyed the mauve monkey with distaste. Ambipom showed teeth and nimbly swung to his trainer; said person removed his goggles and turned to Lack-2 with a wide, mischievous smile.

"If this is how you are going to treat your new junior Gold, then I won't complain if he decides to break a few of your teeth" Crystal hissed from her position.

"Relax" he drawled, "by the way Crystal, you look really pretty today, wanna go on a date?" ignoring the gaping Lack-2 he winked at his friend, red faced, the female trainer kicked him and he soared across the room, colliding with Sapphire's sand bag along the way, holding his stomach, he groaned.

"Jeez super strict woman! Can't you take a joke?!" Huffing, she glowered at him then looked at Lack-2, imparting a small smile at the child trainer, she left the chamber. Now it was only him and Gold in the room. Seeing the older male in pain, he first sprayed oshawott down with a potion, recalled his partner and swaggered to his senior with hands deep inside his pockets and a smug grin.

"I think we're going to be best friends senior Gold" he commented and helped the adolescent up. Gold took off his peak cap and ran a hand through his short messy hair and upon hearing Lack-2's words he smirked with understanding, beckoning the youngster over to his prized pool table, the duo began a game and a conversation consisting of how many girls and woman they managed to woo. About an hour later, Sapphire entered to see the newbie and Gold sitting in a corner of the room, near the suit of rusting armor. They were playing cards and snickering in a disturbing manner.

"Is Red back?" she called over her shoulder and released her blaziken.

"Nope" floated the reply "why don't you ask prissy boy to help you train for now?"

"Ruby's busy doing his nails or something, says he's not in the mood to get his clothes sweaty." Turning around, she made her way to the sand bag and started training with her pokemon; the loud thumps prompted Lack-2 to look at her in slight awe.

"That's Sapphire" Gold explained with his eyes still on his cards, he tried to sneak a glance at ambipom's cards but the Pokemon held it out of reach, "she is the only female trainer in our department and she packs a punch, word of warning, don't try anything with her, she's worse than Crystal when it comes to hitting people and Arceus forbid, she might rework you facial structure if she feels like it. I call her Cave-gal from time to time...And hah! I win!"

The young boy stared in shock, this person was sneaky, he saw Gold steal a knowing glance with his ambipom.

"You cheated or your ambipom did" Lack-2 accused and threw his cards "not cool."

"The universe does not spin on cool, you have to grab opportunities when they present it to you...hey Dia, give me a rice-ball I'm starving." A chubby teenager had walked it whilst eating something and as he was about to head to one of the computers, his senior called him, with an easygoing smile on his face; the youth ambled towards them and began dishing out food from the small backpack. Lack-2 was showered with a rice-ball, a few snacks, a cake, some poffins and Pokeblocks and before long, the three of them had begun to eat right there on the floor, the newest member scrutinized his elders sharply, there was no strain amongst them and as expected the teenager referred to Gold with respect, around mid-afternoon when the streaming sunlight and full stomachs were making the three males a bit sleepy, Sapphire stalked to them and sat down, stretching her legs.

"He's still not back" she grumbled, "senior Gold, please spar with me for a whi-" unfortunately, she did not get to finish her sentence as Black had just bowled in screaming something incomprehensible, picking an empty instant noodles cup up, the Hoenn trainer hurled it at him, it struck him squarely on his head and he managed to calm down.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked with barely contained wrath.

"Musharna" he added inattentively "can't find my pokemon, I need it to eat my dreams." Lack-2 sputtered out the soda he was drinking.

 _What?_

"It's probably by White; she is currently in Strategy's room sorting out some documents Green faxed over." Black was already running out the door before she managed to complete her sentences.

"And there he goes again..." Diamond finished.

"He uses his pokemon to...to eat his dreams? How is that even possible? He's not asleep!" Lack-2, bewildered beyond belief had put his drink down and was cleaning up the stains on his shirt.

"Don't know how it works, but it does." Gold answered "Black can't think straight unless he's got musharna sucking his extra brain waves in, seems like White is the same. Both of them can work for extremely long periods of time without tiring, we send him on missions which require long hours and precision, once his head is empty, his thought process go on par with Green's...And that is saying something."

"What is our department's...Execution's job anyway? We don't kill anything do we?" The thought made the newbie shudder and his eyes were drawn to the large banner and the two crossed swords depicted on it.

"Yeah...we put an end to all the legendries we capture" Gold replied in a remorseless tone. Lack-2's entire body petrified and he peeked at the other faces around him to see if his senior was perhaps joking, Sapphire had an emotionless look on her somewhat pretty face and Diamond was snacking on berries along with his munchlax.

"You...You _kill_ pokemon...Legendary pokemon...How...HOW COULD YOU!" Jumping up to his feet, the boy howled angrily "they balance the fate of the world! Time, space and everything exist because they govern it...Wha-"

"Pipe down kid" Gold picked his ear in an apathetic manner "I was making a joke! Sheesh, well, you passed the first criteria anyway." his irises slid to the Sinnoh trainer who was spacing out "we can definitely agree Dia is the black sheep amongst us."

Understandably, Lack-2 was confused; nevertheless he gingerly sat down on the floor again.

"What I was saying, is that all of us have one trait in common...well except Diamond here, we are all hotheaded" the eldest trainer in the room proudly stated and Sapphire, mortified, blushed a bit. "We all possess a special ability to get riled up and let our pokemon do the talkin-"

"Our team leader does not look like someone who flies into a rage easily" Lack-2 cut in.

"Once upon a time, when he was around your age, senior Red was also hot-blooded, seems like the cooled down a lot. Anyway, as I was saying, we represent the public image of our organization; we capture legendary pokemon and keep them in a special holding cell situated deep inside the base. Execution basically does most of the work here and as you noticed" he pointed to the large windows "this room is situated above ground, hence the natural light. We have to go out a lot and sometimes we are summoned in emergencies so, instead of having to navigate through a maze, we can directly leave the base through our room."

The neophyte nodded in understanding.

"Is capturing legendries our only job?" he queried.

"Nope" Saph answered this time "we also battle and provide cover in case one of our other team mates needs help. We fight off annoying trainers and the police if they arrive on the scene. Most of the time we work with different trainers from the other departments. Did you see Crystal? The woman with blue hair? Even though she is not in our team, she's the best Pokemon capturer out there, if we are having trouble, she comes in. Although we are sorted into separate departments, ultimately we end up working together...Ah! Senior Red, you are finally back! What took you so long?"

"Hi guys, uh, let's see...Green dragged me all the way to Cerulean cave to inspect something." the trainer announced and the others gaped at him, his clothes were slashed in several places and one of the wounds on his face was dribbling blood. Noticing the strange looks, he wiped his face with wrist, the band encircling his arm soaking up the blood.

"Give Lack-2 a tour of the base, seems like he is a bit more comfortable with us today" he smiled and Gold trying to ease the tense atmosphere hugged the boy to him and exclaimed that he was going to take the youngster as an apprentice.

"Nice, hey Saph, did you ask Green already?" the girl grumbled a negative response "you should ask him before he decides to train someone else."

The girl inclined her head and got up. The rest of the posse also lifted themselves up and was about to leave the room when Diamond was recalled, he shuffled back and the others were waved away. Shutting the doors the teenager approached nervously, when his leader had entered, Dia had become slightly afraid, wherever Red had gone, it was a dangerous place.

"Say, do you want me to train you?" Red asked, he was taking off his tattered jacket and trying to clean himself up, a box of tissues was on the table and several crumpled, red pigmented pieces lay at his feet.

It took a few minutes for the adorable glutton to process what his commander had proposed.

"But...Saph is going to get mad at me..." he pointed out and nibbled on a biscuit, his blue eyes were glazed over, it was a dream come true.

"Saph will only be able to unlock her full potential with Green, believe it or not, he's adept in martial arts, since she practices as well and I thought Green would be a perfect teacher for her."

"I'd be honored Mister Red...are you hungry?"

The metallic doors hissed open and Whi-2 cast a shy look at her senior. The girl looked sculpted out of marble, pale skin covered with an obviously expensive dress reaching her knees. Ring's decorated slim fingers and after adjusting the pink scarf around her neck, she elegantly waltzed in the hanger-esque area. Whi-2 followed nervously and gasped. In containers, tubes and cages were the missing legendary Pokemon the news kept reporting about. She had concluded these creatures were being mishandled but it seems as if their natural habitat was perfectly reconstructed in their holding cells. Her eyes almost popped out when she saw a blizzard raging in one of the glass prisons and a blue, long tailed bird merrily flapping about inside it. The duo continued to walk around the area in a leisurely pace and she keenly surveyed the Pokemon. Moving further, she saw her classmate and a few people standing around a circular tube and made her way there.

Lack-2 was at a loss for words. When Gold brought him to this place, he did not know what to expect but certainly not _this_. The mythical Pokemon seemed absolutely happy in their synthetic environments. His two seniors dragged him over to the pride of the holding cell and when he saw the purple Pokemon, his legs felt weak. It had never crossed his flirtatious mind that these criminals would have Mewtwo in their possession.

His mind was boggled.

He turned around on hearing footsteps and beheld Whi-2 bouncing over with a smile on her face.

 _She's already cozy with them, and here I am trying my best to put up a cheerful facade...Dear Reshiram, I HATE these people._

"Is this the real Pokemon? The one from Cerulean cave?" he quizzed.

"No, we managed to get a few cells from him; Mewtwo here is a clone of the original clone of Mew. Meaning he is a copy of the Mewtwo residing in Cerulean cave and that Pokemon is made from the DNA of Mew, Team Rocket was responsible for the original one by the way. Green's a genius..." Gold tapped a finger and the Pokemon opened its eyes and glared angrily.

"There...there is nothing wrong with him right?" next to Lack-2, Whi-2's trembling voice enquired.

"He's perfect!" The older trainer exclaimed and a resounding thump alerted the group to Mewtwo smashing his thick tail on the glass.

"...Except for the anger management issues..."

"Can we get a move on?" Lack-2 said and retreated from the wrathful creature "this place is making me dizzy" taking out his phone, which was another gift from his leader, he checked the time and stalked off to the entrance. "I want to see the rest of the place."

Green scowled when the merry group, including Whi-2 and Platina, burst into his room, chattering like zubats in a cave, they swept around the room, peered here and there and like a whirlwind, they left. Next they stepped in Constellate's room and Lack-2 immediately appreciated the soft lighting and lavish indoor decoration in the chamber. He spied a black haired youth fast asleep on one of the cream colored leather sofas and with a yell, Sapphire vaulted over and smacked him awake. With a moan, the teenager got up and rubbed his eyes and lethargically muttered a greeting.

"I'm Ruby" he mumbled, "and I need my beauty sleep, it's good for the skin" imparting this snippet of useless advice, he tried to lumber off towards his bedroom, alas, his female friend yanked him back by pulling on to his cap, in doing so, the white furred hat came off and his hair was parted haphazardly. The two new member's eyes were invariably drawn to the large, rather ugly scar blemishing his forehead; it was at odds with his handsome appearance. Now fully awake, the youth snatched his hat back and fixed it firmly on his head.

"Don't pull my cap off again" he stated in a heated manner.

The makeshift team dispersed and Whi-2 saw Gold going down to a platform situated in the middle of the spacious room. Ruby and Sapphire were sitting on another couch situated near a screen, the duo had started to bicker and play games. Platina disappeared to who knows where and having nothing to do, she went over to Lack-2 who was furiously typing on his phone, as she approached, he spun around and stowed his gadget away with a coy smile on his face.

"What were you doing?"

"You senior, Platina looks like a doll, I was just taking down some notes and pictures" he grinned.

"Oh..."

He noticed her dispirited response.

"Missing home?" he inquired with a somber tone.

"Yeah..." she dragged her sneakers on the laminated floor "but Ms. Blue is a really nice person" she beamed "she treats me like a younger sister."

"Seriously, that trickster of a woman?...I'd stay far away from her if I were you, it's thanks to her we are in this mess in the first place...well whatever, at least I got apprenticed to a famous trainer." he puffed out his chest and deflated seconds after when Blue strode in the room, he frowned and took in her appearance, she was wearing a small white hat atop her long luxurious locks.

"Is Silver here?" she demanded and from the sunken platform, a male, about Gold's age came up. Lack-2 noticed his shoulder length red hair was hiding a gaunt and sallow face.

"You needed me sis?"

"Yes I needed you" she stepped closer to him and inspected his appearance with a critical eye, "where are you situated?"

"An island in Unova..." he trailed off when Blue's eyes widened in disbelief.

"No wonder you look like this" she hissed "I'm going to give Green a piece of my mind! What is he sending you there for? You are part of _my_ team!" Fuming, she turned her heel and marched off, tossing back her hair.

"..." Gold stared at his best friend.

"If you don't have anything to say Gold, I'm going to bed."

"...I'm going to break all of your Proteam Omega DVD's..." En route to his personal room, Silver twitched and stilled for a moment, then promptly vanished from the scene.

* * *

Middle of the night

Kanto

Dex criminal's hideout, Diamond's room.

He couldn't sleep; instead he stared at his ceiling taking in the countless luminous diamonds decorating it. Red's proposal still rang in his mind. Dia knew he was different from the others; he was slow whilst all his other team mates were frighteningly fast. Maybe that's why his commander approached him...He was dragging the team down. Uncomfortably, the teenager shifted under his duvet and finally threw it off; he lay on the bed shivering with only his morbid ruminations to keep him company. If he was slowing them down, why doesn't Red transfer him to another department? He thought for a while and decided he won't do very well either. Strategy was all about brains, quick reflexes and understanding whilst Constellate was for those who could quickly adapt to bizarre situations and were capable of disguising and thinking on the fly...

He could not do any of those either.

The first time he beheld Red, he was awed. The older trainer had just helped him out of a sticky situation, (he was trying to catch a pokemon and almost fell off a cliff) and since then, he was worshipped. A few months following the event, the trainer had again visited him and asked him to join their organization. Giddy with pride and pleasure, he accepted it without second thought, besides his best friends was also joining. The problem started after Red claimed him, he was the weakest in the team and his seniors had comforted him with the knowledge that he was the youngest. When Black was recruited, his insecurities had popped up once more. He often talked to Pearl and Platina, but they did not comprehend his dilemma. Sure Pearl would train with him and give him advice, Platina would present him with the latest training equipment yet...Yet he was still not on par with them. The only thing he could do well was cook and he found solace in it. Strangely he never picked up animosity from his companions and over the years, Red had begun to give him special attention. This action from his idolized leader both flattered and humiliated him.

He turned and tossed in his bed, curling up into a little ball.

Just as he was about to drift off to sleep, his Poketch, situated on the bed stand rang out a ditty. Sluggishly he fumbled for it and brought it closer to his face...

Nice, a meeting in the middle of the night requested by none other than...than his leader...

His leader...

Quickly scrambling up, he put on his clothes, threw on a jacket and stumbled out in the corridor; he could see the others exiting their rooms, some sporting bedraggled looks. On the far end, the new member floundered around in a haze of confusion. As Gold came out of his room, he grabbed the confounded trainer and they all proceeded to rush to their base chamber. They poured in and occupied various positions inside. The amber eyed trainer still kept a firm grip on his self-proclaimed student.

"Sorry to call you out in the middle of the night...Green has informed me some legendries need to be captured..."

His fog of confusion melted away at those words and he stiffened and stood to attention, the other members do not look baffled so they must be used to this. Lack-2 wondered if he was going to be dispatched as well, a seed of confidence bloomed in his chest, seems like he'll be out of here sooner than he thought.

Red picked a small remote up and pressed a button. From a long rectangular opening overhead, a huge screen descended, it beeped to life and showed a map of Johto and a few places were marked with a pulsating letter X. The department head pointed to a marker situated in the middle of the sea, next to what appeared to be whirlpools and spoke:

"Whirl Islands, I want Gold, Crystal and Black there. Your task is to capture Lugia." A picture of the pokemon flashed on screen, "you'll probably have to dive in the sea so take water types with you and beware, Lugia is extremely powerful and it can control the weather...Legends says he can conjure up storms lasting forty days...so I sent Crystal along, she'll make short work of the capture process...hopefully" he chuckled in an idiotic manner. "Next," moved his hands and tapped on an X flashing over a tower "Diamond, Sapphire and White will be going to the Bell tower, formerly known as the Tin tower to catch Ho-oh. Since the bird Pokemon needs to be summoned, White will be given the Rainbow wing and Clear bell by Team S to summon it, Dia and Saph has to capture it when it appears."

He took a step back and pressed another button on the remote and in response; a different map was laid out on the screen.

"Finally, and since Ruby urgently needs to visit his parents, he and I will first go to Hoenn and then to the Ilex in Johto forest to capture Celebi, who, due to the data cracked by Emerald, is known to have been visiting its shrine in recent days. If we don't get him now...Well it's going to take another long spell for him to appear. Is everyone clear on their tasks?"

Muted replies were heard throughout the room.

"Good, we leave before dawn, get ready, pack your things and snatch as much sleep as you can." The ruby eyed trainer called out to the dispersing crowd. Lack-2 found himself being hauled by Gold and he followed mindlessly, seems like his hope of escaping this place had just been crushed.

Back in his room, Dia began sorting out clothes and equipment and stuffing them in a little backpack. He was exhausted. Zipping up his bag, his eyes drifted towards a shelf displaying toys from his favorite animation. Getting up from the carpet, he took them down and crawled on the bed.

He spent the rest of the night playing with those figurines.

* * *

 **A/N** : And here is another chapter, please enjoy. Much thanks to Jack54311 for reviewing. Virtual tacos to you...do you even like tacos? Anyway, read and review. It makes me happy. And feel free to ask any questions, I'll answer them without spoiling the story as much as possible.


	8. Victini is for victory

**Chapter 8: Victini is for victory**

Middle of the night

Celadon city

Hideout, Gold's room

As soon as he got back from the surprise meeting, Gold got to work, opening his closet, he dragged his backpack out and began to stuff it with equipment, medicine and clothes.

"Let's see...Whirl Islands" he muttered to himself, "I'm going to need diving equipment" getting up, he started rummaging around cupboards, shelves, the closet and underneath his bed searching for what he needed. Not one to take care of things, Gold's room was a mess. His table was littered with snack wrappers alongside books and maps. The mat on the floor housed all his dirty clothing, which he kept on telling himself to wash, his bed sheets were crumpled an looked like they could also do with a spell to the cleaners. In this haphazard environment, the trainer kept on hunting, unearthing more trash in his wake. Ambipom, the mischievous monkey, had erupted from its pokeball to help his partner. Instead of making progress, the creature merely distributed the mess more evenly around the room. Crawling out from underneath his bed, the black haired trainer held up the sophisticated breathing device in a victorious manner, dumping it in his bag, he got up and booted up his laptop, despite what people though, Gold actually took the time and energy to plan his heists...or else Crystal will break his leg. Literally. Squinting at the screen, he brought out a map and began charting a course; thereafter he checked his pokemon stats and decided which ones to use. A few minutes later, several messages from fellow trainers came in, all informing him of their choice of Pokemon, assembling these on a data sheet; he sent the document to Crystal.

"Someone's gotta work on those cards..."

Wearily he checked the time, the clock's hand pointed to five. Shutting down the laptop, he dived into his bed and tried to snatch some sleep before setting off for work.

Dawn, half past six in the morning

Celadon city

Dex criminal's base, Execution's gathering room.

As expected, Red was the first to enter the empty room, he switched on the lights, grabbed a stool and sat near the pool table and yawned. Trust Green to make life difficult, a man needs his sleep! Wiping away stray tears he waited for five minutes before getting bored, letting down the huge screen from the ceiling, he switched on and began watching a drama, with his eyes stuck to the television, he failed to notice Diamond entering the room. The boy pulled his cap low over his eyes and buttoned up his blue jacket tightly. Giving his engrossed leader a wide berth, he discreetly snuck around Red and sat down on the other side of the table on a chair of his own. Feeling slightly nervous, he reached inside his pockets, brought out a berry and nibbled on it. Red's Pikachu had bounded off his trainer's head to get his fair share of snacks and when Dia quietly handed over a poffin, he sort of understood, there was something bothering the trainer. Cheeks sparking, he aimed his beady little eyes at his master and gave the trainer a good jolt.

"Ouch! Pika!" he whirled around "do you hav...Hey Diamond, you're early today."

"Senior Red" the blue eyed teenager inclined his head respectfully; he was dreading what his leader might ask.

"So..."

 _Here it comes_

"Do you accept my offer to train you?"

"...I don't think I'll get any stronger or faster even with you training me..." he quietly, dejectedly responded.

If Pearl was here, he'd be dishing out a few double slaps on his cheeks.

"No Dia, you have it all wrong, you see I want to train you so I could also have a feel of the way you battle, none of us in our team has defense stats like you, you are basically our shield, if we are in a tight spot, it's up to you to help us, defend us when we can get back on our feet again. Ah...I made a pretty cool speech right now..." The anxiety in the teen's chest eased up a bit, for as long as he'd known, he was never the center of attention, it was mainly Pearl and Platina. He simply went with the flow and all of a sudden, he was now thrust to be the defense, the umbrella where everyone can huddle under in case of a storm.

It made him feel important. Finally he had a place to call his own.

The rest of the team filed in one by one, some packed energy like Black and Sapphire, others, namely Gold and Ruby looked disgruntled and there were the neutral ones from Green's department: Crystal and White, on seeing the Kanto champion, the brown haired girl enthusiastically waved and presented a stack of DVD's to him. Gold, seeing the exchange, hurried to the two and eventually a tug of war between the two males started, this was promptly settled when Crystal kicked Gold. The leader cleared his throat:

"Everyone ready?" the voices in the room rang loud and clear. Red went to a clutter free section of the back wall and yanked a lever set in a panel, with a whirr and a grinding noise, the wall slid apart to reveal a narrow door, pulling out flying types and hoisting their backpacks securely the trainers exited. Once outside in the still dark morning, the Dex-holders gravitated into groups and took off simultaneously. Diamond waved at Red, imparted a large smile and left. Now the only two shivering in the crisp air were Ruby and Red. The former had pulled out his PokeNav and was reading something with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Something the matter?" Red was already sitting on his aerodactyl's back.

"Yeah, firstly I don't have any flying types...Secondly" he looked up "the police are instigating a region wide search for Kanto Champion Red...this search must still be approved by the top four bosses but it seems Sinnoh Champion Cynthia proposed it." Ruby held out the device to Red who looked at the accompanying picture with a mixture of terror.

"Seems like I'm not welcome in your house Ruby" he sighed and stated, sliding off the ancient Pokémon's back, he fished another ball and released Green's charizard and the younger male's eyes lit up.

"You use Green's Pokemon?" he enquired and then frowned when Execution's leader handed the ancient and ugly dragon to him.

"Yep, I can even command it to battle." Hearing this statement, the dragon snorted fire. "You can use Aero so long, we'll have to split up by the way, I'll go straight to Johto and you spend a day in Hoenn with your parents and meet up with me tomorrow okay?"

"Yeah, but I'll appreciate it if I could use Senior Green's charizard..." he sadly stated. The dragon snorted fire and butted his head with Red's arm, getting the message, the older male boarded the beast and took off leaving Ruby behind to stare distastefully at the Aerodactyl balled up in his palm.

* * *

The following day, afternoon

Dex Criminal's hideout

Strategy's room

Blue gripped Green's shirt collar and shook him back and forth in an enraged manner. The brown haired male, shut his eyes tightly and endured it all with clenched teeth and fists, besides, if he ignored or talked back to the pesky woman, she might refuse to hand over further artifacts and stolen research. Despite this humiliation, he did not argue in return since he was responsible for her anger and outburst.

"Did you even take a look at him before sending him off to Liberty Islands?" she shouted and his Scizor took a careful step sideways. "Silver looks unhealthy, I know he is the best when it comes to covert operations, but you don't have to abuse him by sending him to the other side of the Poke-verse every single day! Gosh Green I knew you were heartless but not to this extent!"

The young man was a bit confused, everyday? But he only sent Silver once, on a scouting mission to confirm if a legendary pokemon resided there. When the red haired adolescent e-mailed him the data, he was immediately dismissed from the task...Whatever, Green decided it was not worth clearing this misunderstanding between them. Thankfully, his friend finished her rant and let go of him, but she still seethed.

"You...Need to be punished." she smiled wickedly and he scowled in displeasure.

"If you need extra work done, just give it to me already, our team needs to leave for Unova, Pearl is already there and since Crystal and White are with Red; Emerald, Yellow and I are departing now, you are keeping me up Blue."

Her Cheshire cat grin widened.

"Fine" she stated, "I won't dump work on you but...BUT! The three of you will be posing as a family, with Emerald as your child."

As she was saying this Yellow had just entered the scene and on hearing the words uttered from her senior's mouth, she gasped and her clipboard fell to the floor. Holding a hand to his face, Green too, looked away, visibly disgusted and mortified by her 'punishment.' The woman laughed in a haughty manner and crossed her arms.

Now would be a good time to bring up the misunderstanding.

"I only sent Silver once to Lib-" he started his counter argument alas; she shut him up by poking a finger to his chest.

"No excuses! And don't worry; think of it as a lesson from yours truly. Also you'll be going via train" she waved tickets, "I hope it's a comfortable ride~"

"Pesky Woman!" he spat furiously under his breath as she left. Yellow picked her board up and warily approached her incensed leader.

"Umm...we need to leave now Green, Emerald is already good to go." The conflicted brunette began assembling papers and throwing a few pokeballs inside his bag. Shouldering it he strode ahead and after his aide cast a look around the room to make certain everything was in its place, she too hurriedly followed him.

This was the worst day of Emerald's life. Sure he looked like a child with an undersized body but he obviously was not one. He possessed keen intelligence, he had too or else he'd never make it into strategy. Alongside Crystal, he worked on the technicalities of the organization and was adept with technology, if anyone needed any hacking, spying, camera breaking, he was the person. He also routinely updated the operating systems used on the computers throughout this and other bases. He was an engineer for Rotom's sake! And now, here he was, travelling to Unova, stripped of his gadgets and wearing kiddie clothes.

And sitting on Green's lap.

He could feel the older male boring holes in his skull and he wished to return the favor. The only thing keeping them from exploding was Yellow. Blue had grabbed the younger woman and dressed her up before they left and now she sat meekly next to Green holding on to him. Emerald was positive his leader was really uncomfortable; he was never the one for hugs and cuddles anyway. At multiple intervals, when the train stopped at other towns or stations, some elders who'd board the train would pass by them and comment what a cute family they were. The reactions they got were varied, Yellow would blush and thank them for their compliment, his leader would look straight ahead like a robot and he'd try raising his head to stare those misunderstood elders down, only to have his head forced back down by his 'father'. At one time the train had become really full and Green, seeing the opportunity, dumped him in Yellow's arms and stood up, giving his seat to some other child. The rage on his face was palpable.

By midnight, they had arrived at Unova's battle-subway. The emerald eyed adult picked his underdeveloped team mate off Yellow and carried him. Exiting the station, they made their way to the nearest Hotel in Nimbasa and met Pearl who was eagerly waving at them. Green looked around, this was truly the entertainment city, despite it being so late, lights were still flashing across the sky, the theaters as well as indoor stadiums were still open and he could hear the distant roar and cheers from the nearby PokePark.

"Whoa!" the young blonde exclaimed when he saw them "you three starting a family or what?" Emerald's stubby arm shot out and grabbed Pearl's striped scarf, leaning out of Green's arms, he began to strangle his junior with all his might. Appreciative of the gesture, the older male took a closer step to help his one companion garrote the other. It was at Yellow's quiet and firm insistence that they found themselves at a hotel lobby making a last minute reservation.

"A room for..." the secretary began asking.

"Two rooms" Green cut in a harsh manner, she gave him an odd look as her eyes took in their appearance. After offering a strained smile, she handed over the keys. Pearl bid them goodbye and left for his mission and the remaining trio went to their rooms. Shutting the room door, the older trainer let go of Emerald and took his laptop computer out. Without wasting any more time, he started working on it. The blonde watched him for an hour and then piped up:

"Senior, its late get some sleep." The only reply he got was a grunt.

Early morning of the same day

Hoenn

Littleroot town, Ruby's house.

Fixing his hat in front of a mirror, Ruby briefly wondered how Red was doing. Yesterday, the trainer had spent the night in Ilex forest since he cited that he had nowhere to go with the police possibly searching for him. Unable to offer him any other options, Ruby shrugged and ended the video call. Thank goodness Norman was still busy at the gym so he had ample time to come up with a cover story without his dad's interrogating gaze piercing him. At his table, his mother smiled and he felt slightly rotten for lying to her so easily. Satisfied with the way his cap was hiding his disfigurement, he went down to breakfast and his heart almost leapt out of his chest. Dad was home.

 _Dad was home._

Taking a deep breath, he calmly walked to the table with his beautiful delacatty at his heels, seeing him, Norman's eyes softened and he let out a breath. This action of his confused his son who had spied the concern marring his face. Turning around he picked up the box offered by his wife and thereafter left the house. Two pairs of eyes watched him go.

There was silence as Ruby's mother made breakfast, once done, she set the plates down and the mother-son duo began eating. During this time, the teenager picked up the discrete glances she sent his way.

"Is there anything wrong mom?"

"Oh Ruby," she set her fork down and failed to keep the care out of her voice "I'm sure you heard there have been two children, Pokedex holders, kidnapped in Unova...Your father wants you to stop travelling around and come home for a while dear. I know you desire to be the very best at contests, but please think of us for a while, seeing our only child alone when there is such an atrocious group of criminals around is very worrying. Your dad and the police are working hard and yet they have _no_ leads on the identity of the criminals..."

A ball formed in the pit of his stomach and suddenly his appetite vanished.

"...Mom" he voiced evenly "I'm almost an adult; you can't expect me to stay cooped up in the house when those...Criminals...Wreak havoc where they go. Being a trainer and a Dex holder, I have responsibilities, besides if they ever come across me, I won't show them any mercy..." His false speech seemed to have a calming effect on her as she beamed at him. Pushing his plate away, he recalled his pokemon back into a ball and began exiting the house.

"You haven't finished your breakfast yet Ruby! And where are you going so early in the morning?" she admonished him.

"I'm going to Petalburg woods to conduct some...Some research on beautiful pokemon" he mumbled and opened the door.

"You are just like your father..." he heard his mother's warm tones as he shut the door. Running out of town, he skidded to a halt to the entrance of the woods and summoned Red's Aerodactyl which was lent to him. Getting on the Pokémon's back, he rose higher and after casting another longing glance at the house, he flew off in the Johto region's direction.

He truly was a bad son.

In Ilex Forest, Red squatted down on a particularly large tree root and trained his blood red irises on the little shrine. Unlike the temples and other grandiose buildings dedicated to other mythical and legendary pokemon, Celebi's memorial was very simple. It was shaped like a one story house and was constructed out of ancient looking wood. The only eye-catching feature of the shrine was its tiny doors. It was leaved in gold and worked over with some jade colored material. As he sat there, he noticed the doors glowing faintly and his body tensed in response. Hopefully the tiny onion fairy was going to burst out of the doors and he'd be able to capture it.

* * *

For some reason, his leader still held his hand when they stepped out in the cool morning air of Liberty Garden. After finding out that there was a midnight cruise heading for the place, Green had jumped up from his seat, grabbed his junior and Yellow (who, poor girl had just fallen asleep) and rushed to Castelia on Emerald's Mantine, the sorry beast had to endure all their weight and after they touched down in the big city, he literally dashed all the way across to Liberty Pier and on to the ship demanding a place. And who in their right mind will refuse him? The famous Green Oak? Ushered in respectfully, he was given a grand suite and not caring what their leader thought; both his underlings collapsed on the huge bed and fell fast asleep. They woke up when the ship's foghorn blasted to announce their arrival.

"Whoever donated this island to the public must really be a very kind person" Yellow expressed her opinion after reading one of the information boards. Green was stringing Emerald along as he critically inspected the island, taking notes on a palm computer. There were a lot of visitors to the isle today, crowds mingled about on the grass, on the wooden pier and before the entrance to the lighthouse. The grand structure was constructed out of grayish white stone and it stood tall. Ignoring everyone else, the leader strode in alone in the dark building and looked around. As impressive as the structure looked outside, inside the area seemed to be neglected, the walls were cracking and peeling in some places and there was barely any light. The fixtures were all in a partial status of damage. Shrugging, he moved forward and a fork appeared, one flight of stairs led up and other led downwards, seeing the majority of the people heading to the basement, he too followed.

And came across a nasty sight.

The fairly large chamber in which Victini should be found flying around was crammed full of people. Stowing his computer away, Green, determination pushing him forward, shouldered past them and came to an abrupt stop when a purple feline pokemon scratched his cheeks, he did not bleed but the marks burnt like fire. The Purrloin returned to its trainer and the Dex holder noted how the area was dotted with people like them. Some of them wore medieval styled clothing whilst others wore a dark outfit and a cloth-mask over their mouth, the two groups resembled knights and pirates respectively.

"Stand back, or face the consequences" one of them threatened.

"Where is Victini?" he questioned "The pokemon is supposed to be free for viewing to the public, you have no right to take it from here."

 _He should not be the one talking...Oh well._

"We are liberating Pokemon" the pseudo-knight spat "you trainers do not understand our glorious mission! You think Pokemon are simply used to do our bidding, you are wrong! They should be free and our equa-"

The rambling trainer stopped when scizor's claw poised over his neck. Seconds later, a rhyperior was summoned and the whole structure shook in an earthquake, the crowed surged outside in a panic and the only ones left was the obviously untrained criminal organization members, some of them were buried in the rubble that rained from the roof. In the ensuing chaos a small orange colored Pokemon flew out from one of them and twirled about in the room. Green noticed the ears, which were very large, was pointed to form the letter V. Recalling his partners, he took out an empty ultra-ball and just as the Pokemon was flying towards him with a cute little grin, the ball struck its chest and Victini was secured inside it. Picking it up, the brunette pocketed it and left the building, shunning the newly caught creature's anguished expression.

When he stepped outside, he noticed Yellow and Emerald running over with concerned visages.

"Are you okay Senior?" they spoke together.

"Yes I'm fine, we got what we needed; let's head back to Kanto immediately." He was acutely aware of Yellow staring at his face in a stern manner and it irked him slightly, she'd never do this with Red. The moment his best friend came anywhere near her, she'd suddenly become very shy and blush constantly in his presence. The oblivious idiot had no idea of Yellow's crush on him and sometimes he'd see the girl staring off into space when the champion left for duties. On the other end of the spectrum, the female blonde was very open with him; this may be due to the fact that he trained her. When he first came across Yellow, he was surprised and intrigued by her psychic ability to raise her pokemon's level at will. To enable her to use it more effectively, he helped her train using meditation techniques, the reserved girl had warmed up to him and soon they had become really good friends. In his case, more than friends.

Although she will never, ever find out. Her world revolved around Red and he resolved it to keep it that way, whatever makes her happy.

' _Mesprit can be so cruel sometimes'_ he unhappily mused.

"Yellow, staring at my face is not going to make me revoke my decision."

"What happened in there?" her face softened and she queried.

"Some organization tried to steal Victini, I buried them and took the pokemon, it's currently in my pocket." hearing this she frowned.

"You have to release it Green" she pleaded, her earnest brown irises widening, "the pokemon is for the people, not for personal gain or use...Please, let it go back to his home." And without further hesitation, he dug inside his pocket, retrieved the ball and released Victini, a weight lifted off his chest when he beheld the victory pokemon flying around the island in a gay manner and a tiny smile etched on Green's face. Victini glided towards him and pressed a tiny paw on to his forehead and his co-workers giggled at its action.

"It's blessing you, so you could go easy on us" Emerald quipped lightly "say, we should check out the island further, more shady characters might be lurking around." The two blondes nodded in agreement and moved off for further inspection, their leader simply stood there and watched them leave. Fatigue was overtaking him; he did not sleep for two days. Huffing, he walked to a patch of grass and sat down, while his underlings combed the island, he could snatch some much needed sleep.

* * *

 **A/N** : Whoa...only one review? I think my flu just got worse... Ahahaha, Just kidding. Anyway, thanks to Jack54311 for reviewing, I hope the readers are enjoying the story, some feedback would be nice though. And also to FluffyCanaries for liking my story. It gives me the motivation to keep on writing. Please don't hesitate to ask questions if you are confused. Like I mentioned before, you only need to fear for your life is you're made of chocolate.

Eh, I tend to ramble nonsense when I'm sick.


	9. Born from shadows

**Chapter 9: Born from shadows**

Mid-afternoon

Johto

Ilex Forest

Ruby touched down the sun dappled grassy clearing to see Execution's team leader fast asleep. His Snorlax was summoned and the trainer was curled up and dozing peacefully on the bed-esque belly of the Pokemon. Both pokemon and its master looked so contented that Ruby, who was battling with inner turmoil, felt mad. The fashionista cast a look at the simple shrine and noted the doors were still shut. Thankfully, Celebi did not appear when Red was fast asleep. Leaving his senior in dreamland, he went closer to the memorial and began inspecting it from all angles, running a finger down its wooden slats and peering at the intricate decor on the miniscule doors. There was an intense green light behind it and raising his hands cautiously, he gripped the emerald doorknobs and gave it a gentle tug. He was mildly surprised when the doors opened with little resistance. Instead of a spacious interior, he stared at an acid green swirling vortex. Glancing back to see the older male still snoozing, he squinted at the vortex and was surprised by its view. A young child stared back at him, oddly the boy looked...

Looked just like him.

With a startled yell, he fell on his rear, his breathing became rapid. Scrambling up from the dirt, he made his way to the senior trainer and began shaking him awake in a frantic manner.

"Red...RED! Wake up!"

And the trainer shot up instantly.

"Is anything the matter?" he asked while fixing his cap, scanning the surroundings, he saw the shrine's doors was open. "Did you pull them open Ruby or did they open when I was asleep?"

"I opened them, more importantly..." he began dragging the older male towards the altar "look inside and tell me what you see." Taking a deep breath, Red did so and recoiled.

"What did you see?" Ruby's fingers were digging in his forearm and he scratched his head before replying.

"Green and I...Having a pokemon battle...back in the days when I wasn't too fond of him."

At the same moment, the forest began moving, a slight breeze rustled through the leaves and the two males got the queer sensation of the forest shifting. Thrown off by the out of place experience, they merely stared inquisitively at their environment as if it will somehow produce answers. Unbeknownst to them, the portal situated in the shrine began glowing intensely and out of it a green fairy-like creature issued forth. It fluttered around on a set of transparent wings growing from its back and the most distinguishing feature was its round head which was tapered to a point. Celebi flew around in circles and Ruby squealed in delight.

"It's beautiful!" he exclaimed and Red nodded in agreement, he took his Pokedex out and confirmed it was the legendary beast they were looking for. Pulling out a pokeball, he summoned charizard, the younger trainer's glassy eyes had also sharpened and he too brought out his mightyena, together the duo readied their pokemon and sent them to attack, however, the twin assaults were reflected by a barrier and the creature remained unharmed, it looked at them with large, unblinking eyes. The fire dragon was commanded to throw a flamethrower and it did so, Celebi flew towards the side and the scorching flames struck the trees boarding the glade, seeing the ring of fire behind it, the fairy was forced closer to them, right then Mightyena leaped up in a bite and almost crushed its colorless wings.

"Let's capture it" Ruby stated in a monotone, his glaring eyes was fixated on their target.

"Not yet," Red admonished, "Celebi is not weak enough, hit it with another dark type move, preferably a non-physical one, we don't want to hurt it very badly." Pulling his hat lower, they teenager nodded and complied with his orders.

"Nana, use Dark Pulse" he commanded and the air around them turned dark, at Mightyena's paws, on the ground, a ball of darkness rose and dispersed in all directions, enveloping the area like a cloud, the particles hit Celebi squarely and the little creature uttered a pained squeak, seizing the chance, Red threw an ultra-ball and without further fuss, it was secured. As the commotion died down, the two was alerted to the forest fire currently raging around them. The older trainer called out his poliwrath and the pokemon doused the trees with a jet stream of water, tossing a pristine white card down on the muddy floor, the two capturers left the scene, flying back towards Kanto.

Afternoon

Kanto, Celadon city

Dex criminal's hideout, legendary pokemon holding cell.

Curiosity killed the cat and it will also kill Green Oak one day. The brunette, along with his trusty (and innocent then most) secretary had currently set up a mini laboratory in the huge area. Emerald had come in a few moments later and was setting up a computer, after he finished, he was tasked to release the safety mechanisms on both Mewtwo and Darkrai, seems like his leader wanted to get up close and personal with them. Green for his part, was poring over the notes given to him by his grandfather, although he had successfully managed to clone a Mewtwo (using a Ditto instead of the original Mew as a surrogate mother) he was still far from satisfied with his project. Mewtwo was extremely powerful, yes, but in a battle, it would ignore commands from its trainer, this creature could not be tamed and also his current stats was far below other legendary pokemon...Say for instance the creation trio. Furrowing his brow, he began frantically typing away at his computer, inputting data and calculating them, after some tappings he lifted his head and asked:

"How is everything going Emerald?"

"Fine" the teen muttered "Darkrai's cell's safety locks and valves have all been opened and I'm working on Mewtwo's, just rescue me from an untimely death should this pokemon decide to bash me with his tail."

His plea was bypassed.

"Yellow?" the leader quizzed.

"Mewtwo is still unhappy," she relayed, "I can't tell you anything more." He simply nodded.

Moving away from the computer, he re-read the notes and went to a briefcase; on opening it he scrutinized the two syringes and selected the empty one, leaving the other one in its padding. Striding over to Darkrai, he pressed a button on the little screen and a net came down on the dark pokemon, holding it still. Green pressed another icon on the screen and the thick glass encasing the monster lowered with a mechanical whirr, exposing it. Gingerly, Green inserted the needle into a spindly arm and extracted something akin to shadows. Satisfied with the amount, he put up the barriers again and released Darkrai; the mythical creature hissed and flooded the cell with darkness. Walking back, he held the syringe up to the light and examined it, like smoke, the dark particles danced in the slim plastic tube, rising and falling and writhing in a hypnotic manner. Taking a deep breath, he went back to the briefcase and extracted the other syringe. This one was filled with a semi-transparent pinkish fluid and Yellow questioned him on the contents.

"Pokerus," he replied and the blonde's eyes widened.

"You are infecting Mewtwo with Pokerus?"

"Yes, but first, I'm going to corrupt the virus with this" he held up the shadows he got from Darkrai "I want to ascertain if Pokemon typing can be changed via external methods, a virus is known to replicate by intruding the host's cell and injecting it's genetic material directly into the cell. So if the cells can somehow adapt to the new, intruding genetic material, then the Pokemon gains a new type...Theoretically speaking. If this does not work, then the only way to change a Pokemon's typing is via gene splicing. I don't want to go into specifics." Hearing his too scientific for ordinary minds to comprehend speech, Yellow meekly nodded and smiled. She observed Green mixing the two substances together till the final product resembled black ink. This was sucked into a syringe and this time he approached Mewtwo's cell. The minute he got close enough, the psychic Pokemon's eyes flew open and he glared at them with undisguised displeasure. Man and beast had a staring contest and knowing what disaster Mewtwo was capable of, Green took the safe option and tapped on the screen, in the fluid suspending Mewtwo, a cocktail of sleep inducing chemicals were released and before long, the monster started hibernating. Emptying the chamber of fluid and harnessing the feline-esque beast, the brunette tentatively grabbed a wet, limp arm and injected the virus into Mewtwo; thereafter he secured it once more and watched.

"Will the results come quickly?" Emerald, who had joined them, queried.

"No, it may take weeks or months to see a change. We are done here for today, let's go up." Saying this he left.

"Man...He sure leaves all the cleaning up for us to do doesn't he?" Emerald grumbled as he and his female senior packed up.

* * *

"Come on! We are only exploring!" Lack-2 insisted as he dragged an unwilling Whi-2 along on his grand mission of exploring the base, "I'm trying to find a loophole through here, if I do, I'm escaping. Apparently our meeting chamber has an entrance leading directly outside, there is a suspicious looking lever set in a panel at the back wall and after I tried yanking it, hitting it, and almost slicing it off, yet nothing happened. Let' see if there are other places we can discover." Giving up and simply going with the flow, the girl lagged behind her determined friend; she too had searched for a way out and found none. Besides, if these trainers and famous figures were able to keep their criminal doings a secret for so long, they obviously were able to stop any of their members from betraying or leaving the base. She took note of the fact that both her and Lack-2 were not given any tasks to participate into, clearly these trainers were not dumb, they foresaw the new recruit's desire to leave the place and simply kept them cooped up in here. And the more she stayed here, the more she liked it. There were no animosity in her group and Blue was very nice, she took great care of all of them. Unlike at school, she was never forced to speak up or participate in things she was uncomfortable with. Here, she had freedom to do what she wanted at her own pace. The exploring duo were once again lost in the twisting corridors, Lack-2 gritted his teeth and looked on his phone, muttering about making a map of the place. They went down several identical looking hallways and found themselves striding in team Constellate's room. Whi-2 comforted by her surroundings, brushed past her male friend and sat down on the couch before a large screen, booting up a game, she invited Lack-2 to sit with her and play.

Instead of sitting down next to her he smirked and made a beeline for the lowered platform in the room. As he descended the stairs, he was startled to see Silver sitting there, eyes glued to an expensive looking computer. The elder noticed the new comer and trained his sharp, silver eyes on Lack-2 who smiled weakly.

"Sorry to interru...wait, you watch cartoons at this age?!" His eyes had caught a glimpse on the colorful screen and he gaped.

"...So does Gold" the adolescent reddened and countered.

"Oh...nice...So how is senior Gold like?" Grinning, Lack-2 pulled out a chair and sat next to Silver, the red-head scowled a bit at having his rare and private time disturbed, nevertheless, he paused his episode and faced the boy to answer his questions.

"He is an excellent trainer, one of the few who can beat Red with pure skill."

"Wow...so, uh, how did he get in here? Was he also, you know, kidnapped?" the boy squirmed in his seat in an uncomfortable manner.

"No, Red invited him after he was beaten and Gold gladly accepted, speaking of which, only you, Whi-2 and White was kidnapped, the rest came willingly." Silver pondered for a while and Lack-2 questioned him on the kidnapping of Whi-2.

"Black was openly hostile when we tried to recruit him, after he found out about Red, who was the youngest trainer in history to be crowned champion, he jumped at our proposal. White was defiant but Black forcibly dragged her along to our base...well it's not really kidnapping, the police call it as such."

"Thanks for all the explaining" Lack-2 hopped off the chair and glanced at his phone "by the way, does Gold have any weaknesses I can exploit? It'll suck if I lose a battle every time." Hearing this Silver grinned and said:

"That, you have to find out on your own." And he went back to watching Proteam Omega.

Late Afternoon

Johto

Olivine City, beach.

"GOLD!" Crystal screeched and the adolescent ignored her in favor of splashing around in the water wearing nothing but swimming trunks, a couple of girls giggled when he flirted with them. Black had run off to the nearest Pokemon center and now she was stuck with the totally unreasonable trainer who was more interested in impressing the ladies than his actual mission. Seething, she whipped her Poke-gear out and called Black, ordering the young trainer to return.

"I am leaving for Cianwood city in five minutes, be here by then or else you are on your own and no, I don't care if Gold comes or not, once we back at base, I'll report his conduct to Green, since Red won't do anything."

Five minutes later, Black returned and Crystal strode to the edge of the beach, she cast a fierce look at her friend and without further ado summoned her Xatu, the junior trainer called out Carracosta and together the duo went off, the one flying at a leisurely place through the air and the other surfing. Gold, who noticed his team mates leaving, gave the girls on the beach a simpering smile and followed them on his Politoed.

He was still wearing swimming trunks.

After crossing the wide stretch of water, they alighted on the shores of Cianwood city, wasting no time the trio made it to one of the research centers in order to get more information on the Pokemon hidden in the deep. According to the mythology, long time ago there was a huge land mass in the area that was now Whirl islands. Back in those days two kingdoms, riddled with greed, fought over this land mass and there was much bloodshed of both people and Pokemon. Seeing this catastrophe and lamenting the people's avarice, Lugia also known as the Sea beast, rose from the depths of the ocean and rained thunder down on the continent splitting it into four large pieces, between these four islands the current became treacherous and created whirlpools. It has been said that Lugia roams in this area and rests in a cave situated underneath the Whirl islands.

Gold, who was now fully dressed smiled.

"Sounds like an awesome adventure!" Black nodded vigorously, agreeing with his senior and Crystal too, beamed. Bit by bit, she noticed Gold's smile had turned rather perverse.

"Are you planning something stupid again?" she harshly asked.

"Nope! How rude of you super serious gal! I'm simply looking forward to seeing you in a swimsuit again, because you know...We have to dive"

The three of them were now standing at the edge of the sea and Gold sported a red hand shaped mark on his cheek. They all dressed in waterproof diving suits and were fixing the breathing aids and goggles on one another. After checking everything one last time, Black and Crystal (who were sharing one pokemon) launched first into the water with Gold tailing behind them, they surfed all the way to one of the land areas situated in Whirl islands and surveyed the area. Taking out a pair of binoculars, Gold gave the area a sweep and showed a thumbs up to the other two, signaling back, they dove into the water, wary of the whirl pools. The male trainer followed the duo several minutes later.

Underwater was a whole new world. Crystal had at first gasped at the coldness of the water and once she got used to it, she looked at the scenery around her. It was breathtaking. Schools of luvdisc and basculin swam past. The reefs were decorated with corals, corsola and clampearls. Tentacruels and mantines slowly drifted across and as they sunk deeper, the blue haired trainer spied a Gyarados and a Wailord, the humongous pokemon floated amiably. Carracosta, dragged down by two trainers, was doing his best to descend in a smooth manner. As they went lower, the sun's rays dimmed and the water turned inky blue. It was cold and the trainers shivered, few pokemon occupied this depth and Crystal began to see higher evolutions and sharpedos. On top of this, she had an inkling that something was watching her and on occasion she snapped her head around to see behind her, it was in one of these moments she saw a pair of large glowing eyes observing her.

Observing them.

Shoving the frightening thoughts to the back of her mind, she continued forward, a short while later, something grabbed on her leg and her heart nearly exploded from her chest, a huge stream of bubbles came out of the breathing device inserted in her mouth and she kicked with all her might. Spinning around, she saw Gold curling up in pain and her irises shrunk in anger. To placate her, he pointed to the right and once again, all the blood drained from her face.

A large beast was tailing them, the thing was HUGE! How she did not notice it before was something Crystal did not comprehend. The Pokemon resembled a fusion of a dragon and a bird, in the inky blackness, Lugia glowed silver white, she was faintly able to discern a blue underside and a large beak like mouth. It hovered in the water. Beating its wings; it propelled itself backwards and disappeared. Awestruck, she simply watched and Gold seized her hand and pulled her close. With Black tailing alone, they gave chase and she snapped back to reality. The legendary creature left a trail of ripples and bubbles as it surged forward and the Dex-holders pursued it relentlessly, at one point, the beast disappeared. Coming to a halt, the trainers looked around and found themselves at a new area deeper in the sea. They could see the sea floor and several underwater caves and tunnels. Picking a random one, they swam inside and were surprised (and happy) to see it open up to dry land. Hauling themselves out of the water, they dried themselves the best they could and stripped themselves of the speech hampering equipment.

"Crystal...the next time you kick, please check before you do so, you almost smashed a dent in my head!"

"Sorry Gold, I guess, I got a bit frightened, anyway, Black where to?"

The youngster had musharna stuck on his head. His face was blank and he started muttering in robotic manner as countless bits of information flowed in and assembled in a coherent manner. As the flower patterned creature was put back in its ball, the boy marched ahead without a word and seemingly unaware of events taking place around him. Sighing, the two adolescents followed him without a word. Black led them deep inside the twisting caves; the floor was sandy and littered with seashells, stones and fossils of ancient pokemon. Wild Pokemon charged out of grass and were promptly dealt with by a meganium, galvantula and politoed. The group advanced with the salty tang of the sea assaulting their nose and the cavern was lit by pokemon bioluminescent, tunnel walls coated with a pastel blue light. Without warning, Gold took hold of Crystal's hand.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

"I bet we are the first couple to take a romantic stroll underneath the ocean" he declared mischievously, his gold tinted eyes reflected the pale blue light and the female found herself blushing in spite of her efforts not to. Exhaling, she gave his hand a tight squeeze.

"It's not romantic, besides Black is here and we have a mission, get your head out of the clouds." Nevertheless she kept on holding his hand.

Several twisting tunnels and hordes of Zubats later, they entered a large cavern and paused. A bit further away, on a raised rocky platform stood Lugia. The guardian of the seas stared impassively at them and the trio found themselves humbled in his presence. Crystal, remembering her mission, took out a ball from the belt clipped on her waist, the legendary beast's tiny irises locked on to her and on seeing her aim the ball at him he opened his jaws wide. In a split second, a cyan sphere of energy formed in its gaping maw and this was shot at the intruders. Shockwaves followed the ball and the cave rumbled and cracked. The three trainers were flung into the air and they went soaring, a second Aeroblast brought the cave down and seawater flooded the area. Arms flailing and lungs crushed by the water pressure, Gold frantically pulled on his goggles even though he was cartwheeling along, dragged by the water's resistance, he fished inside the pocket of his diving suit and found the micro aqualung shoving it into his mouth. Righting himself, he searched for his team mates.

They were nowhere to be seen.

Feeling a presence before him, he wheeled around and saw Lugia; the beast's eyes were glowing eerily. Quickly, he summoned his Politoed and secured his arms around the pokemon; it dodged the beast's attacks and swam away. Gold, now feeling desperate, scanned the area for signs of Crystal and Black and despaired when he found none. A giant disturbance in the water alerted him to the pokemon chasing him. Helplessly, he clung onto Polibo as the green frog pulled him away from devastation. At one point he spied Black's body sinking into a trench and with a harrowing jolt, he swam towards the barely conscious trainer and thrust a breathing aid on his mouth, a few seconds later, the boy stirred and Gold's thumping heart calmed down. He motioned Black to return to the surface but the boy refused, having no other option and not being able to communicate effectively, he pushed his junior up. Polibo getting the gist of his trainer's wishes let loose a bubble beam and the boy was effectively ushered along with a large stream of rising bubbles. As Lugia swam close, a whirlpool burst beneath him and Gold and his pokemon made a hasty escape. With one eye on the dangerous monster he went around in circles searching for Crystal, with each passing moment, his spirits sank.

There was no sign of her.

Inhaling deeply, he renewed his grip on Polibo and kept on searching, he was definitely not giving up on her. The thought of her drifting alone on the wide sea without an aqualung scared him senseless and soon he lost sensation in his fingers. The mythical pokemon was still tailing him and he often had to pause in order to slow down so his pokemon could create a whirlpool, ironically, it was these vortices of water that were the most effective in delaying Lugia. Since he was underwater, he was unable to summon sunflora; the grass type would make this battle much easier.

He searched and searched.

And came up with nothing, not even a glimpse of her.

Nothing.

 _Nothing_

Lugia flapped his hand-esque wings.

The water swelled and surged, detaching the forlorn trainer from his partner. The second time, Gold gave up, he simply recalled his pokemon and let the tide push him around, underwater cyclones appeared and he got sucked in one and tumbled around, the pressure was making him dizzy. An energy ball exploded close to him and the water erupted, propelling his battered body like a rocket to the surface. It hurt. With a loud splash both him and the protector of the seas surfaced and the instant they did the skies turned dark. Winds howled and he could hear the rumbling of thunder.

 _Storms lasing forty days,_ he recalled Red saying something akin to those lines. Hmpf, what did it matter anyway? Crystal was gone. He was supposed to keep the team safe and now she was gone, dead most likely. What was the last thing he said to her? His head ached as he fell down back in the ocean and floated listlessly. Oh yes, he was flirting and holding her hand and against all odds, instead of getting kicked or assaulted by her pokemon, she held his hand as well.

It was warm and tiny and calloused from all the work she had to handle. But to him it was perfect.

* * *

The moment Gold's body shot out of the water along with Lugia's, Crystal and Black heaved twin sighs of relief. Already having a good grasp of what the sea beast was capable of, they both hit the beast with a multitude of attacks and yet, the legendary had enough energy to instigate a storm. Both trainers had landed themselves on an island and prepared for the Pokemon's appearance. Mega began draining its energy and Tula had thunder raining down on the creature. After an exhausting battle, Crystal kicked an ultra-ball at its head whilst Black surfed across the ocean to retrieve his senior. As Gold was hauled on the sandy beach Crystal stowed the pokeball back in her bag, approached and called out his name.

The effects were instantaneous. The black haired adolescent scrambled up from his comatose position and ran to her, engulfing her in a bone crushing hug. Crystal's first impression was to kick a dent in his skull; however the thoughts ebbed away when she realized that he was sobbing. Slowly he reached around and hugged him back.

"I'm fine Gold" she soothed the traumatized trainer "see, not a scratch, I apologize for worrying you, I searched the area around a bit and when I didn't see any sign of you or Black, I surfaced."

He sniffed and held her tighter.

"I was scared" he admitted in a trembling voice "I thought...I thought..." he broke off and reluctantly let her go, imparting a small smile. Black shuffled in the distance, not quite knowing what to do.

Maybe it was time for musharna to suck his brainwaves again.

"We've captured Lugia" Gold stated in a shaky voice and laughed, "so let's head to Goldenrod city to rest the night at a hotel and spend the morning at the game corner, what do you say Black?" The young trainer nodded his consent whilst Crystal shook her head in disbelief, "and Crys, after Goldenrod, we'll go to the Safari Zone that opened up in Cianwood so you can capture some new Pokemon if you like...See I'm as good as senior Red when it comes to taking care of my underlings!" he puffed his chest out and grinned.

Under twilight, the three soaked and shivering trainers shared contented looks.

Far away, another trio balanced precariously on the tiled roof of the Bell Tower.

* * *

 **A/N:** Guys, thanks for the reviews, my flu is totally gone! Seriously! Oh no wait! I still have a cough *coughs exaggeratedly* So more reviews? :P No really, thank you, I'm going through a tough period in my life and seeing people enjoy my stories really helps, so once again thanks. I'm a bit late, but here is another chapter. Please read and enjoy *whispers: and review*


	10. First glimpse

**Chapter 10: First glimpse  
**

A serpentine creature writhed in a large pillar like cage. In the gloomy area, the ring like decorations on its body glowed yellow. It coiled on itself and flew up and down, sometimes crashing his against the cold glass. Several times it did this and growled, the sounds growing in intensity and urgency. It flew up, then down and after twisting a few times, it opened his jaw and fired at its encasement. A small crack appeared but nothing more. Agitated, it contorted again and began bashing his head.

Up above the world, where the atmosphere thins into space, two pairs of eyes stared down at the Poke-earth.

* * *

Mid-afternoon

Johto

Ecruteak City, Bell tower

"So is everyone clear of the plan?" White asked. The capture team consisting of her, Diamond and Sapphire were currently sitting in a grassy park close to their target building and laying out plans. More like the teenager was doing all the work. Saph merely looked bored and sat with her eyes trained to a couple of children who were having a mock pokemon battle and Diamond was as usual making rice-balls. He laid out a sheet of foil and was diligently compressing the sticky rice into neat little triangular shapes and seasoning them with a lime green powder. His munchlax was helping him by offering fillings of berries and whatnot.

"Senior, please listen to me..." the girl pleaded and got a scant more attention. "Bell tower is open to both people and wild pokemon; we will be encountering lots in our ascent so it is best to be prepared. I also did some research and found out that there are now monks inhabiting the pagoda and to pass to the next area you have to battle them"

"We know all of this already" the other two simultaneously spoke, "I got this information from Ruby when he was sent to scout the tower some time ago" the Hoenn trainer clarified.

"Oh...So I guess we can just go in and do our work?...I wish you'd tell all of this to me earlier, I stayed up nights drawing up these plans!" the dark brown haired trainer complained.

Diamond smiled in a lazy manner and started to wrap up the individual rice balls in waxed paper squares, he did this all alone and his team mate, used to these antics, let him be. She got up and tied her bandanna more securely on her head and strapped her gloves on tighter, then, on the dirt floor she began to do a few warm up exercises a moment later, White's Xtransciever rang, it was Black and she heard the boy relate their terrifying experience on capturing Lugia, walking behind, she looked into the screen to see the three trainers still in their diving suits. Gold's face was white and he was leaning against Crystal with a weak smile, nonetheless they trio managed to complete their task without any major injury and cited that they will be spending a few days touring the region. Saying this, Black ended the video call.

"Dia, are you done wrapping up your food?" After hearing how they captured Lugia before them, a competitive spark ignited in Sapphire and she began to feel impatient. For his part, the Sinnoh trainer packed the wrapped packages back in his bag and recalled munchlax. Fixing his peaked cap firmly over his black hair, The Ho-oh capturing trio set out to Bell tower, if anyone asked, they were a couple of tourists interested in finding about the legendary creature.

The three halted before the impressive pagoda. The ten story building cast a long shadow and they craned their necks to glimpse the additional golden spire jutting out of the topmost roof. The wooden tower was lacquered in red and the screened doors were artfully decorated with a picture of Ho-oh. Climbing up the worn stone steps, Sapphire, not really appreciating such beauty, slid the screen aside and strode in. White and Diamond followed much more slowly. They were surprised when the area inside the tower lacked tourist and instead, stern looking monks and trainers glared their way. One boy, who towered a good few heads over Sapphire approached and demanded their reasons for entering the tower.

"We want to learn about Ho-oh's myths" White spoke up before her senior could spout something crass.

"Only certified officials are supposed to enter this area, go back home, didn't you hear of the kidnapping taking place in Unova? Children should not come outdoors unless accompanied by an adult."

"Well it's your incompetence which made it possible for their kidnapping!" the Hoenn native shot back "we don't need idiots like you or the police to protect us! We can do it on our own so MOVE!" Taken back by her brash behavior, he meekly slid to the side and with a satisfied huff, the blue eyed girl moved forward. Dia stammered an apology and brought out a rice ball, with a forlorn look, he handed it over and the ace trainer muttered his thanks and promptly bit into it.

"Mmmm, tastes good, man I wish my mom could make such good stuff..." his mutterings faded as they ascended the stairs.

On the second floor they were halted by two monks who absolutely refused to let them through without a battle.

"You shall not pass! Not without proving yourselves worthy!" Commanding White to move to a safe place, the two trainers took on the monks and a battle initialized. The adults sent out a bellsprout and meditite respectively and the thieves posing as regular trainers, sent out lickitung and blaziken, it took a few fancy, flame cloaked moves to reduce the opposing pokemon to nothing. After the battle finished, Dia apologized profusely and handed over two packaged rice balls. In this fashion they continued to climb up the tower and at one point, the oldest Dex-holder, fed up with the string of sorry's tumbling out of Dia's mouth, demanded to know why he was giving out his precious food.

"I'm just making sure they don't remember us in a bad light" his face morphed into a sad expression "I mean, they think we are Pokemon trainers wanting to find out more about Ho-oh." Both females nodded at his foresight and in the next set of floors, the hermits were treated with more respect and care. In Saph's book it read as not making their partners bleed in battle. The wild creatures littering the floors were ignored or if they were lucky, a berry was tossed their way. In this fashion, the trio clambered all the way to the top and was now precariously balancing on the slick blue tiles as they tried to get a footing. In a surprising feat, it was Dia who reached the flat area of the roof first and later the two found out he was using a set of stairs to ascend.

A lazy smile did not calm Sapphire's fury.

"So now, I have to use the clear bell and rainbow wing to summon Ho-oh" the Unova native re-confirmed her facts, "...I feel very nervous. Please cover for me."

"Wait!" shrieked the older female as she realized something "won't summoning Ho-oh make a lot of commotion and noise? The monks and aces guarding the tower will definitely hear, I mean, Ho-oh's cry is loud, what if they alert the police and nearby gym leaders and they come in and create trouble, we won't be able to finish the mission and more importantly they might close this tower forever thus preventing further access!" she gritted her teeth in annoyance "Geez, now we have to go back and knock them out!"

"You don't have to do so" Diamond's torpid voice floated to them "My rice balls were seasoned with sleep powder and a memory altering chemical, when the mister's wake up, they won't remember ever seeing three children without adults accompanying them."

"You are devious" Saph flippantly commented.

"Right, let's get working" he replied.

From the pocket of her short shorts, White extracted a fine, multi colored feather and a string which was curiously producing a ringing sound.

"I don't see the clear bell"

"Its invisible senior Saph, you can hear the ringing sound can't you?"

"Oh...Yeah" the girl twirled her shoulder length hair in a sheepish manner "Let's summon Ho-oh."

And White held up the two objects to the sky.

At the same time

Kanto

Dex criminal's base, Team Constellate's room.

Two individuals sat on lush sofas before a wall sized screen. Their attention was fixated on the program playing on it. Bright colors exploded and Whi-2 cast a questioning look to her senior.

"Senior Silver, I don't really know what this animation is about..." she trailed off. There was a huge pause before the red head answered

"Proteam Omega is about a giant robot that defends the world when a crisis occurs. Their team commander is Venusaur and he amasses his team when Demon Brioche tries to rule the world with his tyranny. The team consists of Pikachu, a biplane, Poliwrath, a train, and several others which form a boat, fire-truck and hot air balloon. If you noticed, this team is based off Red's pokemon back when he was still Champion of Kanto...I'm really fond of this show." After his cumbersome explanation, he went back to watching the television and Whi-2 followed suit. She thought the show was rather okay, more for males than her, maybe Lack-2 would enjoy these types of things but right now, he was in Execution's room trying to get an upper hand on his team leader. Red and Ruby had finished their mission in a relatively short amount of time and had come back. Since then, his newest underling pursued him relentlessly for battles and tips on battling. His oshawott had leveled up and evolved into a well-disciplined dewott and yet, day in and out, the boy would tirelessly fight whilst his leader either slept, got told off by Green or joined them for games or watching movies. Like the Strategy commander had mentioned when they met, his partners could put down trained trainers all by themselves, however, he had neglected to tell them that the pokemon also possessed monstrous strength.

"BREAKING NEWS!" Silver blinked in confusion when instead of the Poke-Gundam smashing down on its enemy, a news reporter's dolled up face filled the screen. "Two alien Pokemon has been reported flying over the skies off Hoenn" the cut showed a clip of two tentacled pokemon sporting a beryl colored face and orange-red body zipping across and firing beams and projectiles which were capable of damaging an entire building, people and pokemon screamed and fled from the scene and the video went back to the news desk.

"Researchers at Mossdeep space center relate that these two Pokemon, code named Organism number one and Organism number two, had suddenly appeared from space and started creating havoc in Hoenn. Due to this sudden and unprecedented catastrophe, the international police have claimed responsibility of it. Evacuation of the cities struck down by this disaster is already taking place with efforts from the local police and gym leaders. These monsters have been classified as mythical pokemon and when encountered, trainers are advised to flee from it. Be warned, this is a dangerous unknown creature and capture of it without notifying the authorities is considered a cri-" the television abruptly shut down and the two occupants on the sofa twisted around to see Blue holding a remote in her hand, next to her was Ruby, freshly out of a shower, his hair still dripped water and he had a towel around his neck, he stared at the dead device with shock, his mouth open like a magikarp.

"We've got a possible target on our hands" Blue ran a hand through her hair and squeezed between Silver and Whi-2, Ruby, still petrified, haltingly followed and squatted down at the foot of the couch listening with his head held low. "We don't know anything about Organisms one and two so it is our department's mission to find out. Listen Whi-2, we, Constellate gather information, our card does not show a clump of stars, it shows a constellation, a gathering of stars that reveals a pattern. So it is our duty to do the most dangerous work. We are spies, thieves. We disguise and trick. So today, I want to send you on a first mission with Silver, he is the best in our group when it comes to mission's like these and he prefers to work alone but since you are new and I want you to learn how to act on the field, he will be your guide. Do you understand? If you don't want to go today, its fine, I'll send you off on another mission on another day."

The young girl gulped in apprehension. A project so quickly? Was there a possibility of escape? Her thoughts inadvertently turned to her mother and Hugh; it has been quite a few weeks already, how were they faring? Painfully her chest constricted and she felt a lump lodge in her throat. However, all thoughts of escape vanished when Blue gave her shoulder a comforting pat and in response, they sagged despondently.

"I'll go Ms. Blue. I won't...I won't try to escape so please have faith in me." She bowed in an effort to hide her bitter tears.

* * *

Whi-2 blushed when she saw her reflection in the mirror, Ruby was an excellent make-up artist and the older male cupped her face and surveyed his work with a satisfied smile. The door opened and in walked Silver his footsteps muffled by a thick red carpet, when she saw her normally pale faced senior, her cheeks tinted pink.

He looked gorgeous. And no doubt it was her team leader's work.

His flaming red hair, which reached down to his shoulders were now barely brushing his nape, a few bangs fell over his forehead and between the middle of his eyes. Silver tinted irises were accentuated by a pair of glasses which looked like it came straight out of Ruby's wardrobe. His complexion was rosy, skin colored powder covering up his gaunt appearance.

"Did you cut your hair?" Ruby quizzed aghast.

"No, I'm wearing a wig specially made to match the shade of my hair, Sis gave it to me." the red head's eyes drifted over to a gaping Whi-2 and she flushed and lowered her gaze, absently toying with the large braid Ruby styled her hair into, the Chinese buns were brought down and her voluminous mane was gathered together. The braid reached till her waist. Both personnel wore form fitting white laboratory coats and whilst her ruby eyed senior gave her last minute advice on disguising and keeping up appearances, the leader walked in with a sheaf of papers in her hand.

"Listen up" Blue commanded attention and they all faced her, "your mission this time is simple, infiltrate the space center and get classified information on those two alien pokemon. If possible, get a glimpse of it and since this is Whi-2's first mission, you are to abort the task immediately if you sense any danger, your priority is safety, understood?" They nodded in reply.

"Okay then! Off you go."

Evening

Hoenn

Mossdeep space center.

"Keep your chin up and look confident, even though you have no idea what you are doing or saying." Silver advised as they ascended the short flight of steps to the building. The laboratory was situated on a hilly, spacious area on the outskirts of town. Whi-2 saw a launching pad at the back of the structure and several satellite and radio dishes on the roof. There was even a large range telescope. Clutching a clipboard she followed behind her senior who, for his part totally looked like he belonged to the place. As they neared the doors, they hissed open automatically and she found herself in a busy lobby. Silver discretely took note of the cameras located in both obvious and not so obvious places and when the secretary finished talking with one of the scientists (judging from his garb) he stepped up and offered a fake card.

"My name's Silver, I've been called in on short notice to aid in the investigation of Organism number one and two. It is a classified request and I brought in an assistant, although she looks young, she is very capable. This is her first day on the field." He finished his introduction by pushing up his glasses in a scholarly manner.

"My apologies sir, I have not been notified about any requests for any scientists..."

"What part of classified do you not understand? I'm sure even the people I'm required to work with do not know I've been called, fair enough, if I'm not permitted entry I'll simply leave. If I come under fire, I'll mention you" he peered at the name tag "Ms. Stephanie. Thank you, I'll be leaving now." Whi-2 looked up in alarm as Silver turned his heel and began marching out with his head held high. Schooling her facial expression to mirror his, she too imitated him and started to exit.

"Sir...please wait, on second thought you...can go in. Please forgive my unprofessional conduct." The secretary bowed as Silver swept past her desk without sparing her a glance, his assistant followed him and briefly inclined her head as she passed. They entered a corridor with doors lining on either side. Unhesitatingly, the red head went up to each door, introduced himself using the fake identity and got names and the ranks of the different scientists working on different projects. Originally, Mossdeep space center was a place for launching rockets and there had been successful projects undertaken in space. They were the ones who theorized that clefairy came from the moon and brought shards of moonstone which are essential for their evolution. Meteor showers are one of the best ways to bring valuable space material and rocks to the surface of the Poke-verse. There is also a hypothesis stating that the energy given off during these meteor showers might one day enable a certain species of Pokemon to evolve. Before long, Whi-2 was frantically scribbling down any tidbit of information they came across and pretty soon Silver was being welcomed into the pride of the center, the rocket and space shuttle developing hangar.

The space was huge; it stretched as far as the eye could see. Whi-2 felt overwhelmed. Many researchers had beamed polite smiles when they heard she was a budding assistant and an eager researcher, they complimented her on her zeal and encouraged her to pursue a career in the field. Feeling more confident, she brought out a digital camera and started taking pictures of her surroundings. The roof of the area was criss-crossed with a bunch of steel girders and industrial lights, the floor was a white slab of stone and she saw heavy machinery working on a rocket on the far end. Leaving Silver to acquaint a female cosmologist, who appeared to be interested in him, she moved about in the area taking down notes and snapping photos. Some distance away, she saw a space shuttle being assembled, taking a little tour of the facility, she made her way back to find out the female individual, identified as Courtney, had fallen for Silver's robotic charms. She willingly divulged information about the two space pokemon and without further ado, she ushered them along a few carpeted corridors and into a conference and research room. A group of scientist looked up from their glass topped, data sheet covered table and smiled warmly.

"He's the new scientist sent in by our boss, apparently it was all hush hush" Courtney explained and Silver felt weak, what if his cover story was blown by the 'boss' who might be sitting in the very room. Adjusting his spectacles, he greeted them all in a stiff manner and cast a quick look around. One side of the room was digital and messy with computers, steel tables and cabinets; while the other side was decorated by fancy orange overhead lamps, brown leathered couches and sofas, futuristically designed coffee-tables and a long rectangular table where the scientists and other researchers could sit and work individually or in separate groups. It gave off the sensation of a comfortable working area. Right now, he and Whi-2 stood at the table and looked intelligent in order to keep up with what the cosmologists were saying. An elderly person hobbled forward and clasped his shoulders tightly.

"So Mr. Devon sent you, I understand all the secrecy given what those new-fangled criminals are doing. If Rayquayza was here, we'd been alerted to the presence of Deoxys a long time ago; he gets absolutely furious when aliens enter the Poke-earth."

"I see, unfortunately he is missing at the moment right?" Silver enquired.

"Not missing Silver, stolen! Those international police and gym leaders don't want to cause mass panic so they gave out altered information. Anyway it is nice meeting you today, we have been probing into their affairs for some time and we can certainly say Deoxys are looking for a new place to inhabit. You see, there is a whole colony of them out in space and for some reason; their original planet has been destroyed, so they are seeking for a new place to call home. My conjecture is that quite a good number of them paired off and were sent to look for planets with ideal living conditions. They probably did find our good Poke-earth suitable but the problem was it is already populated with us and other pokemon, so by partially destroying it, they are getting rid of the inhabitants so they could claim it as their own. There are more investigative questions and we'll tackle them all tomorrow right now" the elder glanced at the clock "we need to sleep. I'm exhausted." Muttering to himself, he slowly walked to the door with the others following him. Only Silver, Whi-2 and Courtney stayed behind, the mauve haired woman gestured them to leave.

"You should go back to the hotel for today, come in nice and early tomorrow."

"Thank you for showing me around to day" the male imparted a deadpan smile, "I'll come in tomorrow again, so please look after me and my assistant." The lights in the laboratory winked out one by one and Courtney helped them outside, chattering animatedly all the way. Spying a deserted corridor, Sliver grabbed Whi-2 and ducked into it, thereafter he summoned his kingdra and commanded it to use yawn, the female scientist staggered, yawned and promptly fell asleep on the floor, a minute later his weavile joined him and Silver began unbuttoning his coat, he withdrew his water pokemon and stowed the pokeball away on the belt hanging from his waist..

"Did you disable all the cameras?" Weavile growled in reply and pointed to one emitting sparks, thereafter it held out a keycard and his trainer mumbled a thanks. Turning to the awed Whi-2 he explained his actions.

"When I first walked in the lobby, I had already released my partner to start disabling all the cameras in the facility, this is one of the fundamental rules when you are working on a covert operation and alone, however, in heavily guarded research facilities, do not attempt this, your best bet would be to act inconspicuous. Next, Weavile used thief to steal the master keycard. Lastly, to ensure you leave no traces behind, you either have to wipe the camera records or show a false feed. I normally do the latter. Here we have nothing to worry about since I destroyed the cameras; the laboratory is devoid of people so now is the ideal time to carry out our mission. Let's start."

The older male set off purposefully and Whi-2's thoughts churned in her head, she was frightened beyond comprehension. It was dark, it was creepy and risky and yet, here her senior was, trespassing the building by aid of a small circle of light thrown from his tiny flashlight, weavile darted by his side in a faithful manner. Back tracking, they returned to the previous workroom and Silver began to leaf through the papers, gathering them all together. Whi-2 did the same and soon her senior left her to file the notes away in her bag while he tackled with computer passwords and encryption. Half an hour later he swore and cursed horribly under his breath and called Emerald. Ten minutes after that, he unplugged a pen drive from the tower port and stowed the drive away in his pocket.

"Let's sweep the center for any other secrets." The older trainer added and the junior nodded meekly. She lagged behind Silver as he inspected the facility dutifully, going into rooms, sifting through the drawers and scanning them, his work was meticulous. Not a thing was out of place once he finished going through a room. She noticed him wearing gloves and wondered if she should perhaps get a pair of her own. The vision of doing this kind of work alone in the near future almost induced a panic attack. Calming herself, she took a few steps to the side to make room for Silver and accidentally vanished.

 _She vanished._

Right before his eyes. Silver blinked and peered at the floor, a circular indention marked the tiles and he sighed.

"A warp panel huh?...I have to find her before it's too late."

Whi-2's first instinct was to scream for help at the top of her voice, but she realized her position and instead calmed down and slid to the floor helplessly.

And she cried.

Not willingly of course, after the feeling of loneliness set in, a few stray tears stubbornly slid down her cheeks and she let them.

This continued for a short amount of time, Whi-2 snuggled with her foongus and it used aromatherapy to calm her nerves.

Taking a deep breath, she got up on shaky legs and after retrieving her phone, she used the flash light to take stock of her environment. The surroundings looked like an information archive of some sort, walls were lined with clear cabinets and on the far corner she spied a wooden desk piled with a few thick books and papers. Cautiously, she made her way there with light foot falls and looked on the desk, what she was blew her out of her mind.

Cosmog, the nebula pokemon, the picture showed a mini creature with a gaseous, cloud-esque body sporting two wisp-like extensions serving as arms and an ellipse running down its body. It had a black face decorated by yellow eyes and blue cheeks. The article further explained: in behavior, Cosmog has an overly trusting nature and it immediately takes a liking to whoever shows it kindness, even when that person doesn't have the best intentions for it. This Ultra beast has the ability to open Ultra Wormholes, but only when under stress. This process is very dangerous for Cosmog, and the use of its powers can leave it immobile for extended periods of time.

She grabbed the file and decided to put it away in her bag. Then she paused for a moment, recalled Blue's words and solemnly put the documents back on the desk. It won't do to keep a trail behind. Stepping away from the desk she sifted through the files lining the cabinets and soon, she sat on the floor with a bunch of papers all around her. In the hazy light, she scrutinized each register and took down the ones she deemed important. In the snippets she read, she found about Rayquayza and its relation to Deoxys, apparently, the pokemon held mutual hate for each other.

On the other end, Silver's emotions were thrown into turmoil. He contacted Blue a while ago and told her of the predicament of losing Whi-2, as a reward, he got an earful from his leader and now his mission came to a crashing halt as he combed the area. The warp panel she stepped through sent him in a completely different place, weavile was by his side and sniffing the air for her scent, so far it has proven to be futile.

* * *

Her eyes were growing heavy and a choking feeling settled in her chest. Where was senior Silver anyway? The hours had slowly ticked by and she glanced at her phone for the umpteenth time. Tired, the novice thief merely flopped to the floor and prayed for a savior, suddenly she bolted up when she heard footsteps outside. They were loud, too loud to be Silver's. Gulping, she hastily gathered the papers littering the floor and haphazardly crammed them into a binder. Whoever was on the other side had started rattling the door and eventually banging on it. Whi-2's heart leapt up in her throat and she fought down the urge to scream.

The rattling turned into knocking.

Knocking into banging.

Hiding underneath the table and shaking like a leaf. Whi-2 clasped her hands over her mouth.

Suddenly, the door tore down and a person walked in and switched on the lights. All she could see was red boots and maroon tights. She almost fainted from fright. Whoever this was, it was _not_ Silver.

"There...Is someone in this room." the individual's voice sounded like he was in his middle ages. Slowly, very slowly, the man bent down to see a shivering, white faced Whi-2 underneath the table. They stared at each other and then:

She SCREAMED.

* * *

 **A/N** : Does anyone else like Devious Diamond? Given his personality, I can't picture him doing that. Anyway, here is another chapter, please read and leave a line of your thoughts. Much thanks to Jack54311, fluffandrows57and FluffyCanaries for reviewing (the last time). I was still feeling a bit cranky so I forgot to mention names. Eh, anyone want to guess the identity of the person breaking in the archives? Guess right and I'll give you a *drum roll* virtual cookie! YAYYY! (Please don't mind the author, stress is shutting down a few neurons)


	11. Rainbows are made from fire

**Chapter 11: Rainbows are made from fire  
**

Dawn

Hoenn, Mossdeep city

Space center

Maxie was not sure what transpired. A few hours before dawn, he had personally broken into Mossdeep space center to find and steal some top secret information so that he could use it as blackmail material should the facility refuse to hand over the required quantity of rocket fuel he demanded a few days back. This fuel was needed as energy to undertake the creation of a pseudo Groudon since some blasted criminal organization had stolen the legendary. Anyway, he had infiltrated into the archives and his senses had picked up someone else's presence. The only hiding place in the dank and dimly lit room was a rickety wooden table placed in one corner and buckling under the weight of several heavy tomes placed on the dusty surface. With deliberate slowness, he made his way there and peered under the table, only to find a pasty faced young girl quivering underneath. They gazed at each other for a moment. Giving an earsplitting, terrified scream, she scrambled out of her concealment and tackled him to the floor. Sweaty hands gripped his neck and cut off air flow as she attempted to strangle him, with minimal effort, he threw the girl off and tried to raise himself off the floor, this required some heavy effort because for some reason, his body refused to obey commands.

He was paralyzed.

Trembling, Whi-2 shifted a few paces from the bespectacled man and got up on shaky legs. Foongy had released paralytic spores and slowed the strange individual's movements down to a remarkable degree. Not knowing what else to do, she rummaged in her bag, brought out the Snivy gifted to her by Blue and released it. Pulling out her Pokedex she focused on the information shown on the screen and in a vibrating voice gave it a command:

"Snivy, use wrap." Two green vines shot out from the grass pokemon and began coiling around the intruder's neck. Whi-2 watched with mute horror as he gasped and failed for air and eventually quieted down. Only then, did Snivy retract its vines. His job done, the grass snake was recalled.

She could not believe what she'd done. With unblinking eyes, she stared at the person's prone form.

Footsteps echoed at the door and the surge of panic returned. Swallowing down bile, she was about to dive back into her hiding place when she saw Silver enter. The relief was so great that she ran towards her senior and grabbed on to him tightly; choking on her words. The older trainer took in the scene and glanced down to his junior sniffing and gripping him. Patting her awkwardly on her head, he simply relented and let her be, besides, his tension too was mitigated.

"I think...I think I killed him." The neophyte relayed in a cracked voice.

Silver detached her arms gently and then went over to the inert man. The individual was wearing a red trench coat with the collars embroidered with a grey colored letter M in a fancy script. Expertly, the Johto native reached for the pulse and found a feeble one, it was thrumming against his fingers. Taking out a card from his pocket, the laid it on Maxie's chest and ordered his assistant to leave the room. Back in the hallway, Silver fixed up the door and closed it, sooner or later, someone is going to stumble across the man and all hell will break loose.

"He's not dead, don't worry, you did a good job Whi-2. Come on, we'll have to hide till the laboratory opens up again, then we can return to Kanto safe and sound. Just hang in for a few hours." Unable to speak, the girl nodded and followed him.

Around the same time

Hoenn

Lilicove city

Norman wiped sweat from his brow and frowned. His Spinda was still teetering on the rubble before him. The alien pokemon had reduced Lilycove's department store into a pile of building remains, glass windows were shattered, slashed pipes gushed water and electricity cables gave off dangerous sparks as they lay in pools of water collected in street potholes. The scene was one of disaster and as Deoxys aimed another Hyper beam at him, a protect, courtesy of Steven went up and negated the attack. The young and overworked champion landed next to him and glared at the creature's blue-green face, his eyes travelled down to its chest where a luminous crystal core was set in a round indenture.

"The researchers have informed me that the crystal is its driving force, if we manage to shatter it, the pokemon will die. However, cracking it will severely drain its energy thus enabling capture. Cynthia is busy tailing the other one but it seems to have escaped."

The gym leader merely grunted in response. He noted how Deoxys had its attention fixated on Spinda and soon, the pokemon's movements became incoherent. Seizing the chance, he summoned his Staraptor, in tandem Steven sent out a multitude of Beldums and the hovering pokemon surrounded the monster entrapping it into a psychic barrier. Using the setup and locking on to the dizzy creature, Norman ordered his Staraptor to perform a Final Gambit. The large predatory bird tucked his wings in and focused on its prey soon after, the attack hit and Staraptor fainted. Deoxys as well, staggered back and crashed on the uneven ground, breaking a big piece of debris in half.

"Did it faint?" A woman's voice questioned as she joined the duo, the two males ignored her in favor of staring at the motionless beast.

To their unpleasant surprise, Deoxys rose again, this time; the three leader class trainers discerned a good sized fissure on the surface of the purple crystal. Without further ado, Deoxys changed form and charged again. Norman was violently pulled back by Steven as one of the tentacles slashed across his chest; a quantity of blood rose in an arc and decorated the place he was standing on. Sparing the gym leader a sorry glance, Cynthia, held on to her garchomp and both trainer and partner took off after the space creature. The thing's appearance was now more bulky. Garchomp tore after it at Mach speeds and soon the platinum blonde female was having trouble breathing and holding on to her monster. Deoxys briefly stopped flight to aim an assault and the land shark took the same opportunity to dislodge its master and leap up. It snapped its razor sharp jaws around one broad tentacle and hung there. The guard forme Deoxys emitted a roar of pain and roughly spun around in an attempt to get the ground pokemon off him. The pseudo-dragon did fall off, but with a large section of his orange-red tinted tentacle in its mouth.

Cynthia observed how her garchomp and Deoxys glared at each other, judging their current energy levels, her partner had a slight upper hand, she took in the ruined city and decided that it needed a serious restoration. Closing her eyes, she worded out a command.

"Garchomp, use Draco meteor"

Hopefully Steven and Norman won't be around to see the further destruction of their beloved region.

The Mach pokemon complied.

A roaring sound filled the air and the cloudless sky turned a bit dark. The ground began quaking and on looking up, Deoxys beheld fist sized flaming pebbles raining down from the sky, it struck the ground and the hard pavement cratered on impact. Even his guard forme would not be able to stand up to this. One atmosphere heated rock after the other pelted him and he felt the pain, searing pain radiate to his weakened core. His friend had left him to relay a message home and now he desperately wished she was near his side and supporting him. The fissure in his crystal widened and his vision turned hazy. Images of his home flashed in his mind and unwillingly he glanced at the human and it's pokemon who was responsible for his fate. Eyes forced shut; he exhaled and crashed to the floor. More meteors assaulted his back rendering him unconscious. Striding to the fainted pokemon, the Sinnoh champion collected it into an ultra-ball and returned to her partners. She came upon Norman stemming the bleeding on his chest whilst Steven tried to talk him to going back home and resting.

"I've captured Deoxys" at her statement, the two looked up with surprised expression. The black-haired man's expression morphed to fatigue and he announced that he was going home. Cynthia and Steven were left to transport the captured monster to Mossdeep space center. Wasting no time, the two mounted their flying pokemon and set a course to the east.

Mid-morning

Mossdeep city, Space center

The laboratory was fully functional again and this time Silver and Whi-2 had a very difficult time dodging and ducking in deserted hallways and corridors. The short circuited cameras gave the technicians a headache and several of them were called to fix and investigate the cause. A cleaner discovered the intruder's body in the secret archives and that incident caused a bigger uproar. Local police were summoned and countless times, Silver clasped his junior close to him and slinked in empty rooms. The process left them both exhausted and for the young girl's part, embarrassed. She was pretty sure if Hugh were here, he'd be glaring at Silver nonstop.

Hugh...

 _Hugh._

What was he doing? What was Lack-2 doing? No doubt demanding his leader to coach him. The image brought a tiny smile on her face; however, it promptly vanished when her senior snatched her and dragged her into another area. They both crouched at the entrance to a new room and the red-head signaled her to stay in her position. Half crouching, he leaned in the door in order to catch snippets of the conversation, seems like a team of scientists were having some sort of debate.

"...They captured it already, one escaped back to space and the other reduced Lilicove into...Yes, on their way here...Strap it or else...Free, we can't let it break free again...Crystal cra..."

The trainer retreated; he was unable to make heads or tails of their conversation. One thing was for sure, they captured Deoxys and it was probably making its way here. Change of plans: Stay here till the space Pokemon is transported to this facility, once a glimpse of it is taken, they will leave. He discreetly went back to Whi-2 and relayed his latest plans, she simply nodded her consent. The duo resumed creeping around the facility and soon, another furor announced the arrival of Deoxys. Desperately, Silver joined the masses of scientists as they filed around a steel stretcher transporting the alien to a holding cell. It was wide awake and it thrashed its double helix styled tentacles in a florid manner. Time seemed to slow down as the phantom thief and space monster locked eyes. With a melancholic realization, Silver understood the Pokemon was simply lonely and afraid.

It wanted a home. It needed a partner.

Breaking away from the group, he ushered Whi-2 outside the facility. Thereafter the duo set a course for Slateport where they will be sailing all the way to Kanto.

* * *

Previous day, late afternoon

Johto

Bell Tower

Rainbows are made of fire, White thought as her arms went slack. True to the legends and information collected by Team Constellate, those two artifacts did indeed summon Ho-oh and the legendary pokemon appeared in a legendary fashion. The afternoon sky had at first turned scarlet, then from the far west a semi-circle of colors began appearing in the sky. It curved over, stopped by the Bell tower and a gigantic bird pokemon flew into view. The rainbow seemed to resonate with its existence and where the avian pokemon flew, it set the sky ablaze in a trail of fire. Flapping its seven toned wings, it perched on the golden spire and surveyed them. Sapphire, ever the impatient one, commanded blaziken to damage the pokemon, instead, a whirlwind sent the fire type soaring into oblivion. The irate trainer gritted her teeth and summoned another partner.

Unfortunately it was too late.

Ho-oh glowed with an intense golden light and Dia, sensing trouble threw himself over White who was standing the closest to the mythical beast. The creature opened its beak and released a stream of scorching flames at its surroundings. Sacred flames licked on the tiles forming a sizzling barrier around the three trainers. Sapphire gripped Aggron and as the heat seared her back, she shuffled forward and the trio huddled together in the slowly constricting ring of vermillion flames.

The bird did not move from its perch. It stared the three criminals down as they discussed a strategy and began moving about in the small area provided on the roof. The male produced a bulky pokemon with a face resembling a shield, next to the pokemon stood another steel clad one with a horn jutting out of its forehead. The trio of humans took cover behind the makeshift living wall. A third pokemon was summoned and this was flopped on the floor. It was a brown bodied fish.

"THUNDER!" Screamed Diamond, White and Sapphire together in an effort to knock out Ho-oh with one move. Instantly thunder clouds gathered overhead and as the Rainbow Pokemon angled its crested head to the sky, three simultaneous pillars of lightning descended upon it. The potent streams of light threw the environment into black and white and over the din of roaring thunder; they could hear the cries of the mythical beast. The capturers shielded their eyes and only opened them when everything subsided. The sky was clear and sunny and there were no rainbows. Ho-oh's perch was burnt black and the beast itself lay before them smoking, it's multi-colored plumage damaged by the assault. Securing it in a pokeball, the three high-fived each other and decided to return to base.

Three days after capturing Ho-oh

Morning

Cianwood City, Safari Park

Crystal stood with her mouth wide open and her legs entangled in mud. Her Mega had fainted.

"Ready to go back to Goldenrod yet?" Gold chirped from where he was sitting with Black in a tree. The two males had brought out their phones and were now playing an interactive game. Sometimes Gold would look over to Crystal and snap pictures of her capturing Pokemon. As many times as he'd seen it, it still presented an awe inspiring sight. She was doing fine with her Meganium till she had the misfortune of facing a dusksull, the ghost pokemon used destiny bond and both the user and the target fainted. The pale green quadruple had crashed on its side and half of the herb pokemon was now covered with mire. Sighing, the blue haired trainer returned meganium to its pokeball and glared at Gold who had hopped down from his perch and was grinning in a smug manner. She wanted to kick the smirk off his face.

"Not yet," she announced and consulted the map given to her by the Safari Zone's information desk, "I want to go to the rocky beach area, there is a chance I might find a gible."

"Oh come on!" The gold eyed male protested, "we have been here all morning already! I'm getting good money at the slots and so is Black!"

"That's because you are both CHEATING!" Crystal stomped over to her friend and poked him hard in the chest. "Don't think I'm dumb. I'm going to the rocky beach; you can go wherever you want." With a huff, she turned her heel and marched off with Bonee at her side. Running a hand through his hair, Gold noticed how swamp mud was caked to her legs and splashed on her clothes. With a sigh, he called Black down and the two followed their female partner as she ventured into a new area. Instantaneously, a mareep surfaced and it was reduced into a semi-comatose state by a Bonemerang, with a cheer, the capturer threw a ball and secured it.

"Say super serious gal, you are not supposed to be using Pokemon in here. Mega fainted because you did not obey the rules."

"Be quiet Gold!" his friend hissed and her cheeks turned red due to embarrassment. Meanwhile, Black was still tapping away on his phone, oblivious of the new environment. Breaking away from the group, Crystal clambered on the raised rocky outcrop in the middle of the area and was delighted to see a pool of clear water. Without thinking too much she jumped in and began scrubbing the dirt stains and mire stuck to her body. Gold's words had an effect on her and after casting cubone an apologetic smile, she recalled the ground pokemon. Several minutes were spent to get her legs clean and to reduce the muddy color of her clothes. When she finally dragged herself out of the pond, she observed Gold and Black speaking into the Xtransciever. Thinking something urgent has come up, she ran down the rock hewed stairs and was surprised to her Red's voice coming through the speakers. He was shouting.

"It's been almost a week!" the male exploded "Ho-oh's team returned, Ruby and I finished on the first day, even Silver who was given a mission after you finished his project and returned! I understand you want to have fun Gold, I thought you'd stay for a two days maximum...Not a week. Green is furious. There is a new Pokemon we have to capture and you three are undermining our goals, doing what you please and wasting time! Crys!" the girl flinched on hearing him spit out her name "you are the most responsible of the three. Return here at once and before night fall."

The connection was cut without a goodbye. The three individual's watched the screen blankly, the leader's words were harsh. He sounded like Green.

"...Let's go home...gosh, my leader is going to kill me." Crystal complained.

Several hours later the three of them stood with bowed heads before Red and Green. They were given an earful and Crystal wished the floor would open up and swallow them whole. Or better, Gold's Typholsion could produce and earthquake and knock everyone out. It was a bad move listening to him, but at the time he proposed it, she was unable to say no to a white faced, shivering and utterly crushed Gold. Her superior's words flew over her head and soon, she found herself pending with punishment.

"As for Gold, Red has been training your student in your absence. I want you to put a session with him before you go to bed. _No excuses_." The brunette's jade irises glittered viciously.

The black haired adolescent saluted and went off. He started searching for Lack-2. The first place he stopped by was Execution's room, inside, Sapphire and Diamond were having a little feast, he approached the duo in an attempt to swipe a rice ball but the martial artist chopped down on his wrist in a violent manner. Cursing, he grabbed his hand and massaged it. After making sure Lack-2 was not in there, he set off again, down a twisting, gradually declining corridor and walked all the way to the dormitory area. Locating his student's bedroom door, decorated by a poster of Unovian model Elesa, he knocked and called out:

"Hey Lack-2, I'm back from my mission, let's do some train-"

"I'M BUSY!" screeched a voice from within and Gold shrugged helplessly, he couldn't force his apprentice to train if he did not want to. Folding his hands behind his head, he ambled to his room and paused by the door. No other sounds came from Lack-2's room and the tone was unnaturally loud and a bit strange. Maybe...Maybe he was trying to cover up the fact that he might've been crying. Hovering a minute more, he eventually gave up and entered his messy bedroom. Neglecting to switch on the lights, he discarded his backpack on the rug, pulled off his belts, equipment and clothes and lied face down on his bed. His eyes slowly drifted shut.

Late night

Sinnoh Region

Police headquarters.

"So we have managed to capture one of the Deoxys' and the other flew off into space. According to those scientists, these pokemon needed a new home and found our universe suitable...Heh, I should've been on sight, I'd fry their brain circuitry!" A voice boomed in the circular chamber.

"How are the plans going for Hoenn's restoration? I heard Lilicove city was completely evacuated and the city itself was destroyed to the point of not being able to sustain people. Cynthia ma'am, I'd advise discretion on using Draco Meteor, as magnificent it is to be able to call forth debris from outer space, if it leads to heavy collateral damage, it is usually sensible to refrain from using it. Please keep that in mind for next time." The woman nodded and glanced at the speaker, the man's attention was already on the next victim who happened to be Steven, despite the polite tone, there was a cutting edge to his voice. After the interrogation of both Steven and Norman was over, the topic switched to more pressing matters.

The three captured legendries and the uproar in Mossdeep space Centre.

"I rushed to the Bell tower when I got a call from the local police" the cyan haired man explained "by the time I got at the foot of the temple, I saw three trainers leave through air, also, inside the tower, all the trainers we allocated for protection were found eating a rice ball which was laced with narcotics...Sleep power obviously and a memory altering drug, none of the questioned monks or ace trainers could provide an accurate picture of the intruders. Lugia was underwater and thus free for capture and Celebi...They somehow knew the fairy was going to return in this time period." Reaching out, he grabbed a bottle of water and took a few sips and continued to speak, "apparently, the criminal we apprehended in Mossdeep's research facility claims he was attacked. Judging from the marks around his neck, this is highly viable."

"Yes it is" Cynthia crossed her legs and spoke up; she extracted a paper from the pile lying on the table and held it up. "This is Silver...the same Silver who infiltrated Eterna laboratory and took the griseous orb, as you can see, he looks familiar in both pictures" she pointed to the red hair and contours of his face "he also entered both facilities with the same name."

"Which idiot does that?!" a voice boomed "it's a fake! They are two different people."

"No they are not" the blonde lady countered "he leaves the same cards, the one with a cluster of stars and a postage stamp sized mug shot of a weavile, except this time, the card had additional pictures of a Foongus and Snivy. According to Steven, those images depict the pokemon they use in a mission."

The Sinnoh champion's sentence was punctuated by a loud blaring ring tone. Accusing stares were thrown at Norman and Volkner with the former glaring back. Finally, Looker reached deep into the pocket of his brown trench coat and retrieved his cellphone. With a sheepish smile he answered the phone there was a tense silence as all the other eyes swiveled to him. A few mutterings later he set down the mobile phone and was instantly bombarded with questions.

"It's Boss" he replied "he is currently in Kanto investigating the champion of the region; he's there at the moment. He told me to deposit his partners in the box, since he's got no Pokemon to fight with."

"Did he say anything else? I'm going to wring his neck when he returns!" Looker quailed under the intense stare of the individual and stammered a few apologies for his absent superior.

"We have another problem brewing in Unova" Looker further added, "it concerns the-"

"Giant chasm" chorused two voices. The twins adjusted their uniform hats and leaned back in the chair. "We have reports from the residents of Lacunosa town. Apparently the temperatures are falling and it gets really cold at night, sometimes during the evening the civilians reported seeing frost creeping around the walls. When we drive the train between route twenty two and twenty three, there is a chill in the air. We decided to discuss the phenomenon with the Season Research lab and they told us it is most likely caused by a Pokemon and not because of some freak weather accident."

"We should get the Unovian champion and Professor Juniper on the case." The blue haired man ordered, "Skyla, since you are a gym leader in that region, you will be able to persuade them to come, as for Ingo and Emmet, keep the area clear, we might have to dispatch a team there soon." The addressed people nodded and the gathering broke up. Looker got up from his chair and exited the hall. He located a computer and began the task to transfer the stored monsters over to his boss. Typing in a few keys, he selected the location: Kanto Pokemon league and eventually sent the pokemon over. As the screen flashed a confirmatory message, he sighed and uttered a small prayer for his superior.

Late night

Kanto, Pokemon league

Elite four and Champion's chambers

Red's quarters were remarkably simple. The dim lights showed a deserted bedroom and one large window was open, pale white curtains floating in a breeze. The room was spacious; it had a couch decorating one wall, a huge bed against the other, an attached bathroom with all the necessities of a toilet, shower and a bath. There were pictures and paintings lining the walls and the centerpiece was a portrait from the hall of fame. The police officer moved towards the wall, lifted the painting and ran gloved hands along the wall; he found nothing, not even an indention. Setting the image back on its place, he methodically scoured the room, lifting the mattress, checking under the sofa, even going into the kitchen and sweeping the area clean. He briefly peeked into the bin, but the basket was empty and so was the closet. Perhaps the champion did not like living in his designated place. Failing to come up with anything related to his unexplained disappearance, he moved out of the living area and into the arena. This place was very famous, during the annual Pokemon matches the media hounded this chamber the most and matches held in here were shown live where possible.

The champion's battle arena.

A huge pokeball design dominated the floor; the champion stood on the white part of the ball whilst the challenger would enter through the far door and take their place on the red piece. Red would always have all his partners fanned out beside him or in Pikachu's case, sitting on his shoulder. Eyes drawn to the PC located in one corner, the investigator made his way there and extracted his pokemon and sent an email to his underling thanking him for his efforts. Once again, he resumed his task of scrutinizing the area till his eyes were dry.

Literally.

Getting up from his crouching position, he was certain this chamber contained no clues as well. He glanced at his watch and yawned, a few tears leaking from his eyes. It was almost three o'clock in the evening and he decided to call it quits. No point in searching for clues when none was left behind.

* * *

 **A/N:** Wow...no one could guess Maxie? But then again, the description was very...lacking. Oh well. Much thanks to Jack54311 and TheSilverHunt3r for reviewing. At Silver: If you do publish a story, please tell me, I'm looking forward to reading it. Anyways dear readers, please carry on reading the story and drop a line of your thoughts/complaints/random outbursts.


	12. Sheer cold

**Chapter 12: Sheer cold  
**

Mid-morning

Kanto

Dex criminal's hideout.

There was a knock on the door, pulling himself off his bed, Lack-2 crossed the carpet and opened it, his senior, Gold stared back at him with red rimmed eyes and ironically, a bright smile.

"Say" the black haired adolescent started, "we don't look too good do we? May I come in?" Without a word, the boy relented and let Gold into his room, he briefly caught his reflection in a mirror. His eyes too were red and swollen. Grabbing his visor off a table, he set it on uncombed hair and slumped back into his bed whilst the older trainer grabbed a chair and sat opposite him. The duo looked at each other.

"Is everything going okay?" Gold tinted irises searched for an answer but the boy's expression was heavily guarded. He was still in pajamas and his bedroom was neatly organized, all the books were in their shelves, his clothes were in the wardrobe instead of carpeting the floor, a portable computer lay closed on a study desk. After taking all of this in, the Johto native's attention turned back to the brooding child before him. He decided to ask him another question:

"What were you doing last night? I came to fetch you for training bu-"

"I was busy" came the frigid answer, Lack-2 noticed his senior's face turn a shade darker, "I was...Busy. No matter what I do, I can't escape from this place, I hate this place with a passion, Mom and dad are probably worried. And Red. Arceus that man is a monster." He finished his rant and breathed heavily and another thought came to him. Gold sitting so casually in front of him might also be categorized as a monster. After all he was trained by the champion. "Dewott has evolved and I still can't chip off any health from Aerodactyl," he looked up briefly and their gazes met, "personally, I feel like he is insulting me by using a pokemon with a type disadvantage." Letting out a defeated moan, he crashed back into his comforting duvet and stared at the ceiling. Due to Whi-2's insistence, it was decorated by his Pokemon Zodiac sign, a Bouffalant. While he had zero interest in astrological signs, it was a great way to impress girls so he stuck with it. Now it seems like the bovine creature was mocking him from the heavens. Even so, when the lights were out and the room plunged with darkness, the faint glow provided a small source of comfort to him.

"Senior Red is not so bad, you must be privileged to be able to spar with him and there are people, trainers out there who'd kill to be in your position." Gold decided to mildly point out.

"Kill to be in my position?" The brown haired boy exclaimed and sat up abruptly, eyes wide with scorn, "sure they would. Or probably not after they find out that he and Green are the reason why so many legendries are disappearing. It messes with the balance of the world. Did you see the news? Thanks to Rayquayza being absent, some mysterious alien pokemon destroyed one of the cities in Hoenn. Obviously that does not concern you does it?...What...What do you people want anyway?"

"Dunno" the older trainer answered with his hands folded behind his head "They might've told us but I didn't care to listen." He got off the chair and began dragging it back to its proper place. "Maybe you would've stopped questioning all this if you took a good look at them. They both look very lonely. Red once disappeared into a mountain because he got bored, a nationwide search was unable to find him, finally false news was spread about something happening to Green and he came over. Want to know where he went?" The neophyte nodded. "He hid himself in the mountain range bordering Kanto and Johto, the area is currently a no-man's land, neither region can claim it as theirs so they leave it as a dividing border separating the two regions. It was the perfect hiding place...Enough with these talks, let's head to breakfast and get training afterwards. You only have a starter right? I'll help you catch more pokemon if you like." Imparting these words, the black haired man strolled out of the room and Lack-2 watched him go in a crestfallen manner. He sat on his bed for a couple more minutes and eventually got dressed and went to eat.

The moment he slid the door apart and entered the kitchen, a cream covered cupcake flew out of nowhere and landed on his face. Hissing irritably, he took the pastry off and glared at the occupants in the room. Near the stoves Diamond and Pearl had turned around to look at him, the blonde sported a guilty grin. Inhaling deeply, the trainer ignored the whispering duo and trekked to the fridge. Peering into it, he debated between a can of lemonade or orange juice, finally making up his mind, he grabbed the can of lemonade and was about to leave the area when he ran into Whi-2. She and two seniors had just stepped over the threshold and were chatting in an animated manner. Not in a mood to join in their conversation, he discreetly exited and found Diamond holding out a sandwich.

"Sorry about earlier" he apologized "Pearl can get a bit hyperactive at times, you didn't have breakfast yet right? I made this for you." The teenager smiled earnestly and Lack-2 thanked him and took the package. He lingered outside the kitchen for a while and the mouthwatering aroma of various types of food made him miserable. Cheers and gleeful shouts emanated within, seems like the blonde teenager had started a ruckus again. Unwrapping the parcel, he bit into the sub and paused.

The stuff was delicious. Hungrily, he crammed the rest of the sandwich in his mouth and swallowed. Stuffing the wrapper into his pants pocket, he opened his soda and started drinking. With nothing else to do he meandered down the corridors and into his team's common room.

"Whoa!" Lack-2, a can of lemonade in his hand, stopped at the entrance of Execution's room. "You look different..." He gave his leader a wide berth, propped himself up and sat on the pool table with his legs dangling in the air. After taking a good swig of the fizzy lemon laced drink, he peeked at his superior once again. Red's normally upright and unruly bangs had been forced down and he looked a bit like Ruby, without the cowlick on the latter's head of course.

"Did I surprise you?" the man gave a courteous smile and the russet eyed male listlessly looked at him, "Blue did this. I'm going to Hoenn with a few of the other members of course, and since we need to capture Deoxys, we have to get to the Space Center, there will be lots of people so..."

"You have to fool them" the young trainer stated "I understand. Who are the people going with you? Am I on the list?"

A hand reached up and patted the stiff bangs arranging them neatly, finished with what he was doing, Red replied: "You were on the list before Green took your name down and put in Gold's. Apparently it's his punishment for doing what he pleases. Don't worry though; I'm sure you'll get to work in the field someday."

"Can't wait" the child muttered sarcastically under his breath, for all his expertise, Red could be so oblivious at times. Crushing the can, Lack-2 gulped the rest of the carbonated drink and was about to hop off the table when a few other people walked in. Green strode with a sulking Crystal in a tow, behind them, Gold and Pearl, still wearing a chef's hat, followed. No doubt, this was going to be the Deoxys capture team. Surprisingly a small pang of sympathy tugged his heartstrings. His so-called teacher was exhausted; the peak-capped trainer was rubbing his raw eyes vigorously. Next to him, the blue haired female passed him a bottle and he squirted the liquid into his eyes. Blinking rapidly, Gold spied his student and walked up to him. For his part, Lack-2 jumped off the table and joined his senior.

"Going on a mission again senior Gold?"

"Yeah" he black haired man answered forlornly and his voice dropped into a whisper. "Green is such a prick, just because Crys, Black and I decided to take a holiday, he goes and blows his underpants apart. Now Crys and I are being forced to work extra as punishment."

"I think you deserved it" A sly smile stretched across the youth's face. "Double punishment for neglecting me. Whi-2 and Silver are already best buds and poor old me has no one to play with." He shrugged and buried his hands deep inside his pockets. Throwing another complacent look, he shuffled out of the door. Gold watched him go.

"Deoxys is being held in a holding cell deep in the facility" Green opened the conversation and spread several photographs on the table. Pointing to one, he continued. "These are the pictures of the facility Whi-2 procured for us; we can use this to get a good idea of the interior of the laboratory. Since its capture, Mossdeep space Centre is holding several seminars discussing the pokemon, these conferences are open to both scientists and the public and therefore we are going to attend one. Thereafter one of us has to sneak in to the place where they are keeping the alien and set it free."

"I'll do it" a hand shot up and Green face-palmed much to the amusement of those present.

"Pearl, you are going to bring the laboratory down if yo-"

"Actually, it is a good idea" Red cut in firmly "Pearl can talk the guards and other facility members to death." The statement induced a few chuckles from the rest of the group and Green found himself relaxing.

"So it's settled. I'll be going with as well." At this snippet of information, a tense silence untangled in the room. No one was brave enough to speak against the strategy department's leader, not even his best friend. Red had opened his mouth to protest, eventually he decided against speaking out and swept his gaze around the others, he took in Gold's watering eyes and spoke up.

"Gold is exhausted Green, can't we give him a bre-"

"NO!" Thus the case was closed.

Hours later

Hoenn, Mossdeep city

Space center.

Pearl watched the screens disinterestedly. The entire capture team were currently sitting in a darkened amphitheater and next to him, his leader was furiously scribbling down every bit of information falling out of speaker's lips. A large screen showed the different formes of Deoxys and a scientist was currently pointing at the mauve crystal core and explaining its use. A few seats away, he caught both Gold and Red dozing, seems like they were as bored as he was. Stretching his arms, he consulted his Poketch and nimbly stood up from his padded seat. It was time to initiate the mission. Switching on the mike hidden on his person, he nudged his commander, who nodded in understanding and set out. Apologizing to the audience members, he exited the theatre and stopped to get his bearings. Pulling his striped sleeves down, he glanced left, right and began walking in a random direction.

He had no idea where he was going, several people had stopped him from accessing a restricted area and some doors could only be activated with a keycard. If anyone asked, he was lost and trying to find his way out. When the kind patrons pointed him into a particular direction, he took the opposite one. Eventually he reached the areas depicted in Whi-2's photographs.

And now he was utterly lost.

In the hangar-esque area, he had little time for admiring the assembled rockets and space shuttles. Without breaking stride, he confidently swaggered on to the other doorway. When he reached it, he was about to pass through when a small glass cabinet set against the wall caught his eye. Ignoring the several safety precautions taped on the surface, he gingerly pried it open and connected a palm computer to it. Instantaneously everything went black. Gathering his wit, he disconnected his portable device and bolted, leaving screaming and cursing technicians and engineers in his wake. Retrieving a small flash light from his pocket, Pearl used it to guide himself around, his phone vibrated and he blanched. Hesitatingly he answered it.

"Pearl..." hissed a low tone on the other side and he turned whiter.

"Sir...I can totally explain, you see it's more convenient this way. While the rest of the facility is panicking, I can go about my job without being suspected; besides I saw a funny looking cabinet on the wall, it was housing a bunch of electrical outlets and dials so I thought maybe it Rald could check it out or something. Thinking this, I plugged in my Palmtop in it and boom, everything became dark. Funny huh? Oops, I gotta go, there is someone coming down this way. Sit tight senior I'll definitely get my job done, you'll see. And watch out for Red and Gold, they are probably fast asleep by now. See you later sir..." And with that, he cut the call and breathed a sigh of relief.

Green was not going to be pleased with the development.

In the pitch dark amphitheater the older male stared at his gear in annoyance, trust the over eager individual to make such mistakes. No matter, if Pearl put his mind to a job, it was considered done. No matter how much the collateral damage maybe. Green patiently waited for the emergency lights to come on and the moment they did, his head whipped to the two sleeping offenders. Red had jolted awake and gaped at his surroundings, he was pulling a cap over his trammeled hair whilst Gold...the adolescent had his cheek squashed against the headrest of the seat in front of him, fortunately, the occupant did not notice. The brunette motioned his best friend to wake the trainer up and once he did so, he tired trainer sat ramrod straight. The lecture on Deoxys formes resumed and all attention was fixated on the pokemon's Attack forme and how it is streamlined to cause heavy amount of damage.

Once pale fluorescent light bathed the room he entered without permission, Pearl spun around to see the automatic door slide close behind him. It took a minute for despair to sink in. Discarding the flashlight on the floor, he banged the steel gate in a not so covet manner and screamed at the top of his lungs for help. When those actions did not help, he summoned infernape and asked the flaming monkey to break the door down. Surprisingly to both trainer and monster, the door withheld the initial assault and several others. With no other option, the blonde decided to contact his senior and on trying to do so he realized there was no signal in the particular room.

An ominous sound issued from the back of the room. An amalgamation of a growl, hiss and roar.

The teenager broke out in a cold sweat despite the flames emanating from his partner. Mechanically he turned his head and dropped his phone to the floor.

The screen cracked and so did his humerus as two toned tentacles punched a neat hole through skin, flesh, bone and the steel door securing them inside. Pearl's back hit the cold metal with a thump and he screeched in pain. The pointed appendages were recalled and the boy rolled out of the way as the four tentacles lashed on the door. It creaked, dented and eventually caved in. The pokemon fixed his eyes at Pearl and the human trembled in fear. Infernape stood protectively before its trainer and chattered in a threatening manner. Directing his gaze to the roof, Deoxys gathered up energy and blasted a hole right through with a hyper beam. Small pieces of concrete rained down and in a flash, the pokemon morphed and flew through the created opening faster than naked eyes could follow. Recalling his pokemon, the trainer clasped a hand over his exuding wound and limped out.

Crystal was taking down notes when the sky was torn asunder with an unholy shriek. Adding to the ear damaging noise were the blaring sirens of the facility. Soon, all the guests were being ushered out and asked to evacuate the area as soon as possible. Her lips tugged upwards into a grin, seems like her team mate had accomplished his task. Hands clasping over the smooth contours of an ultra-ball, she shouldered past the visitors to go outside.

It was capturing time.

* * *

Iris was never the one for formal meetings or occasions. The first time she was crowned champion of Unova her usually bubbly personality had quieted down when an inter-region meeting was held to foster diplomatic relations between champions of different regions. She remembered sitting at the head of a ridiculously long and expensive table surrounded by food her stomach could definitely not digest and in a room so opulent, her head spun. The other champions, who were much older than her initiated polite conversation and soon the topic turned to her age. The dual champion of Kanto and Johto (an impressive feat by _anyone's_ standards) eyebrows shot up when she mentioned her age.

"I'm twelve."

 _Twelve_.

"I suppose she takes the title of youngest champion of history from you Red." A feminine voice commented and the young male hung his head, thereafter he looked up and beamed at her.

The present scene reminded her of that day; except this time the room was circular with a circular table surrounded by chairs to many too count. Professor Juniper and she were summoned to the police headquarters in Unova to discuss strange energy issuing forth from the Giant chasm. Iris had often felt it but ignored it, besides the readings came from a dragonoid creature. Dragons were pretty harmless creatures in her book. Requested to take a seat, the two female guests occupied two chairs and waited for the discussions to begin.

"Professor Juniper and Ms. Iris, we are sorry to call you at such a short notice-"

"Get to the damn point already!" A burly blonde shouted. "Listen up, there is something weird going on in the Giant chasm and both of you have a fairly vague idea of what it is. Enlighten us at once or else those weasels will take it from right under our noses like they did with the Light stone, the dark stone... (Here Steven clenched his jaw) and other legendary pokemon. If it's strong, they'll take it and for Raikou's sake, we still don't know who the hell they are!"

The dark skinned girl wondered if the individual sitting opposite her always harbored such rage, nevertheless...

"It's a dragon pokemon" she spoke without delay "from the energy it gives off it must be a mythical type. The dragon's main element is ice. Pardon me, this is all I can tell you, I don't have much time to go investigate because I'm saddled with my duties as a champion and since I'm new, I am not allowed to go out much."

"Professor Juniper?"

"I...Did some research on the myths of Unova and learnt something interesting, some claim this pokemon is of extraterrestrial origin and came in the form of a meteor crashing from outer space. Drayden claims that when Reshiram and Zekrom were created, it also gave birth to a third creature named Kyurem. This is the most plausible theory and all evidence currently supports this. However, there is one problem; you see, Kyurem is not a complete entity on its own. It needs either Zekrom or Reshiram's DNA to restore itself to its fully functional form. In this case we can ascertain that this dragon is far more powerful than the other two. And as a result of not being complete, it leaks energy which is now affecting the surrounding environment."

"Will it get worse?" Skyla, politely probed, Unova's economy will be threatened if the entire region starts to freeze over.

"I hope not, although I can't say..." The professor replied, unsure of her words.

"Well whatever, we'll assemble a team and try to keep the dragon's energy spillage to a minimum." The burly man announced, "Skyla, Clair, VOLKNER! Looker. Head over to the cavern with a team of scientists and set up camp, we need to guard the beast and make sure it does not harm nearby civilians. Unfortunately the train service to Victory road will have to stop for the moment." Hearing this, the twin train conductors snorted.

The meeting was disbanding when a screen flickered to life; the leaders in the room observed the screen and listened to the individual with varying degrees of morbid fascination.

"Deoxys has broken out of confinement" Norman's voice floated in the room by aid of two huge speakers connected to the monitor, "apparently there was an unexplained blackout at the facility and it took the opportunity to break down the cell, punch a hole through the roof and get out. Currently, it's reducing Mossdeep city into rubble, I'm on my way there. I need backup, provide some for me as soon as possible."

"Wait Norman!" Cynthia shouted, "weren't there any suspicious individuals on sight? Like Silver...Or whatever is real name is?"

"...There was one...but he was a pre-teen, he kept on roaming through the halls and bumping into people asking for his siblings and parents, there are no camera records of him going into any restricted areas. I'm leaving, save the questions for later." And the display went blank. Back at the table, one of leaders pounded fist and barked out more tasks.

"Newbie!" the member shot up from her seat and saluted, "You, Blaine and Flint, get to Hoenn and aid Norman." The three named trainers got off their seats and hastily exited. Flint, one hand scratching his orange afro, showed a victory sign to a scowling Volkner. The electric type gym leader sunk further in his seat. Keeping guard over a dragon confined to the depths of an unfrequented cave? So boring. His mind briefly wandered to his gym in Sunnyshore, it needed a city blackout inducing tweak again. Maybe he'll get more promising trainers.

So bored.

So listle-

"VOLKNER! Stop daydreaming and MOVE!" The male lethargically followed his orders.

* * *

Evening

Between route twenty two and twenty three

Giant chasm.

"I thought...this was supposed to be a cave..." Volkner stated whilst eyeing the forest of frost capped trees with half lidded eyes. The icy dust glittered like fire gems in the rays of the setting sun. Without waiting for his team mates, he stepped forward, thick grass crunching underfoot. Suddenly a wild pokemon leapt up to him and he tensed.

A white furred mammalian beast stood before him, savoring him with somber eyes. Its face and sickle shaped horn, jutting out from the side of its head were lead colored. Volkner thought of shooing the creature away, instead, ruby eyes swept the little group of trainers and it turned tail and vanished deep into the forest.

"We are in for some trouble." Looker intoned and pulled his shabby trench coat tighter against his body, "According to the myths, absol only appears when disaster is about to strike." His comment was met with a scoff; the Sunnyshore gym leader thrust his hands deep into his pockets and advanced. Skyla and Clair followed after him and a team of scientists, including Juniper and Iris trekked after them. Looker brought up the rear, his trusty croagunk leaping by his side. Together, the motely band infiltrated the forest battling several wild pokemon along the way. As they surged forward, the temperature had become much colder and their breath came out in a cloud of mist. The environment was being enveloped by a thick fog reducing visibility.

On the outskirts of the forest, a crowd of people dressed in medieval styled clothing watched the gym leaders enter the chasm. A figure amongst them, rendered prominent by the long hat he wore on his head instructed his underlings in hushed whispers. Sneakily, they tailed the team, keeping them in sight at all times. In several instances Looker looked behind him on hearing the odd crackling of grass, but he failed to see anyone.

The shadows outlining the trees are merely wild pokemon, his mind supplied, quelling his growing suspicion.

"Ah...Finally a cave."

It was dank and the earthy smell made breathing a bit difficult. And it was cold. Bitterly cold. Teeth chattering and shivering, the band ventured further, here a layer of ice caked the ground, stalactites were coated with a fine layer of shimmering powder and some damp stones gleamed like unearthly diamonds. Pushing aside path blocking boulders, Clair took the forefront, leading the mass along a small body of water; once again, they exited a cave and traversed another forest area centered in the crater. A few hours later, amidst much grumbles and complaints from Volkner's part, they entered another cavern. The interior waterfalls were lost to the apathetic blonde as he purposefully strode forward, stomping his sneakers against the dirt in an effort to keep warm. Reaching the end, he halted abruptly and stared.

Two huge, glowing yellow eyes leered at him. One by one, the other members came to a harrowing standstill as they beheld the pokemon in its monstrous glory. Razor sharp chalky claws glinted and the dragon quietly watched them.

With calculating eyes.

Slowly, it opened its maw and mist poured out. The jaw widened and the cave got colder.

Glaciate.

From Kyurem's mouth poured a breath so cold it chilled the very marrow of bones. The cave was glazed with ice. Volkner took a step back and brought his rime covered hands on his face and was horrified to feel it coated with a layer of ice. He blinked rapidly; his eyelashes and hair were partially frozen. Everyone on his team suffered the same gruesome fate. Clair cracked her whip on the icy floor and summoned her kingdra, she commanded the pokemon to use yawn in an effort to slow down the mythical creature, jolted into reality, the others did the same, calling forth their pokemon and issuing attack commands. The area briefly lit up with flashes of light as Kyurem absorbed the various assaults. Finally, as the leaders recalled the pokemon they saw the dragonoid sway. Tranquilizer shots were fired from the group of scientists and the white dragon keeled over and crashed on its side. Seeing this, the trainers visibly relaxed. Not wary of the creature anymore, the investigators swarmed over the beast and began to critically inspect it from every angle. Others began setting up a base of operations.

In the shadows, a figure spoke in a tiny mike:

"Sir, they made contact with Kyurem. Yes, seems like they might stay and guard the dragon for a while..."

"Good job" a scratchy voice rasped, "you have done your duty splendidly, return here at once, we must inform _him_."

* * *

A/N: These power outages are so annoying, can't even update my story properly. Anyway, much thanks to Jack54311 and HeyYouYaYou for reviewing/following my story, it's a motivating factor in these depressing and too hot (for proper brain function) times. Please keep on supporting the story and giving feedback. Thank you.


	13. From space, with Love

**Chapter 13: From space, with Love  
**

The moment Green heard Pearl's earsplitting scream through his earpiece, he knew something had gone wrong. When the sirens blared in the center and he was being escorted out, he knew his underling had paid a heavy price for his mission. The urge to rush back and rescue him was strong, but Pearl was resilient. He will survive.

 _He will make it, somehow._

* * *

Mid-afternoon

Hoenn

Mossdeep city

Red wished his hair wasn't glued to his head, he tried to take the cap off and mess his bangs up a bit, alas they stubbornly stuck together. They had come out to a scene of disaster and the local police were already on site, ushering panicking civilians and crying children to clear out in an orderly manner. Overhead, clouds floated lazily and he turned when Green shifted uneasily next to him.

"Something wrong? You are awfully fidgety."

"Pearl might be injured" the man replied somberly, "and our target seems to have escaped to space. If it were here, it'd be causing chaos right now." The criminals marched faithfully alongside citizens. Again, Green looked backwards, over the heads of the people behind him to see if he could catch a glimpse of the Sinnoh native. No such luck. As he faced forward, the crowd surged in a moment of fright and he got separated from his team. An arc of light came down from the sky and hit the radio and satellite dishes on the roof of the Space Centre, the metallic equipment crumpled without resistance and pieces of it simply melted off. Screams tore through the air as terror seeped in, people ran without reason, parents tugging their children violently with them. Within moments, the area around the laboratory was cleared and without further ado he dived past the sliding doors and into the facility. His best friend, Gold and Crystal could handle the two monsters by themselves. Right now, he needed to find his team mate.

There were now two Deoxys circling in the sky. Crystal, ready with an ultra-ball in her hand faltered when she saw the duo. Their identical forms made it impossible to distinguish the correct target. She narrowed her eyes in concentration, trying to find some form of distinction. Blue eyes locked on to the crystal cores of the alien pokemon.

"The purple one with the fissure marring its surface." A voice spoke up and she looked to the side to see Red peering at the space monsters with a pair of binoculars. Removing them he grinned goofily and in the next instant, his smile slid off. Crystal literally saw the corners of his mouth turn down. His hand shot out and grabbed her and without warning or a word, he broke into a run, pulling her as well. The indigo haired trainer did not protest, her senior did not do things devoid of reason. Forcing down questions, she simply ran with him, they made a beeline for the research facility and instead of going into it; he turned direction and went around only stopping when they got to the abandoned rocket launch pad. The young female risked a peek at Execution's leader; she had never seen the trainer look so alarmed before.

"International police" he wheezed out an explanation, "gotta keep out of sight as per protocol. They are searching for me." Unable to speak further he crouched down against a metal girder and gulped in a lungful of air. Crystal joined him; she too was out of breath.

"Where did senior Green go off to?" she queried "and where _is_ Gold?"

"To rescue Pearl most likely, he might be injured…I'm not sure where Gold…there he is!" The capped trainer had just crashed next to his leader and was breathing raggedly, he rubbed his eyes.

"Sorry," he gasped "I got a bit lost in the crowd then saw you two running this way, so I came."

The female nodded gravely; sometimes she forgot the dangers that accompanied these sorts of jobs.

There were two once again, Norman observed the Deoxys flying in a lazy arc in the sky firing beams of radiant energy at the buildings and using Psyshock on the fleeing humans. A number of people lay on the pavements and roads with their eyes rolling around in sockets and mouth foaming, limbs thrashing. Shaking his head, he tore his gaze away from the sight and focused. In an instant one of the Deoxys flashed before him, glowing in a purple aura, morphing again, it sped off and the gym leader stared at in in confusion. Unexpectedly, his chest started to burn like fire and he clutched it desperately only to see blood seeping through his clothes and staining his fingers. His breast bone cracked open with a sickening crunch and the pain rendered him unconscious on the spot. One thought flashed in his mind: Psycho Shift, the pokemon must have passed its condition of health on to him. Agony flared and everything went black. A pair of arms stopped him from crashing to the floor.

"Man, we came to an apocalypse didn't we? Sorry you had to see this newbie; although now you have a good idea of how strong those things are right? Cover for me guys, I have to get Norman to safety." Saying this, Flint heaved the prone body on his back and scoured the area for a suitable hiding spot. The Space center seemed viable; however there was the imminent threat of it collapsing. Eventually he decided on taking him to town and before he went, he shouted some instructions:

"Misty, Blaine! Try to keep Deoxys confined to this area, don't let it get to town. I repeat, don't let it venture off or else we'll have another Lilicove on our hands." His words were tossed to the winds as he escaped on a flying pokemon. A Deoxys noticed and gave chase; a pillar of fire stopped its pursuit.

Two legendries glared at each other. Drifting in the air for a moment, the space pokemon shifted into attack forme and attacked. Four tentacles zoomed onto the target, aimed to stab.

"Entei, use protect!" the appendages struck against an invisible barrier and recoiled. Not one to give up, the two creatures exchanged blows reducing the surrounding area to rubble.

Inside the malfunctioning laboratory, Green navigated through the endless amounts of rooms and corridors, he had already sent his porygon 2 via the electricity wires to search for the youth. Currently it has taken over the security system, peering through rooms with aid from the cameras dotted around the facility. Wherever Pearl was, it was not in a monitored place. Anxiety welled up and he took a calming breath, ignoring all the rooms fitted with security devices, he marched forward and then backtracked on seeing the blonde boy collapsed in a hallway, a stream of semi coagulated blood ran down his right arm. The male went to him and gathered the beaten boy up in his arms, thereafter he called Red and before he got a word in, his companion bellowed.

"Leave Hoenn, International police are prowling the area. I'm currently hiding by the rocket Launchpad with Crys and Gold, if we get an opening, we'll snag the pokemon and follow, if not, I'm coming home without it!" The ruby eyed adolescent was about to cut the call when Green's voice interrupted him.

"Listen you dolt! I have a better idea, send Pearl off with them and the two of us will give a shot at capturing Deoxys, what do you say?" he heard his friend sputtering protests, "Come on, for old times' sake? I bet the monster could give you a thrilling battle." The excuses died out and moment later he heard a small okay. The brown haired man smirked. Red was so gullible at times.

Carrying the unconscious trainer, he made his way to the back of the laboratory and recalled porygon-2. Summoning his rhyperior, he ordered the drill pokemon to break part of the wall, with a bulldoze, the partition was torn down and Green emerged outside to see a wide-eyed trio. He beckoned his subordinate closer and passed Pearl to her instructing her to return to base and get him treated. The girl nodded and pulled out her flying pokemon. Noting her xatu was too small to carry two people, he lent his Charizard. The fire dragon shook its massive wings and let the two trainers onboard. The gold eyed trainer was unsteady on his feet; nevertheless he called out his togekiss and boarded it. Before long, the three was a speck in the sky. Green and Red watched them till they disappeared from view. In the next instant, their attention was jolted when Deoxys' wail pierced the air. Gazes sharpening, they hurtled to the spot, taking care to remain out of sight.

Entei sensed the move before it was executed. His opponent had taken a stance, all four of its tentacles where gathered before its chest and a rainbow colored orb of energy swelled in the space. As the beast bent backwards and fired it like a cannon, he used double team and psycho boost hit one of his clones instead. Deoxys had become exhausted after the attack but he, Entei was in perfect shape. His trainer had sprayed him down with nasty smelling potions each time he was inflicted with an injury. So, when the bald man requested him to use eruption he did so. The ground splintered beneath his nemesis and a plume of hell heated flames encaged the alien. It shrieked in pain. The flames died away, leaving a beast with peeling skin trying to hold its existence together. Teetering on scorched, half melted tar, Blaine was shocked when an ultra-ball soared out of the sky and captured Deoxys. A movement on the far edge of his vision alerted him to two individuals, one carrying a backpack. Recalling his partner into a pokeball, he hollered at Misty, the newest member to join the police, to give chase.

* * *

"Nice catch Green"

The trainer pressed a button on a short metallic rod he was holding and the ultra-ball was reeled in. "Don't compare me to you."

"You know, your rod thing kinda reminds me of Yellow's fishing ro-"

"Stop talking and get moving!" The brunette hissed in annoyance and reached out for the spherical capsule. His hands closed over and he looked up to see a wall of water crashing down.

"Crap! Red MOVE!"

Ball in hand, the two parkoured over debris, the officer chasing them was a female and she was doing a pretty good job of running and commanding her pokemon to dish out assaults. The winds picked up speed and soon a hurricane raged. Risking a glance behind him, the black haired male tried to catch a glimpse of their pursuer but no such luck. The only thing he saw was a rampaging gyarados. A particularly violent gust of wind knocked his cap off and the article of clothing went soaring, pulled and pushed by the tempest. Events took a turn for the worst as the second Deoxys zoomed up on them and swiped a tentacle at Green, who had the foresight to duck. Not deterred, it smacked the other set of limbs at the thief and the human went flying, crashing into a telephone pole. Deoxys was about to follow when its movements were restricted by a set of thick vines coiling around him. Struggling, it eventually broke free of its confinement and blitzed to the spiky haired trainer who had its partner in his grasp.

His head buzzed and stars floated before his eyes. The Kanto native gingerly felt the back of his head, no blood was present just a large bump. With the black pokeball firmly secured in his hand, a shadow loomed over him and a pair of flexible limbs wrapped around his sore wrist. The tentacle squeezed painfully and his hand became numb, forcing him to relinquish his hold on the captured pokemon. With a clang, the ball fell and rolled to a stop near the space creature's feet. It was then violently smashed open and an injured Deoxys spilled out on the street.

Fearing for his friend's safety, Red dashed to Green's side without recalling Venusaur, the bulky pokemon lumbered awkwardly after its master who was checking up on his best friend. Snarling, the wounded adolescent pointed to the pair of beasts before them and implored the Kanto champion to look. And he did.

Pairs of red and jade irises stared. The healthy creature was tenderly caressing its damaged partner and growling in soft tones. Beryl and orange tentacles wrapped around the half dead Deoxys and it was gently lifted in the air. Imparting an utterly disgusted look to the observing duo, the monster disappeared into the heavens leaving a trail behind. By the time it was gone, Saur managed to catch up with his trainer. Drained of energy and sore, Green slumped against his companion. The spectacle they witnessed left them feeling hollow.

Empty.

"Come one" Red urged "seems like we failed in..." his words died in his throat when the afore mentioned gyarados descended from the sky and smacked down, making an impact crater on the pavement. The serpentine pokemon emitted a suffocating aura. Scrambling up, the duo bolted, however a voice stopped Red in his tracks.

"Red? Suicune please tell me I'm seeing things..." Misty stepped down from her pokemon and gaped at the champion before her. "Are you here because of the Deoxys fiasco? She took in the man's presence, he was dusty and the red jacket he wore was grazed in places. His comrade fared no better, in fact, the other person looked even worse. Cerulean eyes took in the two and slowly, sluggishly a harrowing realization formed in her mind. She did not want to word her suspicions but, it had to be done.

"You...Were trying to cap-" The earth rumbled and Red was pulled away by his accomplice. He turned his head to the front and careered away. Heaviness settled in her chest. Stunned for a few moments, she regained her composure and ordered gyarados to her side, the creature obeyed. Thereafter she pursued them. The two were remarkably agile and obviously well versed in the art of escape. In mere moments, she lost sight of them. Venusaur too was gone. She scoured the surroundings, since Mossdeep space center was situated far away from town; the area was devoid of large buildings therefore there were few places to hide in. Finally she turned her attention to the lone building and landed on the roof, a satellite dish creaked and toppled over, other than that it was deserted.

Or not.

A second later, her target burst through the door and slammed it shut behind him. A muffled shout issued forth as he pressed his back against the door and spat at his friend to remain quiet. The rattling and shouting died down at once.

There was no escape.

"You are a thief aren't you?!" the red head smoldered and came close. "I can't...Believe it. No, there must be another reason...I mean you are a champion respected by the peo-"

"Misty...Please let us go." Red requested "What's done is done; they have escaped back to space. Just step aside and we'll be on our way."

She beheld him, stupefied, almost as if he was speaking some foreign language.

"I...NO!" the gym leader took a deep breath and faced him squarely "Who is the other person with you? Your partner in crime?" her eyes narrowed suspiciously, "give yourself up and come with me." Turning around she walked back to her pokemon, "Don't do this, Red...don't do this. It all makes sense doesn't it? Missing Pokemon champion and missing legendary Pokemon, only someone of your caliber will be able to pull it off. You...You were after Suicune too weren't you? I thought it was strange for _you_ out of all people to pop up in my mansion..."

"She knows" Green's muffled voice issued from behind the door. "Partly, however she's knows enough."

The accused champion said nothing. He calmly watched the incensed water type trainer pacing furiously on the rooftop, her expression scrunched up into disbelief.

Blue eyes flashing dangerously.

Blue eyes.

He was drowning in the ocean again, like the first time he met her. Cyan fire and resolve burned in those eyes.

"RED!" his partner's harsh tones slapped him back to reality "get rid of her and let's return!"

A battle...The thought of one did not excite him, usually he was always pumped for one, now...Now...It felt like one of Saur's vines was constricting his windpipe. Reluctantly he unclipped a random pokemon from the belt around his waist and sent forth a beast. Out popped Venusaur. Seeing this, Misty's mouth fell agape. She shivered slightly.

This was not going to end well.

"I won't lose!" the gym leader firmly declared. Red had gone silent, deadly silent. Mechanically he raised his arm and Saur attacked. Vines lashing out at high speed, this was countered by a flamethrower; the green reptilian merely shrugged the flames off.

"Leech seed."

From the huge flower atop Venusaur, a multitude of lime green seeds were shot at gyarados. The organic bullets lodged into the atrocious pokemon and buried itself deep within its flesh. From there, sinewy tendrils grew and ensnared the thrashing monster, tiring it and sucking energy. A solar beam finished it off and it keeled over, nearly crushing its master with its body. Gritting her teeth, Misty prepared another ball; instead thick vines wrapped around her and kept her immobile.

"Saur, use sleep powder." Astonishment marred her face as she gave up resistance and pinned him with an accusing and hated stare. Eyelids grew heavy and drifted peacefully shut and her body went limp. Venusaur lowered her on the cold floor where she slept. Picking up Gyarados' vacant ball he recalled the pokemon and put the ball away in his pocket.

"Azelf's sake Red, what are you doing? Have you lost your mind?" Green, finally able to come out witnessed the black haired's actions and exhaled angrily. His friend was gazing at the female fast asleep on the floor.

"We're going home! Get Aero out! Now!"

Red quietly complied with his demands.

* * *

Night

Kanto, Celadon city.

Underneath the game center.

"He has gone insane" Strategy's leader ranted in a low tone, "first he runs into this international police agent and stops to chat with her, next he refuses to battle her, lastly he knocks her out and steals... _steals_ her pokemon. Tell me what ghost pokemon possessed you to do this huh?" Blue calmly listened whilst Green vented, it was rare to see him this worked up. For his part, the red eyed adolescent hung his head and listened. Not once did he protest or refute his comrade's words. Therefore all this must be true. The trio was currently sitting in a small room, the rest of the organization was sent away. The matter was a delicate one and needed to be solved amongst them.

"Red" she soothed "if you took her pokemon, it gives the police a legitimate reason to hound you down." A sudden thought dawned on her and she wondered if she should mention it with the brooding brunette breathing down Red's collar..."Do you perhaps l-"

"I'm leaving for bed" blood red irises gleamed and the trainer stood up and marched out of sight. Green watched him go scornfully.

"He's crazy; there is something wrong with his brain." Crossing his arms over his chest, the brown haired male accused again. "What should we do Blue?" The woman ran a hand through her locks and closed her eyes in sympathy.

"He's not crazy Green...don't worry, he'll be fine. It's something your over-logical brain won't be able to comprehend." She too got up from her chair and made for the exit. "Good night and sleep tight! Tee hee." He scowled as she floundered off.

Around the same time

Kanto, Celadon city.

Ruby's room

Ruby stared at his PokeNav. He was doing this for the past six hours

He was busy hanging out with Yellow and Whi-2 in the afternoon. The two females heeded his request to come to Constellate's common room and he took the opportunity to dress Yellow up in costume outfits. Whi-2 lent her pokemon and Ruby took great delight in dressing Foongy and Snivy up. He had a difficult time choosing an outfit for the smug pokemon but eventually settled for a black top hat, bowtie and a custom made waistcoat. Twirling around in an overly happy manner, he pulled a couch and his friends sat down. Putting on a fashionable outfit of his own, the red eyed trainer started an impromptu pokemon contest and his two man audience giggled with wonder and excitement. When he was about to present his beautiful Milotic, the PokeNav started ringing, excusing himself, he shuffled to a corner and answered his call. The transmitted words left him petrified.

"Ruby honey, your father has been gravely injured against the fight with Deoxys, he was rushed to hospital and the doctors say his breastbone has cracked...Come home as soon as you can, please..."

The damning words killed him inside and his stomach turned. Dad...he always looked up to the man as an iron wall and Deoxys...what about his seniors that went to capture the creature?

"I'll...I'm going to my room for a while." He stated to Yellow and Whi-2 after trying his best to smile appropriately. Recalling his pokemon, he sprinted to his room and took out his PokeNav to return the call, however he couldn't. And so the afternoon melted into night and his eyes were still locked on the yellow surface of the device. Thoughts churned in his head, twisting and whirling and driving him mad. He knew he should go home but would Blue allow it? Earlier he heard a commotion, Green had returned and yelled for Blue down the hallways. This action was extremely odd as he was the most level-headed trainer amongst the top trio. Something had gone wrong, he was sure of it. Tension lay thick in the air. After what seemed like an eternity, he heard footsteps coming down the corridor. Making up his mind, he hastily grabbed his backpack, running shoes and PokeNav, running out of the door he met Blue, his leader looked troubled.

"Ruby? Where are you going at this time of the ni-?"

"Home." He breathed "Dad's injured, I need to go senior, please let me."

She contemplated for a while and made a decision.

"Yep, go. After all, family and friends are most important."

The teenager was already gone before she finished her sentence.

* * *

 **A/N:** Much gratitude to: TheSilverHunt3r, Eevee and Jack54311 for reviewing. At Silver, whoops, I totally forgot about that, I was thinking about his age when he becomes the legendary trainer sitting alone at Mount Silver, but you have a point, he was younger. And Eevee, you don't know how motivating it was to find out that you kept on reading the story despite being unfamiliar with the games and manga. I don't have such patience so thank you very much for sticking through. This chapter is dedicated to you :) If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask, although I won't answer if it leads to spoilers :P

Once again, thanks to all those who are reading this story. Please keep on reviewing and telling me your thoughts.


	14. Deep sea blues

**Chapter 14: Deep sea blues  
**

Morning

Kanto, Cerulean city

Misty's mansion

The red head groaned and woke up. She sat up in bed, lazily stretched her arms and yawned. The pale blue silk curtains adorning her windows billowed in a slight breeze. Leaning over, she pulled the curtains and stared out. The morning bustle was already seizing the city and she glimpsed civilians going about their work, young children having mock pokemon battles on the cobblestoned sidewalk and older ones heading to school, some crossed the bridge, others took the gondolas. In Cerulean city, canals were equally important as roads, and there were numerous of these water straits throughout the town. Blearily, she turned and reached for her smartphone situated on the bed stand. Her hand brushed against a piece of paper and she grabbed it, unfolding it she read:

'You were found unconscious on the roof of Mossdeep Space Centre, Blaine rescued you and brought you home, once you recover, we expect a full report.

Signed: International Police.'

...Right, she was put to sleep by Red. So, it wasn't some sort of unpleasant dream. It really happened. Swallowing thickly, she threw her heavy comforter off, got out of bed and exited the room. Out in the hallways some of the maids blushed as they beheld the master of the mansion walking around wearing nothing but sleepwear. One of the shoulder straps of the nightgown was dangerously sliding off and the lady in waiting meekly pointed it out. Irritably hitching the strap back in place, Misty navigated through her house and eventually found the room she was looking for. Entering it, she eyed the Pokemon healing equipment and walked to the back of the room; bare feet brushing against a maroon carpet, she halted at a low shelf and stared.

One of her pokemon was missing. She counted Staryu, Starmie, Goldeen, Lanturn and Suicune...her Gyara was not there. Rubbing her eyes she scrutinized the shelf again and still there was one capsule missing. Her thoughts turned to Red.

"He must've taken it," she murmured to herself, "but why Gyara and not Suicune?" The champion was collecting, capturing legendary pokemon for some reason; most probably he was part of the infamous shadow criminals wreaking havoc through the five regions. She racked her head for an explanation for the adolescent's actions but failed to come up with a suitable reason for his doings. Her contemplations switched course and now she pondered about her report to her superiors. Red had put her to sleep and stolen one of her most precious Pokemon, these deeds were unforgivable, by all means she has a right to stomp over and report these acts however, a highly irrational voice told her not to. She remembered a time when he swaggered in the Gym and boasted about his skills; therefore he proceeded to battle her and won. Barely. This shaved off his confidence and she scolded him, telling him to take a more serious outlook on life. The teenager simply grinned lopsidedly and waved. Thus he was forgotten till his name surfaced again as the supreme champion of Kanto. He was forgotten once again till he showed his face in her mansion.

Red had changed, gone was the over-confident hot headed brat. He morphed into a level headed adult, who still lusted after thrilling battles.

The water gym leader did a fist pump. "I'll knock some sense into him!" she voiced out loudly "I'm going to find him and ask him why he's doing this, then...then I'll turn him in. He must pay for what he did. Stupid moron!...Don't you know stealing other people's pokemon is a grave crime?" Sliding to the floor, she cradled her five partners and whispered the last words to herself.

There was no one in the room to lend an ear to her miserable woes.

* * *

Approximately two months later

Hoenn

Slateport harbor

"And this is Ruby, starting from today; he'll be assisting with work." Sapphire, wearing work overalls and lacking her signature bandanna, introduced him to her colleagues and the teenager bowed politely. They were currently standing on a concrete pier near a submarine. The harbor was busy, cafes and other markets lined the area and there was even a museum showcasing ancient deep sea pokemon. Looking around, Ruby's eyes picked out the construction of a large luxury cruiser and he could discern the title by squinting, S.S Tidal it read. Sapphire and the group of people in front of him seemed to be in high spirits. They were chatting animatedly. Breaking away from the happy group, he moved forward, right to the edge and stared out to the ocean. The submarine bobbed peacefully in the waves and he could hear the distinct screeching of wingulls and pelippers. He sighed and looked at himself. How unsightly, he too was sporting the same drab, olive green outfit as his best friend. The color made him retch.

"I'm surprised you managed to work here for two months without destroying something." He commented as the female joined him. She punched him lightly on the shoulder in response and glanced at him in a concerned manner.

"Is gym leader Norman doing okay?"

"Yeah, Dad's doing fine, the doctors told him to take it easy with his jobs...but you know him, he doesn't listen." The black haired male's shoulders drooped. "More importantly, why are you here?" He turned and pinned her with a scrutinizing gaze. The brunette gave an indignant huff and whipped her head around.

"Well sorry for getting worried when Blue told one morning that you went home because your dad suffered from a terrible injury...I admit, I was agitated because I didn't visit Papa in a long time as well, so when I found out Blue was sending Platina for the mission you were supposed to do, I begged her to let me go instead, now whenever I'm done with work for the day, I go straight home and sometimes help Papa with field work," she faced him and grinned happily. "Blue said you don't have to do this job if you don't want to, so she skipped on telling you the objectives, since you are here, we'll finish the mission together!" He watched her smile and his lips curved upwards. During the past month, he was cut off from all connection of their organization, his team leader did not update him on any activities, the only thing he got was a few well-wishing messages. He was depressed, Norman's health condition was critical so most of his time was spent at Petalburg. One glorious morning, his mood lifted when he walked out of his home in Littleroot to see Sapphire coming out of the laboratory, it was at this meeting where he learned that she was stationed at Hoenn for an extended project.

"So I'm your...Uh...Assistant" Ruby hung his head "This feels so wrong!"

"Hey!" The girl scrunched up her face "what is that supposed to mean, I'm your senior here. Get it? Senior!"

"Are you sure he isn't your boyfriend Saph?" another voice teased "I mean, you two are arguing like an old couple." Hearing this, the female blushed furiously and clenched her hands into fists whilst the ruby eyed male waved his hands lazily and adjusted his furry hat, the only fashionable thing on his person.

"We're childhood friends" he clarified.

The inside of the submarine was a mess of flexible tubes, metallic pipes, analogue gauges, and oddly shaped cabinets. And it was cramped, the band of people walked in a single file while Captain Stern lectured Ruby about the workings of the explorer. Apparently, his job was to make sure the submarine was running smoothly, gas pressures have to be regulated, the living quarters had be kept clean and other mundane orders carried out. He was pleased when Saph showed him the sleeping quarters, unlike the rest of the submarine; it was relatively uncluttered, sported porthole windows and had bunk beds.

"This is where you'll knock off for the night" the gravelly tones of the sea-captain permeated through the congested space. "Since the construction is completed, we are ready to explore the seafloor cavern, mind you it's gonna be a mighty tough ride, the place we will be going to is almost near Mossdeep, it is also the resting place of Kyogre..." the rest of the words fell unheard as Ruby's mind turned to the legendary pokemon, perhaps that was their target. The team resumed their tour of the completed vehicle and at the edge of his vision; he noticed a figure lagging behind. Curious of the individual's motive, he too slinked at the back of the group and hid in one of the many crevices. The person, slightly dark skinned, pulled out a PokeNav and spoke into it hurriedly:

"Boss, we hit the right spot, this submarine goes all the way to the seafloor cavern where we have our base, you know...the one where we are experimenting on the orbs...Okay, okay sorry, there is no one around anyway! I can't steal this thing, there are too many people on it, plus we got an additional gym leader's son on board, brat came in today and there is Birch's daughter. Lugia that girl is like wild ani-" his words ended abruptly when blaziken popped out of nowhere and executed a double kick, the well-built man crashed into pipes and a metal surface and crumpled to the floor groaning and holding his chest. Another upper-cut, courtesy of the pokemon had him throwing up stomach fluids.

"Enough Toro" Creeping out of his hiding place, he bore witness to his friend squatting down to face the man she attacked a second ago, said person growled and aimed a punch, she swiftly moved to the side and back-handed him in the face. He howled and clutched his jaw.

"You are from team Aqua right?" the blue eyed trainer cracked her knuckles and Toro breathed a stream of fire, "Tell me where the orbs are kept and everything you know and this will end nicely."

"Don't think I'll just tell you brats everything without a fight." Saph snorted and got up, spinning around on her heels, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted.

"Captain STERRRNNN!" Ruby recoiled from the loud volume, "We gotta criminal on our hands, one of the members of Team Aqua snuck on board, I cornered him!" Almost at once, the guards and the captain himself came rushing to the scene, they hand cuffed the criminal, who had started screaming profanities and took him away. Stern relayed his utmost gratitude to her and he too left, frazzled by the experience. He muttered something about dealing with the media, if word goes out, his reputation might be ruined. Completely lost, the teenager glowered at his beaming friend.

"Mind telling me what is going on? I'm utterly in the dark here! Tell me what's going on Saph!" He insisted and the she merely giggled and shook her head.

"We are going on an undersea exploration tomorrow" she said, "make sure you pack for a long journey! I'll text you the details tonight"

"Why can't you just tell me now?"

She tapped her shoes on the floor and recalled her pokemon. "I can't" she stated and Ruby sported a confused expression on his face, seeing this she explained: "This is a covert mission, Blue told me not to disclose any information." Grinning, she walked down the narrow pathway and out of sight and the teenager sighed. Clearly Saph had no idea of the meaning of covert...Besides; her actions were so not suitable for espionage missions. Screaming down the hallway about a criminal? Who does that? However it was nice to be in the middle of things again. Dusting off his clothes he followed the path she took.

Night

Hoenn

Littleroot town.

The occupants sitting in the quaint living room gave him a shock, nevertheless, he managed to calm his breathing and walk in and greet. As he was ascending the stairs to his bedroom, Steven called him out. Eye twitching, he heeded the call, came down and contemplated where to sit, giving up; he crashed next to his father who shifted up to make more space. The couch was a bit hard and well worn, nothing like the plush luxury he was used to back at Constellate's common room. Reaching out for a biscuit, he started eating it and keeping himself busy, he did want to meet the Hoenn champion's steel gray eyes.

"Sorry to barge in at an unexpected time, but your father here was rather adamant about this" The man inhaled deeply before continuing, he leaned forward and clasped his hands before him. Ruby's eyes strayed to one of the numerous rings decorating the individual's fingers. Inserted in a thick band of deep grey metal was another light colored mineral, it seemed odd for the ring not to have a jewel. For some reason, it felt like the shard was releasing some sort of invisible energy. Acutely aware of his father's stare he swallowed and forced his eyes to meet Steven's.

"Simply put" the champion continued "The world is turning into a dangerous place and he is worried about your future." Ruby hissed under his breath, "he wants you to put your pokemon contesting on hold and focus on battling, if you like, I'll personally train you." His first reaction was to throw a tantrum and run out of the house, he'll be more than welcome at Sapphire's place; besides, professor Birch was much more easygoing, he was accepting of his daughter's career of being a martial artist and pokemon trainer. Ruby on the other hand disliked battling with pokemon, a side he hated of himself surfaced when he fought. The side that scared Saph when they were children.

"No thank you sir" he coolly stated, "I am going to pursue what I do whether my father likes it or not. I'm going to dominate the Pokemon contests and become a famous star one day. Your offer is well appreciated, but I'm afraid I can't accept it." He stood up and faced his father, slight crinkles had appeared around the edges of Norman's eyes and he appeared drained of energy, "Father, I'll do this, if you try to stop me, I'll run away from home. Like I did previously." A soft gasp alerted to his mother's presence and he brushed past her and trudged upstairs. In his room, he shut the door and collapsed on his bed. Familiar surroundings calmed him a bit and he brooded. Absentmindedly he took out his sewing kit from the closet, sat down on the powder snow mat decorating the floor and grabbed one of his ripped Poke Dolls. It was a giant Lapras and he got to work, threading the needle with azure colored string and carefully repairing the snagged area near the fin. The needle wove in and out, in and out and sewed the tear shut. In the next couple of hours, he found himself adjusting his glasses and stitching another contest outfit for himself. It was a hobby, he owned several custom made outfits and whenever he had a break from his criminal duties, he'd hop off to the nearest contest hall and participate in one. Taking a break from fine needlework, he stretched his neck and looked up on the ceiling. Seconds later, his PokeNav vibrated and he scrambled up to see a text coming from Saph:

"Our objective is to steal the red and blue orbs capable of controlling Groudon and Kyogre. These orbs as well as the legendary pokemon are all in possession of Team Aqua, a few weeks earlier, the international police found their main hideout and busted them, their leader is currently in hiding and the laboratory they were using has been abandoned. So the mission was to infiltrate the ranks of the construction team working on the submarine and gain their trust, eventually we will be able to visit the Seafloor cavern and steal the two orbs. Also, we are to take any information on Kyogre, not the pokemon itself, since the incident with Senior Gold and Lugia, our leader is not taking any more undersea risks."

The text ended there.

He stared at the screen for a few more moments and then started packing for the journey, grabbing clothes, folding them neatly and putting them in his bag. He threw in several fashionable accessories as well: a beanie, bandannas, pins, sunglasses, hair gel (because you never know). Finished with his clothes, he turned his attention to his pokemon, taking out his Technical machine case, he inserted a few disks inside and stowed it away. The backpack now resembled a hiker's bag, shrugging he glanced at the clock and went to bed.

Next morning

Slateport

Harbor

"Trying to run away from home or what?" Saph's words, though lighthearted, stung. She eyed his overstuffed backpack and shook her head.

"You said to pack for a long journey" he countered heatedly.

"...Yeah...Whatever, let's go!" with a surprising accuracy, she clambered on to the nearest light post, balanced precariously on top and sniffed the salt tinged air of the ocean. He watched her, captivated as she spread her arms around, the ocean breeze played with her hair, tossing her brown strands this way and that. A whistle sounded and she jumped down bounded for the submarine and dragged the gaping male with her. Inside, the crew of Submarine Explorer one huddled in the cramped control room and Captain Stern briefed them on their mission.

"Okay boys...And girls...We are now setting sail for the seafloor cavern situated in the deep sea area near Evergrande city, buckle up tight and make sure you do your duties! This is our maiden voyage so expect something to go wrong!" the elder cheerfully stated much to the general populace's chagrin. He showed a gap-toothed grin. "Off you go!" The crowd scattered to their various duties.

Ruby didn't have much to do in the submarine mainly because Saph did it for him, she teased him for the delicate way he handled the numerous equipment, often pushing him aside with a snide remark of 'Prissy boy' and handling things for herself. He grumbled when someone handed him a broom and instructed him to clean, so his friend snatched it away from his hands and cleaned the floors with vigor. Shrugging and quite happy with the way Saph handled things, he retreated to the living quarters and began filing his nails. The past few weeks, he had neglected to take care of himself. Almost half an hour later, the girl stomped in and punched him hard in the face.

"What was that for?!" he questioned in a high pitched voice as she glowered at him.

"Idiot! I let you off so you could conduct research of our target location," she fumed and bore down on him, "and here you are staring at yourself in the mirror!"

"What research? In case you haven't noticed, we are miles below the sea; you can't expect me to find a decent signal here do you?" Hearing this, she deflated as understanding dawned on her. He smirked on seeing her blush with embarrassment.

"Don't worry, my team is well versed in adapting to abnormal situations, if anything comes up, I'll protec- OUCH!" he grabbed his throbbing cheek as the wild trainer exited in a rapid manner.

* * *

Afternoon

Kanto

Celadon city, Dex criminals' hideout.

He stared at the way Crystal tapped on her keyboard, her face set with grim determination as she catalogued all the pokemon they caught to date. An indolent smile was plastered on his face as he observed slim fingers flying over keys and tapping out an erratic rhythm. Discreetly, he held up a phone, took a photograph and smiled. As he was about to leave the room, he quickly thrust the device in his pocket and folded his hands behind his head, the picture of innocence, however, Green was not one of the easily fooled. The man, clad in a crisp white lab coat, towered over his blanched form and glared at him, if he was a pokemon, escape would have been impossible.

"Next time I find you taking pictures of my subordinates...I'll crush your skull and by Arceus Red won't be able to stop me." The man came closer with a violent sparkle in his eye, "this is my last warning, if I catch you again, praying to our deity monsters won't make me go easy on you!" Trembling, he stood aside and let the older male pass. Strategy's leader walked into the common room and made a beeline for the huge shelf lining an entire wall. Jade irises narrowing, he began scanning the titles and barking out orders to the two underlings sitting in the room. Both Crystal and Yellow stopped what they were doing and turned, listening to him. The blonde spied Lack-2 loitering near the entrance and imparted a soft smile. Waving back and sniggering at Green, he high tailed out of the area in elevated spirits.

"Oh that reminds me, Senior Green, you have duty again with Red today." the spiky haired trainer froze.

"Yellow" he sighed "I'm not sure if you are deliberately assigning us together, I assure you Red and I are still best friends."

"Then...there is nothing wrong with doing duty together right?" She reasoned.

"Fine" he mumbled and exited the room. With heavy footsteps he navigated the corridors and entered Execution's common room. In there, he bore witness to Red training Diamond whilst Gold and Lack-2 were playing pool. The ruby eyed male waved in a genial manner and let his junior off, wiping his forehead with a towel; he sauntered over to the brown haired male and offered him a can of soda.

"Green, what's up?" the trainer shifted his eyes and accepted the drink before replying.

"Legendary pokemon observation duty, Yellow put us together again."

"Really? That's great!" Red, wearing a sleeveless tank top stretched and walked forward, "I'll just get my keycard from my bedroom, be right back." The black haired champion left and Green wondered if he should wait for him or go on ahead. Rambunctious laughter erupted behind him and he swiveled to see the three younger males fool around. Countenance softening, a smile tugged at his lips. True to his words, Red appeared seconds later flipping his keycard in the air and catching it. Nodding, the duo left the scene.

"It's turning black..." the red eyed Pokemon champion pointed out and tilted his head to get a better look at the pokemon. The legendary creature was curled up, akin to a fetus. Its large tail had curved abound its body and extended above its head and it floated in the suspending viscous fluid. When it sensed humans coming near it, it slowly unraveled itself revealing dark black stripes decorating its mauve body.

"Of course its tuning black you dolt! Most dark types are black and stop looking so fascinated with it; human presence generally angers it so step away." Green admonished, scratching the back of his head, the scolded trainer took several steps back and grinned sheepishly.

"Still, you're amazing Green. I mean, few people would even attempt such a dangerous project." The brunette listened to the praise and scribbled words on his clipboard, "From the looks of it, this experiment might succeed, but will Mewtwo be able to create a rip in space? From the few myths I read about the creation trio, it seems their powers and abilities cannot be emulated without error. Remember it's a world we want to create."

"We won't know until we test this creature out" the researcher was getting slightly disturbed by the way mewtwo was still straightening itself, perhaps they needed to move on. "Come on, stop talking and let's check the other mythical pokemon out."

They ambled through the huge space and Red started a running commentary about the conditions of the pokemon. Ho-oh was slightly dissatisfied by his environment, given the statistics. Lugia however was overjoyed by his whirlpool studded pool of water. Celebi was growing, aging, killing and re-growing the plants decorating his cage. The other pokemon were all somewhat happy and minor adjustments were made to some of the holding cells where the monster in question appeared sick or was unhappy. Several times, Green interjected the rambling to force his best friend to write some figures down whilst he investigated something. This continued till they came to Rayquayza's Spear pillar-esque cell. Here, the tumbling words sputtered and died out. The two friends gazed at the pockmarked glass, their shady reflections broken by fine circular cracks.

"We need to replace this cell...Where am I gonna get more glass like this? I mean it was created specifically to hold legendary pokemon." One of the adolescents griped "if I was champion, I could've just requested some more..."

"I'll try to get some, don't worry." Thrusting the pen back into his pocket, the brunette marched out with his friend following behind him. The lights in the industrial sized space were put off and the area bathed in darkness. Mewtwo was still uncoiling himself in a tiring manner, his eyes started glowing faintly. Once he straightened out completely, he put a hand to the Perspex tube encircling him and stared at the metallic door signifying the exit and entrance to this chamber.

He stared, the black marks and stripes began to elongate on his purple body.

"Hu...ma...ns."

It spoke.

"I ha...te

Hum...ans"

He spoke again, pain and rage consuming his mind.

* * *

 **A/N:** Much gratitude to TheSilverHunt3r, Eevee and Jack54311 for reviewing. You all deserve cookies, chocolate chip cookies and all the good things in the world. Seriously thank you very much, it is uplifting. At Jack54311: Your reasons for suspecting Lack-2 has been confirmed...or has it? :P At Eevee, I type out these chapters way before I post them, currently, I'm busy with chapter 33 so pardon me if my description of Green's clothing is lacking. I tried to tweak it to fit in a description but it seemed so out of place I had to scrap it.

Once again, thanks for reading. Please keep on dropping a review/random outburst/a paragraph stating why you hate your aunt (the last one was a pathetic attempt at a joke)


	15. Roots

**Chapter 15: Roots**

The ancient door of the dilapidated mansion was unable to withstand the crushing pressure of hydro pump, with an almighty groan it caved in. Blue did a little victory leap and Platina watched her senior with a poker face. Smoothing the folds of her dress out, the heiress gathered her inky hair into a bun and followed after her leader. The moment they stepped into the cobwebbed foyer, a musty smell greeted them. Far from being abandoned, this pokemon mansion on Cinnabar Island was now home to ghost and other types of pocket monsters. Ankle length boots clacking, Blue strode forward, her shoes leaving little prints on the thick dust caking the tiled floor. As she crossed the middle of the room and attempted to ascend the stairs, a chandelier, fixed in the ceiling burst into life, it glowed with blue fire. From the shadows flickering against the walls, the brown haired woman spied pokemon emerging, soon, a hissing mass formed between her and the flight of stairs. Tossing her head back, she summoned her clefairy and the pink pokemon appeared amidst a shower of light and uttered a cry, Platina as well, called forth her cherrim and the two female trainers took fighting stances.

"Cherrim, use sunny day" and the room brightened up considerably, a number of the pure ghost types shrunk against the walls, seeking protection against the harsh sunlight.

"Cleffy, use safeguard and solar beam."

A transparent barrier formed between the two sides and at once the wild pokemon let out a synchronized screech. The Sinnoh native let out a haughty huff as safeguard prevented them from falling asleep or muddling their brains, realizing that scaring these invading humans was not cutting it, some of the more aggressive pokemon leapt forward for a physical assault, at the same moment, clefairy unleashed a solar beam, reinforced by sunny day. The duo shielded their eyes as intense light blasted the quivering, chittering mass and singed them to oblivion. A few of the pokemon disintegrated and they simply watched. Overhead, the flames of chandelure died out and with a crash the beast fell to the floor, its glass body shattering into pieces.

Late afternoon

Kanto, Cinnabar

Pokemon mansion

The dark room was illuminated with countless candles, sitting at a table on creaky chairs, Platinum pored over an old journal she found lying in one of the chambers, the upper floors of the palace was inhabited with ditto and she squinted at the faded writing in order to make some sense of it. Sitting opposite her was Blue, the older trainer had her laptop out and every few moments she was typing something in it, she too was scrutinizing some scrolls, one of them, tea colored with age, had fallen apart in her hands and the brunette swore vehemently.

"Platina, any luck?"

"This is information we already know senior," she replied politely "how Mew was captured by team rocket and injected with an embryo made from its corrupted DNA, thereafter it gave birth to Mewtwo. It was discovered in Faraway islands, somewhere near the region of Hoenn. Apparently, the island was once home to humans but after Mew made its place there, the humans constructed a temple for it, abandoned the place and moved to Hoenn."

"I see, keep searching for anything else related to its creation, I'm not getting much here as well, these scrolls are archaic, some of them are in symbols I don't even understand." Blue groaned and typed a few keys, "I should've dragged Green with me...Mr. Professor would know how to read this. Speaking of him, I think if people knew he managed to clone another Mewtwo using Ditto, we'd have an army of super powered pokemon on our hands."

"Yes, but Ditto was destroyed in the process no?" Giving her aching eyes a break, the younger trainer eyed her superior.

"Of course, you can't expect ditto being able hold such a powerful pokemon. Ditto is merely a failed result of trying to clone Mewtwo, somehow, through radiation I suppose...It managed to evolve into an actual creature, anyway, it being used to clone Mewtwo is a farfetched concept, therefore any scientist in their right mind would not take the approach, unfortunately our Green was born with a different brain altogether."

The two quieted down and worked by themselves once more, the silence in the room was occasionally punctured by the rustling of pages or the tapping of keys. Time elapsed and the candles burned lower, white wax pooling in elaborate candelabrum. Several times, Platinum had gotten up and fetched more tomes from an intricately carved bookshelf; however none of these books divulged the information they needed. Feeling fatigued, she stretched her arms above her head and exhaled. Firming her resolve, she tackled the antediluvian scripts with renewed energy and gasped. Blue's head shot up, her face reflecting the dim glow of her laptop's screen.

"Senior, please listen to this" breathless from excitement, the underling relayed, "it says here that Mew was the second legendary pokemon in creation, right after Arceus. She... _She?_ Is the cosmic egg, the mother of all creation and is made from the same substance as Arceus, a type of energy being called Unown..." here the aristocrat paused and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, shaking her head, she carried on "Mew holds the DNA of every pokemon inhabiting the Poke Earth and can therefore can birth any of them. Together with Arceus, they created the laws governing space, time and gravity as well as emotion, willpower and knowledge. After this...Oh no, the text ends there!" The indigo haired female looked up, her normally expressionless visage crumpling into disbelief. Blue licked her lips and her irises narrowed in contemplation. Finally, she spoke up:

"Let's leave this place, we found a bit of what we needed." Shutting her portable computer down, the con-artist started packing up. Her subordinate got up from the chair abruptly.

"Leader, we can't let this go! I mean we have been searching for Mew's creation myths for so long an-"

"Exactly!" the older woman cut into her words "we're heading for Sinnoh, I'm sure we'll find more information there. Don't you know? Sinnoh is the first region to be created in this universe...guess you must be lucky huh?" Smiling, she put on her gloves, tossed her hair and exited the room, Platina followed regally.

Around the same time

Kanto, Celadon city

Underneath the game corner.

A spiky haired brunette sneezed violently and his best friend chuckled at his expense. Blinking his eyes, he stared at the checkered bored. With a smug smirk, he moved a chess piece, leaned back and crossed his arms.

"Noo! Green! You can't do this to me! You know I hate chess" with a defeated shout, Red gave up, meekly moved his own piece and huffed in irritation. He was on his fourth losing streak and his friend's face stretched into another victorious smile.

"Check mate."

"I hate you"

"You sound like your old self" Green laughed and pointed to the scowl decorating Red's face, the crimson eyed male's glower melted off and he slumped into his seat.

"I wonder what the others are up to...hey Green, wanna have lunch? I'm starving" The statement was further reinforced by a growl coming from the Red's stomach, the man got up and began making his way into the kitchen, his brown haired friend first moved the little table to a corner of the room, taking care not to trip and fall over the many wires littering the floor, straightening up, he grabbed his jacket and left for the kitchen. On entering it, he witnessed Pearl dishing out a severe slap on Diamond's cheek. The slapped boy did an exaggerated twirl on the spot, flapped his arms in a poor imitation of a bird and fell backwards muttering something. It must have been funny because in the next moment, Red keeled over in laughter, tears appearing in the corner of his eyes.

"Pearl...Dia, that..." he gasped "that was funny, do it again!" The teenager on the floor picked him up and took his position near the blonde, curious about what's going to transpire, the emerald eyed male stalked forward and sat on a stool.

"We'll be starting now" the young duo chorused and Red leaned forward in anticipation.

"Pokemon trading is pretty fun ya'know" Pearl began the act.

"You don't say!" Echoed Dia

"Shall we try it out?"

"All right" Diamond turned and handed the teenager a pokeball, "here, take my Munchlax"

Pearl accepted and added: "What do you want in exchange?"

There was a slight pause and Red, eyes wide and holding back a laughter, leaned forward. Diamond's face morphed into a grotesquely scary expression and he loomed over his best friend howling "Your Souullll!"

"Gyahhhh, Mommy!" Cue the smack, once again the chubby teenager pirouetted and crashed on the kitchen floor. Green's eyes crinkled in delight and Execution's leader guffawed, he smacked his thigh due to sheer mirth. Picking himself off the ground, Diamond and Pearl held hands and politely bowed.

"Nice..." Red panted and pulled his cap off his head using the article of clothing to fan himself, "you two can start your own show you know, I mean your stand-up comedy is the best!" he praised warmly.

"Yeah..." Pearl gloomily agreed, "except that Senior Green didn't even laugh."

"Aw, come on, you know he laughs at nothing, not even the world's funniest joke can get him to crack a smile." The black haired adolescent shrugged helplessly.

"But he often smiles when Yellow does something funny," the Sinnoh born pointed out, next to him; Dia fired up the stoves and started cooking something.

"Keep your comments to yourself Pearl before I decide to situate you somewhere far away from here." The person in question growled "by the way, did you hear the news? The region north of Sinnoh is acting up again; I suppose our actions are even affecting the people who rule the world."

Red was about to take a bite of the delicious sandwich his underling placed before him; however the words coming out of his best friend's mouth bothered him.

"There is another region north of Sinnoh?" he pouted "really? I didn't know, pretty soon you are going to tell me that there are other far off regions as well." Shaking his head, he bit into his food and sighed in delight. Strategy's team members exchanged glances.

"He's dumb isn't he..." the young male affirmed, "I mean even Dia is aware of those other regions...Umm Kalos and Alola to the west was it... and Ransei...north."

Ransei, the land of the gods. It was created as Arceus' resting place and the region itself is in shape of the Creation pokemon. The kingdom is divided up into seventeen regions reminiscent of the seventeen pokemon types. It is said to be ruled by individuals with pure bloodlines who also have the ability to synchronize and somewhat evolve with their pokemon. In historic times, these people had a great say over the affairs of the other regions but in modern times they have secluded themselves up in their domain. Only a major catastrophe will lure them out.

And a major catastrophe is what they will create.

In another area:

"Dewott use Razor shell"

"Exbo, flame wheel, go!" Gold shouted and pointed, his goggles flashed.

The two pokemon moved one after the other, gripping its razor sharp shell, the sea otter flashed forward and slashed at its opponent, a grass snake. The cream colored underbelly of the pokemon tore and oozed greenish fluid, eyes narrowing, it retaliated with a vine whip and sent Dewott careering back, the water beast touched down and sprang up, only to be assaulted by a flurry of razor sharp leaves, cuts on his face bled and wearily it got down on one knee. Snivy prepared another razor leaf and as the green petals flew to hit, Typholsion's flames snaked across the ground and rose up in a wall, incinerating those leaves, the assault did not stop there. Fire rose up circling and suddenly, it was doused by a downpour and reduced to steam. Gold grinned.

"It's our turn" Silver intoned and eyed Lack-2 "Feraligatr use crunch"

"Snivy" Whi-2 spoke up, "use drain"

The russet eyed male paled and sputtered a counter command: "Dewott pro-"

Too late, with unbecoming speed, the big jaw pokemon closed gleaming white teeth around the sea otter, dewott simply stood rooted to the spot, the scalchop falling out of his claws due to shock. In a surprising turn of events, it was shoved roughly to the side and thus missed being drained by snivy. Feraligatr's jaws did close over something, that creature happened to be Exbo. Instead of appearing distraught, the fire type's master grinned evilly and in response, his red haired friend's face turned pallid. The blue crocodile was struggling to get his maw out of Exbo's back, the mane of fire decorating the volcano pokemon's neck raged.

"Burrrnn UP!" Gold pumped a fist in the air and Lack-2 smirked. Typholsion's body heated up and the back burst into flames. Water pouring from Feraligatr's mouth did nothing to quench hell's fire, the very air began to dry as the water pokemon was scorched, it emitted a roar and finally the two pokemon detangled. Silver's partner returned to him staggering and in no condition to battle. Whi-2 looked at her senior in concern.

"And this victory is for team Execution!" Crystal announced and a resounding cheer came from her left. She eyed the duo with distaste, perverts, she thought and added: "Gold! It was unfair of you to push Dewott out of the way, this is not a real battle, its training and Dewott needs experience to level up." She further admonished.

"Relax will you!" the black haired trainer ruffled his student's hair fondly; "I'm just looking out for my apprentice here, besides do you think I'll simply watch while his beloved pokemon gets hurt? Nah uh, I'm a gentleman!" turning his attention he called "Hey Silver, how about another round?"

Crystal gave up and dragged her feet back towards the couch she and Yellow were sharing. It has been quite a long time since any of them came to this place, back in the days, when Team Rocket was still functional, this warehouse was used to store illegal goods and stolen pokemon. After they were defeated, the top trio of their organization decided to transform the area into a battle stadium of sorts. It was Red's pride and joy, similarly to how the legendary pokemon holding cell is Green's. The stadium was set up with a number of small moveable stages instead of a large one; each platform had a few comfortable couches surrounding it for an audience. The stages could be combined as one or remain isolated. Powerful floodlights provided ample lighting and a large central screen showed the different matches held in the arenas. Right now, Crystal's eyes were fixated on the rowdy match before here whilst Yellow was curled up next to her with a blanket, her pikachu and a laptop. The blonde female was watching movies, peeking a bit at the screen, the Johto trainer eventually relented and watched with her.

"Aqua Tail"

"Crap! Aibo, dodge" the mauve monkey tried to but got flattened with the large scaly tail. Not satisfied by merely knocking the pokemon, the red Gyarados thumped its tail a few more times, ambipom's forelimb shattered and the gold eyed trainer gritted his teeth. Returning his partner into a pokeball, he summoned another one. With a flash, Togekiss issued forth and announced his presence with a harsh cry, even before the trainer issued a command, a naughty sparkle gleamed over its eyes and it attacked. Lack-2 not wanting to be out done by his teacher, ordered his pokemon as well. Lillipup bounded forward whilst Togebo soared the skies. Small teeth clamped over Foongy and an air slash carved fine lines on gyarados' red scales. The sea serpent coiled, sprang up hit the bird so hard, it promptly fainted. The trainer eyed it in shock. A bell rang signaling the end of the battle and the battlers waited for Crystal's verdict. Said female was busy giggling at the movie with Yellow.

"Hah! You lose senior" Lack-2 folded his arms behind his head and poked fun, "I at least got the upper hand on Whi-2"

"No you didn't" the girl pointed out firmly "Foongy used Giga drain, your pokemon fainted." Whipping his head around, he observed it to be true, his puppy was twitching on the floor, completely drained of energy. Taking a potion out, he ambled over and sprayed his partner down, thereafter he cuddled with it burying his face in soft brown fur.

"Had fun today?" back in Execution's room, the duo was sprawled on the wooden floor and Gold tossed his junior a bottle of water, the boy nodded, uncapped the bottle and took a long swig. Moments later Black rushed in and Lack-2's copper tinted irises zoomed on the Light stone the pre-teen permanently carried. His form was disheveled, muttering something under his breath; the newcomer dumped his backpack on the floor, discarded his jacket as well and made his way to the corner where a small overflowing desk stood. Gingerly he put the spherical rock down and opened a book, by now, he was screaming out stuff and Gold hastily stood up and gently cuffed the younger boy on the head.

"Take it easy there, where's Musharna?"

"Oh yeah," Black fumbled for his ball and released the flower patterned pokemon, as disturbing as it was, Lack-2 found himself glued to the scene, the pink creature latched on to the trainers head and Black's eyes turned blank, slowly his visage relaxed and he breathed.

"Wanna hit the slots?" Gold queried and the young male nodded, "cool, hey Lack-2, coming with?"

The three individuals was about to leave their common room when they ran into their leader.

"So...Where are you three going?"

"Slots senior Red" the second eldest replied without missing a beat or disguising his sinful actions "Want to come?" The Unova native blinked and held his breath.

"Sure...Why not?" and the three made their way upstairs.

* * *

Afternoon

Hoenn

Near Seafloor cavern

Saph watched spellbound as the submarine came closer to the undersea cavern. Before long, it entered the cave and the girl pressed her face to the porthole window, not wanting to miss anything. The world underneath the oceans was a sight to behold. With a bump, the exploring vehicle docked and without wasting time, the trainer abandoned her post and flew to the control room. Captain Stern was already organizing an exploration team and she desperately wanted to join them. Ruby slinked in after her and pulled her back, she was about to push him aside and volunteer again but he explained his reasons. If they joined a team, their movements were limited; instead, they'll just simply seek permission to observe the surroundings and then sneak around, tailing the team. Sapphire sparkled in admiration and her friend looked amused.

Cursing the rocky terrain for being rough on his fashionable running shoes, the fashionista was being dragged by his enthusiastic partner; she kicked rocks, picked up boulders and to his horror, got down on hands and knees to explore tunnels. He on the other hand, fixed his hat firmly on his head and opened up his PokeNav, if the blue and red orb was indeed here, it would give off energy signatures. He pulled up a map of the area on his navigator and peered at it, from the directions, Team Aqua's lab was set deep inside the cavern, enlarging the area around the map he set off, calling Saph as he walked.

"Where did you get that map?" she demanded.

"I hacked into Stern's laptop and downloaded all the data on the exploration as well as any additional information we might need and before you question me, I knocked him out with a sedative not by crushing his skull like you would prefer."

"Oh...I guess you guys have to know hacking and stuff don't you..." she deflated.

"Don't worry, I'll leave the fighting business up to you" he smiled and the flames returned again. The two ambled across dimly lit tunnels and hid when they heard voices. Eventually he put the Nav away and expertly tailed the research team; the path sloped upwards and then took a steep dive. Wild pokemon were brutally beaten down, some of the territorial crustaceans had their shells cracked, making a point not to look at them (since he was no better) he and Saph eventually tumbled across the undersea laboratory.

It was a magical and a gruesome sight at the same time.

Right in the middle of a large cavern, a huge tank drew attention. In this tank, floating in a comatose manner was Kyogre. Several tubes and pipes were attached to its body and draining the legendary pokemon's energy. It seemed Kyogre was the power source of the laboratory, there were hydraulic elevators, pumps and even a shuttle service enclosing the gigantic laboratory. To the side, a large turbine slowly rotated by aid of a permanent waterfall, it provided electricity to run the computers and other equipment. All of this was dependent on the blue whale bobbing up and down in its confinement. Despite the research and exploration team swarming over it and remaking about how huge and wonderful it was, the ocean beast did not stir or even open its eyes.

"I'm going to free Kyogre!" Sapphire heatedly stated much to Ruby's chagrin.

"Be sensible will you?" He held her back with effort "if you rush in there now, they'll just send us back to the submarine."

"...Hmm you are right, I guess I have to rethink tactics" she calmed down and her friend released her, scooting to the other side of the entrance to the laboratory, she fished out a pair of binoculars and peered through. Scientists were walking around and testing the features of the undersea facility, despite it being abandoned, it functioned perfectly, the lifts went up and down, the tram system transported individuals from one far side to the other and thanks to Kyogre's never ending waterfall, there was a limitless supply of power. After spending some considerable amount of time fooling around, Saph heeding Ruby's protests, merely sat down and silently observed. They got to work, part of the team sat at the computers whilst the other half started combing the area, no doubt searching for the blue and red orbs which were presumable kept in here. Finally, one of the member's gave a shout and the brown haired girl perked.

"We found the orbs, but they have a mechanized lock system protecting them, see if you can release it!" shouted one lackey.

"Roger, I'm working on it" replied another and furiously typed on the keyboard, after several attempts and beeps, the container containing the two stones was finally released. The investigating team all convened at the table where the metal case was reverently opened. Sapphire increased the binoculars' magnification and Ruby held up his phone, he snapped two pictures of the gleaming orbs. In the instant the blue bauble was hefted in the air for further examination, the ruler of the seas stirred, it flapped a fin and created a small tidal wave, hastily, the orb was relinquished into the case and the lid was snapped shut.

"Okay" getting up, the wild trainer performed some warm up stretches and grinned, detaching a pokeball from the belt around her waist, "Aggron" the pokemon stomped its feet and Ruby stared at her, astonishment marring his fine features "use earthquake!" The armored pokemon roared and the shockwaves reverberated throughout the space, thereafter it stamped its feet in the tunnel and waves spread from the point of contact, disturbing the earth, compressing it and releasing the ground like a spring. Down below, in the facility, the floor fissured in multiple areas and the natural ceiling caved in, raining rubble and rock, equipment was destroyed, the computer's giant monitor shattered dispersing glass shrapnel everywhere, some personnel was pinned by debris, the others who tried to escape were rendered unconscious by delacatty's sing. Sighing, Ruby turned to Saph and watched as she recalled her pokemon and nodded at her actions in a satisfied manner.

"That was uncalled for!" he scolded as she ignored him and hopped down, "are you listening to me? He-"

"Be quiet!" She hissed and faced him, "just because you are scared of battling and getting your clothes all dirty and sweaty does not mean I'm like you! You don't care at all, you simply seek pokemon because of their looks and you are fine with sitting in a room and staring at yourself when everyone around you is in trouble. You are strong," overcome with emotion, she clenched her teeth and continued ranting "I know you are, you know all about pokemon weaknesses and you can battle very well...But...But do you do so? NO! I feel like you are looking down on me, I keep on training and training and...And _you_ on the other hand, who does no training still has better battle stats than me...It's unfair...Why don't you even use your strengths Ruby?" she finished in a small voice and looked down. Her nails were digging into her palms, etching crescent shaped indents into her pale skin.

"It's Constellate's policy to finish a mission with minimal casualties..." The male trainer intoned and went over to the table, "we'll explain the situation to Captain Stern by cooking up some lies, for now, help me."

The teenage girl's shoulders slumped and she mechanically went over, helping her partner stuff the case in a backpack. Finished with that, they swept around the room, checking for information, some files were taken down and crammed in and all the pen drives stuck in the computer ports were retrieved. Done with the job, Ruby took his PokeNav out and started moving around the dirt floor in an effort to get a signal whilst Saph, still reeling with stung feelings found herself gazing at Kyogre. She placed a palm against the thick surface of the glass and murmured:

"Don't worry, I'll get you out." Summoning her gallade, she ordered the pokemon to slash the tank, blades glowing, the pokemon complied and the tank was slashed, water pressure forced the seams to crack and eventually the cage shattered and liquid gushed out on all sides. Whilst not enough to submerge the area entirely, it did flood the cavern with ankle deep pale bluish fluid. The concoction stung on coming in contact with skin. Ruby whirled around and saw Saph kicking the water, he ended his call and joined her, together they stared at Kyogre.

It was still inert.

"Let's go."

"No, I want to see Kyogre go back to the sea."

"...Fine, but first we have to get these people out of here, get them into the tunnel and we can flood this place, okay?"

A soft smile worked its way into the female's face and she dipped her head in agreement.

* * *

In the aftermath, they all agreed it was a disaster, according to Professor Birch's daughter, she and her friend Ruby were simply exploring the cavern's tunnels when they perceived an ominous shaking, being who they were, the brave trainers rushed towards the scene only to see Kyogre smashing out of its confinement and trying to flood the laboratory with water, it must have violently reacted to the energy given off by the Blue orb, the casualties were immense, the laboratory was damaged and submerged under the ocean, the two orbs were nowhere to be found, presumed to be now floating in the vast seas. Luckily the teenagers had the foresight to rescue their comrades and were now being congratulated in the hull of the submarine, gratitude and praises rained down on them.

"Do you think he's gonna be okay?" Back in the living quarters, Saph was again pressing her face to the porthole windows as the undersea explorer set sail; as usual Ruby was lounging and going through an outfit catalogue.

"He's a legendary beast, you saw how it still had the power to blast a hole through the thick wall of rock and escape, so yes Kyogre will be fine." he assured.

* * *

 **A/N:** And I'm back with another chapter! Much thanks to those who reviewed, it feels like we're a little gang now :P (which I totally appreciate because I'm kinda lonely...okay, that sounded pathetic but anyway) I really look forward to the reviews and it totally makes my day when I see them. At Silver: Yes, it translates to Black Justice, crafty title no? At Jack54311...how dare you! Spoiler! (JK, I guess as an author you can somewhat see what's going to happen). At Eevee: I don't ship Blue and Green as well, it comes off as awkward, I see them as best friends and nothing more, so no worries there :)

Please keep on reviewing and supporting the story. I'll give you cookies...virtual ones :P And Thanks for reading


	16. Wrinkles in space and time

**Chapter 16: Wrinkles in space and time  
**

Evening

Hoenn

Slateport harbor

Submarine explorer one docked near the concrete pier and the people inside it all exited in a grateful manner, The past few days in the vehicle was an experience of a lifetime as the crew set sail in high spirits and returned in depressed ones. Only the two teenagers on board were cheerful. They hopped out and stood by till they were given permission to return home, since they were simply doing a part-time job, Captain Stern decided that it would be unnecessary to take them back to the shipyard. The duo bid farewell, summoned their flying pokemon and flew off.

Sapphire sighed and lay on the back of her tropius, the large pokemon was cruising at a comfortable speed and she took the time to admire the sky, painted in various shades of peach with the light of the dying sun. Out of the corner of her eye, she beheld Ruby dangling dangerously close to the edge of fruit pokemon whilst going through his PokeNav. She let him be, he was probably trying to get back into the thick of things. It must be frustrating not to know what was going on. Another contented sigh left her and she closed her eyes. Her pokemon was warm, sluggishly, her eyes drifted shut.

Minutes later, she was being roughly shaken and she woke up to see a pair of ruby irises staring kindly down at her, fighting down a blush, she sprang up and Ruby pulled back in the nick of time to avoid a forehead collision. Touching down at Littleroot, the two waved and parted ways. The black haired boy shoved his gloved hands deep into pockets and walking off, and the girl recalled her pokemon into a capsule before striding in to the laboratory her father owned. Opening the doors, she marched in to see her father running around the lab with a sheaf of papers clutched in his hand, a pen was stuck behind his ear and a stained coffee mug sat near his computer. She giggled at his antics and tackled him with a hug.

"I'm back Papa!" she announced at earsplitting volume.

The laboratory lights were turned off, computers and other electronic equipment were shut down and the father-daughter pair locked up the glass doors for the night. It was a short walk home and the professor took great pleasure in listening to his daughter's rambling exclamations and dramatic gestures. He smiled as she recalled her adventures in vivid detail, not even pausing in her narration as they entered their modest home. Finally, the young girl gave another twirl in the living room and abruptly crashed on the sofa seemingly drained of energy. Her blue tinted eyes wandered over to the family portrait hanging on the wall above the flat screen television. The picture showed a young girl, resplendent in a frilly dress, her father, beardless and slimmer at the time, stood to her left whilst her mother, long brown tresses reaching her waist, was situated on the right. The little family was smiling blindingly unaware of what was to come. Sapphire's smile morphed into sadness. She lay on the sofa for a while and closed her eyes. Her father had gone upstairs to put down his bag and get changed; he'll come down in a few moments and start cooking. Then he'll call her and they'll share dinner in the kitchen, thereafter the two would sit in front of the television and watch news, or whatever took their fancy. As time ticked by, Birch would eventually usher her to bed and he'll spend some time working on his projects or go to sleep.

This is how things were at home ever since her mother died. Simple, like clockwork. Every day it was wake up, get dressed, eat, head to the lab, do field work and come home. Saph did not mind at all, she loved her father to bits, he did not break down when his wife died, instead, he simply stepped up to fill the dual roles of both mother and father and she appreciated this from the bottom of her heart. So exactly what would her dear Papa say when he found out that his beloved child was a criminal?

"Saph darling! Dinner is ready!" His warm tones rang out from the kitchen and she shoved her morbid ruminations for later.

The next day, early morning

Hoenn

Littleroot town.

Birch glanced at his daughter as he put his shabby laboratory coat on, the coat needed a wash, he was discreetly aware of all the coffee and other obscure stains soiling the once white jacket. Shrugging it on with a bit of difficulty, (was he gaining weight that quickly?) he asked his daughter to repeat her words.

"I wanna do what Ruby is doing" her eyes were downcast and she twiddled with her thumbs in an embarrassed manner. "Not, not the contest stuff Papa! Just you know, resume travelling the different regions but with him this time, I know you are worried with all the kidnappings and other evil organizations on the rise but you won't have a problem if I travel with him right? He's gym leader Norman's son and I can hold my own in battles so-" he stopped her rambling explanation and chuckled lightheartedly. In contrast, Sapphire's heart sped up. Lying was bad for her health.

"Awww! My little flower is growing up" and she scowled good humoredly at the nickname, "of course I don't mind, you and your Toro are a formidable team. If you come across those law breakers, give them a good walloping you hear?" ruffling her brown locks, he proceeded to grab his satchel and move out of the door, his laughter echoed all the way, taking two steps beyond the house he paused and added, "and don't forget to tell your mother where you are going!" This time, he rightfully left. Reluctantly she raised her eyes to her mother smiling in the picture and a bitter grin formed on her lips.

"I'm sorry...Mama."

* * *

Mid-afternoon

Kanto

Celadon city, Dex criminal's headquarters.

"Uhh, let see, they are still searching for senior Red, apparently this is his longest disappearance yet, trying to reach Green Oak is also futile...Pffft typical. Next, hmm, this will be a hard one to crack; viruses huh...Let me just..." Emerald was hard at work, his green pigmented eyes swinging over the giant monitor akin to a pendulum. At the moment he was hacking into the international police team's website and procuring snippets of much needed information. He was very careful about this, one wrong step and it was all over. Thus his hacking was limited to a few heists in a given month. Fingers flying over the keys, he squinted and bit his lower lip in concentration. This particular bit of information was heavily encrypted and so he was sure it contained vital information. A feral grin took its place on his face and his typing speed increased to epic proportions, "finally...I got it." Victorious in his quest, he leaned back in his specially crafted chair and smirked.

"Heya Rald, you have a scary expression on your face."

"Yes!" Ruby gestured dramatically, he and Saph walked in unannounced in Strategy's common room, "it looks rather ugly."

"Shut up, I just cracked a major scoop!" he grudged "give me a break and stop touching my hair Ruby!" In a flash, the self-proclaimed fashionista had gathered Emerald's long hair and tied it into a ponytail, too fatigued to reach up and loosen his blonde strands, he merely let them be.

"So what's this scoop you just cracked? And Hello you two" Green walked in minutes later, he was wearing an olive tinted shirt and his hands were occupied with an overflowing folder. Tossing them on a table, he slumped in his chair, crossed his legs and rotated to face his partner. Sapphire watched him apprehensively; she still did not ask him to train her. If Rald gave him good news, she might just exploit the opening and hit the nail on its head.

"Before I give you the information you need to know something, apparently Silver is under their radar, makes sense because he was at the sight of two major incidents, they might be keeping a close eye on his actions. Also there is senior Re-"

"Has he been found out all ready?" Green shot up straight in his chair, his fists clenched. It was uncharacteristic to see him this riled up.

"Err...no? Why would he be found out?" The leader relaxed and waved a hand in response, nodding, the subordinate carried on, "Red is just under the fire for being absent for the league for such a long period, there are talks of having him replaced, seems like a major meeting is going to take place soon. And about the main point of this discussion, it appears as if there is a third dragon in Unova, and a team has been sent in the Giant Chasm to keep a watch over it. The dragon, who is an ice type, is found out to be a shell of some sorts...I didn't really understand the specifics sir, maybe you will but I'm sure this Kyurem is tied to Zekrom and Reshiram somehow."

The three teenagers watched the spiky haired brunette; the man sported a contemplative look as he peered at nothing. Finally he spoke up, uttering rare words of praise and his underling beamed in return. Office chair swiveling to face his personal computer, the jade eyed trainer was about to get to work when Sapphire blurted out her request and bowed.

"Senior Green, will you please train me?"

"What about Red?" he asked with his back towards her.

"He...Told me you would do a better job since you practiced marital arts." the chair creaked as he whirled around to face her.

"Red told you that?...I'll wring his neck the next time I see him. Fine" he relented and she smiled, showing her sharp canines "I'll train you but as you can see, I'm normally swamped with work so the training sessions will probably be irregular. I won't be able to give you attention like how Red's giving to Diamond. Hope you don't mind." The girl bowed gratefully once more and muttered her thanks. Glad to finally get a strong training partner, she hurtled off to Execution's common room to tell everyone the good news. Saph must have collided with someone along the way because a small shout was heard. An unbalanced Yellow entered the room and heavily sat on a couch to regain her breath.

"Emerald, transfer the files to my computer, I want to read the reports." The blonde complied with his orders and soon, Green was jotting down notes and simpering. He reached into his pocket, brought out his Pokemon gear, dialed a number and waited.

"Hello?"

"Blue, it's me. I want to send Silver on a mission and since you chewed me out the last time I used him without your permission, I decided to call you. In Unova there is a place near the Pokemon league called the Giant chasm, a remnant of Zekrom and Reshiram currently inhabits the cavern. The dragon's name is Kyurem and its mastery is over ice. From what I read, it is powerful in its own right and becomes even stronger when _combined_ with either Reshiram or Zekrom. Yeah, you heard right, combined. According to the data, the pokemon is not complete. Oh and by the way, your underling is spotted on the radar; I'll have him go in masked. It's just an infiltration and scouting mission, nothing heavy and he won't definitely lose sleep and weight over it!" Exhaling in a peeved manner, he put the gear down and resumed his task. Sensing Yellow in the room, he relayed an order to her and she went off to carry it out.

Back in the corridors, Yellow took care not to crash into anyone this time, her impact with Saph had been a particularly nasty one, despite her looks, that teenager sure packed some muscle! As she passed the kitchen, she could hear some gleeful cheering coming out of it, seems like the rowdy team Execution was celebrating something, Gold and the not so new recruit's voice were vying for dominance. Barely a second later, the double doors sailed open and Red flew out, careering into her and squashing her against the wall. Instinctively she screamed and blushed, this was so mortifying!

"Ouch! Oh Yellow, gosh are you h- UGH!" the black haired adolescent screeched as a bolt of lightning seared him, "Pika! Gimme a break will you and UGHHHH!" this time he twitched uncontrollably "Gold! Why is your pichu attacking me?" The gold eyed trainer carelessly answered as Red sluggishly stood up and helped the girl to her feet.

"Pibu's probably following his dad's violent tendencies" he shrugged; Red's Pika went over to the young electric mouse and nuzzled it affectionately. Red, forgetting that he still had a firm grip on Yellow's hand, watched, his eyes softening at the scene. The flushed female was at loss for what to do; eventually she plucked up enough courage and spoke up. Hearing her, the adolescent sheepishly let go and scratched the back of his head. Face burning, she stammered a few apologies and bolted from the place. Her fluttering heart calmed down as she walked in Constellate's opulent room. Silver was lying on the couch, one hand dangling to the floor, the other held a remote as he flipped through the channels of a screen. On the ground next to him was Whi-2, the youngster was putting on a bowtie on her Snivy, seems like Ruby's contesting skills were starting to rub off on her.

"Silver" the older blonde called out and the male forced himself into a sitting position, "Green has a mission for you..." she passed on her leader's words and handed him the documents crucial to the mission, "and you will have to go in masked...the police have a tab on you." His irises widened and then narrowed in understanding.

* * *

Around the same time

Sinnoh

Veilstone city.

Blue put her pokemon gear away and resumed her task of hacking in the computer, irritably; she wiped her palms on her spacesuit-esque outfit and scowled when the material crinkled. Ruby would have gotten a heart attack at their appearances. Both she and Platina were dressed as Galactic Grunts, apparently this building was owned by the organization and when her search for the creation myths led her here, she was vehemently denied entry. Seems like no one except those eccentric looking individuals were allowed inside, deciding to take another route she and her consort ambled through the large city and eventually spotted a few of those grunts guarding a warehouse. Knocking them out with a few sedatives, she stripped the female guards and put on a uniform. It was a bit too tight for her tastes. Platina, the noble merely gaped in shock at her leader's actions, the duo spent precious time arguing and eventually the heiress relented and reluctantly donned the used clothing. Now the main problem turned out to be the hair.

"I've got some hair spray in my bag, turquoise in color. Silver's information about these bizarre groups of people certainly came in handy." Once again, the younger female eyed her superior as Blue turned her cinnamon tinted locks into a ghastly light blue.

"I'm not applying that on my head!" Platina firmly declared and marched off into the warehouse with her head held high. Chuckling, Blue followed after tossing her can to the floor. Inside the two women navigated the underground maze and unlocked several doors thanks to the keycard they swiped, eventually they reached the basement of the main building and watched. True to what Silver told them, the lower ranking members of the team marched with a hive mind, they walked in perfectly synchronized groups and not one individual was out of place. Footsteps echoed rhythmically as they pounded the floor in unison. Locating a gap between one drill and another, the duo scurried over to the other side and Platina glanced at her Poketch. Using a fancy stylus, she began drawing a layout of the place.

"We need to get rid of the security devices and avoid fighting those...People at all costs" the department leader muttered as she checked her reflection in a camera, winking into the lens, she brought out her ditto and commanded the pink slime to destroy the apparatus, sparks emitted from the device and she whipped around to see Platina still scribbling on the gadget encircling her wrist. Turning back to her pokemon Blue commanded another move "Ditty, use Transform and go wreak havoc, I have some business to attend to okay~" The pokemon wriggled in its place and began morphing; its trainer was rather impressed by its choice. Her ditto had turned into Mew, with a blithe growl, the pink pokemon shot off disabling cameras along the way and drawing the colony of robotic grunts to it. Seizing Platina's slender arm not too gently, the commander dragged her across the building, poking her head into several rooms; some of the things she saw were outright disturbing. Shaking her head and still tugging her underling along, they traversed the corridor boldly.

Their search was finally rewarded when she stepped into a warp panel and it instantly transported her into the control room. Both she and Platina had first froze and when it became apparent that the chamber was deserted, they relaxed. Releasing the teenager, the woman vaulted over to the computer and started typing away in a zealous manner. Slightly panicking and wary of the cameras dotting the room, Platina summoned her froslass and ordered it to use aurora veil, the thick multicolored curtain of light will shield them from prying eyes. Not wanting to get in her superior's way; the indigo haired youth stationed herself in front of the doors in case intruders try to break in. A few minutes later, Blue got a phone call from Green and after listening to him she resumed her task. Froslass was still in the middle of the futuristic chamber, levitating above the grey tiled ground and keeping the veil in place.

A loud commotion took place in the corridors.

And before the Sinnoh native could bring out another monster, the attacker struck. Fist sized metallic spheres broke down the door and struck Platina, the girl soared across the room and skidded to a halt on the floor, the damage was reduced thanks to her Froslass, wiping a dribble of blood off the edge of her mouth she gathered herself in an upright crouch. Blue, alerted by the noise discarded her work and stood in front of her protectively, she had Blasty out and the pokemon was growling in an ominous manner.

"Well, it seems we have unwanted guests in here" a low sinister voice revealed a man with a shock of electric blue hair sticking up in gravity defying spikes. He entered the room slowly, deliberately and next to him a probopass floated. "You are not allowed in here. By my name, Cyrus, the information you learned in here will be buried alongside your bodies...Probopass-"

"Blasty! Flash cannon! And then use Hydro pump!" Blue picked up her injured team mate in her arms and quickly closed her eyes as a blinding flash of light forced Cyrus and his metallic beast backwards. Throwing herself and the injured Platina on the shellfish pokemon's back, she secured her grip tightly and the cannons changed direction, aiming backwards. A high pressurized torrent of water shot forth propelling the pokemon and the occupants hanging on his back forward and they shot past Cyrus and another bespectacled old man who was lingering in the corridor. Blastoise broke through a window and streaked across the sky before landing roughly in a glade bordering the Pokemon center. The water had run out and all three fell in a comical manner, bodies thumping on the grass. Blue rolled out of the way as her heavy pokemon landed, the tortoise grunted in pain.

"Thanks Blasty" she recalled the beast "If it weren't for you, we'd be killed. I'll count on you for future missions as well." Tossing her hair, she put her pokeball away and went to inspect her subordinate. The girl was trying to cover up a large tear in her suit.

"Let's sneak back to our rooms at the hotel, I'll check out the information we gathered and see if we got what we wanted. Thereafter we'll return home." the leader announced.

Late afternoon

Veilstone city

Hotel room

The scalding water offered scant relief to the round bruises decorating her body. Her arm was extremely painful and the skin was a nasty blue black. Facing her back to the shower head, Platinum allowed the hot water to run down as she lingered in the cubicle for far too long. The bathroom was cloaked in mist and after spending another half an hour she stepped out, immediately the chilled air gripped her and the aches returned again. _I should wear a long sleeved coat to cover up those markings she_ mused, _can't have senior worrying abo-_ her thoughts were cut short when her superior knocked on the door.

"Platina, is everything alright? I got some medicine; you can put it on okay? I'll leave it here." The noble waited till the footsteps faded before opening the door and grabbing the tube placed on the floor. A soft sigh left her lips and she retreated back inside the bathroom and applied the cream on her skin. When she exited, the older female was smiling at her kindly.

"I'm sorry you had to endure all that...If I was more perceptive of my surroundings instead..." she trailed off, her cyan irises trained to the floor in guilt.

"Don't worry senior, I'll be fine in a few days...Besides I'm more interested in the intelligence we procured from them, what does it say?"

The two sat themselves comfortably in a sofa and peered at Blue's laptop screen, whilst Platina was showering, Constellate's leader took it upon herself to organize the bits of information into a chronologically coherent piece, written in an old fashioned font, the text read:

In a vortex of complete chaos and nothingness a single egg birthed Arceus. This new pokemon then formed Mew and the two lived together in the infinite darkness for centuries. Over time, they became lonely of the nothingness around them and together they created a semblance of space and time. Palkia and Dialga respectively. To this, they added a third element, antimatter and so Giratina was born. The third pokemon was promptly chained down by Arceus because of its violent tendencies. More often than not, it would urge Space and Time to collide and perspectives would shift, time would flow. The red chains binding Giratina eventually wore off and he disappeared into a dimension he created on his own. The chain was refashioned into knowledge, emotion and willpower. Due to the periodic clashing of space and time, the first lands were created. Sinnoh. Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie, located three resting places and dove down to them, hiding themselves away. The pokemon lording over space and time retreated into their own dimensions and Arceus and Mew split, each contributing to the newly created world in their own way.

The barren universe was then given three new elemental masters. Kyogre rose from the pressure of deep sea trenches and proceeded to flood the world with water. Similarly, fire burned in the earth's core and Groudon broke the never ending oceans with landmasses. Naked earth was covered up by an ozone layer in an effort to shelter its inhabitants from the pollutants of space. Thus Rayquayza became master of the skies. At times both land and sea will fight over dominance and this shall continue till Rayquayza quells their rage. Their work done, they retreat and sleep and wait to meet again.

From the unbroken landmass rose the Titans which broke up the huge continent and pulled them apart with their power and the face of the Poke Earth was shaped this way. They too retreated in special areas when their toils were complete. Around this time, Mew gave rise to prehistoric pokemon and thus life began on the newly created planet. Arceus eventually creates the orbs capable of summoning the creation pokemon should there ever arise a need for them. He eventually retreated into a slumber and kept minimal contact with the world.

"…But I thought Arceus was created from an energy being called Unown; this fact is not mentioned here!" Platinum's dark eyes swung over the text again and she frowned in confusion.

"I suppose Unown is what you call energy..." Blue contemplated "individually they might not have much power but when they gather in masses, they are even capable of producing the Alpha pokemon. Maybe Arceus dispersed the concentration of Unown and thus they hardly have any power left." Yawning, the brunette glanced at a clock and jerked, it was close to midnight. She was aware of her subordinate already molding theories and laws in her head and spoke up before the young trainer could propose anything, "Let's go to sleep Platina, we'll return to home base tomorrow and you can put your knowledge into good use."

"Yes" the indigo haired teenager responded in a distracted manner, her fingers were already busy typing, "we need the three orbs to summon those pokemon right? Hmm...Well this text makes it clear only those involved in the original creation of this world is capable of creating another one..."

"Platina! Sleep! Now!" Snatching the laptop away, Blue commanded her junior to bed in a fierce manner.

* * *

 **A/N:** It's okay people, I'm alive, even though I had to brave storms, raining mangoes and no electricity for the past couple of days, I survived! I'm a survivor! And now for the part that matters. First of all, thank you all for reviewing and reading, virtual cookies to all of you! (Except Silver, he wants cake) At bruhhhhhhh: I type my chapters way in advance and unfortunately I can't tweak his character to be serious all the time. Of course he isn't always going to be sunshine and rainbows but, he won't be Mr. Poker-face either. I guess the best way to see his growth would be to read the story? And I'm definitely not abandoning this fic, rest assured. And thanks for reviewing! At Silver: I titled my fic after planning out the ending chapter, although it does not make much sense now (Black Justice...Whaaat?) once the ending rolls around, you'll understand why I titled this novel as such. My first choice was Dex criminals...ugh, like that'll give all the suspense away, so after much deliberation, I re-titled it before uploading. I think a title that reflects on the plot/story is a best one. Decide on the title last, that way you'll be able to think of a far better one. RedxGreen? (le shudder) I tend to stay far away from slash. Thanks.

Okay, to make things clear, this fic is not a shipping fic. Please don't let that discourage you from reading. Since the genre is set to drama, there will be a lot of ship teases, but nothing intimate and romantic, the interactions between the characters are there to show their growth.

Whoa! I hope this is the last time I'm going to do such a lengthy author's note and hopefully get more reviews? Yes? Motivation for those nights when there's no electricity? Once again, thanks for supporting the story, please keep on reading and drop a line of your thoughts or some constructive criticism.


	17. A world of truth and ideals

**Chapter 17: A world of truth and ideals**

Silver was really tired, the entire morning he was sitting against the cold rock face of the cavern. Terror made him stiff and he briefly wondered how he managed to crawl into a den swarming with gym leaders, police, and other law abiding officers unnoticed. He paced his breath and worried that someone might eventually see the small cloud of stream issuing from his mouth, thank Reshiram the place he hid in was dimly lit or else the game would've been up a long time ago.

Rime covered hands lowered the binoculars he was holding and he blinked his eyes, they were dry and painful. He dared not to summon any of his pokemon lest the gargantuan dragon sense its presence. Kyurem was continuously injected with a cocktail of drugs to keep it in a semi-comatose mode. Scientists took readings, calculating it stats and power output and the dragon was heavily guarded, he counted three gym leaders hovering close to the pokemon. This morning right after he managed to sneak in, the Unova champion had made an entrance and left shortly after. Professor Juniper had also came and left after gathering the latest data on the mythical creature. He himself had snapped several pictures, with great risk, each time the flash went off, his heart hammered against his rib cage and his frostbitten hands shook uncontrollably, zooming the digital prints up, he noticed the pokemon looked fatigued by the various experiments the scientists conducted on it, he gritted his teeth and exhaled. The red head wanted to get out of the gloomy, icy cave, at this rate his brain will freeze over; the parka he wore did little to ward off the chill infused air.

Sleepy, he was sleepy. Taking a sip of his once hot tea, he shifted his position ever so slightly, his pants were already damp and he discarded the wig for a beanie, blinking furiously, he checked his watch.

Afternoon

Unova

Giant chasm

It was past one o'clock already, how long was he required to stay here? And won't any of those damn gym leaders and police officers shift away from the entrance? The weak sunlight infiltrating the cavern was inviting, yet here he was, forced to sit in a still position for hours, not even uttering the slightest sound. His silver eyes swept the area countless times and each scene was already committed to memory. The blonde gym leader patrolled the entrance in a lazy manner, his hands shoved deep in pockets and two security guards were now standing permanently near the opening leading into the cave, black batons hung from their belts. A dragon tamer cracked her whip impatiently on the glacial floor ever so often, she issued orders and was the one who maintained order, lastly there was another young woman in an aviator-esque outfit, she merely sat in a camping chair and kept a hawk like watch over the entire cavern. Silver held his breath as her eyes brushed over his hiding location. He must be aware of her at all times. Eyes deviating, he spied several large tents and some equipment in the vast area, seems like these people actually slept in here! The rogue trainer shivered, who in their right mind would want to _stay_ in a place like this?

"He's coming sir" one of the policemen reported and the blonde male shrugged his shoulders. Underneath his cap, Silver's hair stood on end, were they waiting to ambush some one? Perhaps he could slip out unnoticed in the ensuing chaos...

Instead the forthcoming spectacle had him rooted to the spot.

A young adolescent walked in, his leaf colored hair gathered in in a messy ponytail. He entered without any awe or hurry and seemingly unaware of his surroundings. The youth made a beeline for Kyurem, his stormy irises filled with the image of the dragon. Sneakers crunching, he marched right up to the dragon and stretched his arms out, thereafter he spoke to the legendary pokemon.

"Hello Kyurem" the stranger greeted, "It's me, N again, I'm sure all these experiments on you are causing you a great deal of pain right? But they won't listen to me when I tell them to stop you see, they say it is for the benefit of mankind." he paused as the dragonoid lowered its head and he stroked it fondly "you cannot contain your power is it? I understand, I know, it's a pity the rest of the trainers don't. Not to worry, I'm working hard with father to make an ideal world come true, one where you won't be chained and used as a slave for humanity's selfish reasons."

When the green haired youth began speaking, Silver had first dismissed his ramblings for that of a mad person, but it became apparent that it was not the case. Kyurem, famous for being angry and intolerant of humans was actually allowing N (or whoever he was) to pet his head, moreover he was growling softly and butting his head affectionately against the human. Fumbling for his phone, he held it up and recorded some video. This person was able to communicate with pokemon!

A flabbergasting fact indeed.

"There, there" the square bracelets decorating N's arm twinkled pleasantly in the stark space as he rubbed the ice dragon's maw fondly, "I'll visit again tomorrow alright?" The growls grew louder and more unpleasant to the ear as the person moved away from the dragon; Kyurem took a few steps forward and was promptly restrained by chains. Haltingly the trainer turned his back and began exiting and Silver, grasping the opportunity with both hands, hefted a medium sized stone and threw it. The rock flew through the air and struck N on the side of his head and the pale youth collapsed, his fragile constitution unable to handle any physical assaults. Concerned, the team inside the cave surged towards him and Kyurem gave off an earsplitting roar. The cavern shook and no one, absolutely no one noticed a masked individual slipping out of the cave.

Several hours later

Nimbasa city

Poke Park.

If Gold was here, he'd make fun of Silver for eating cotton candy. The red head was currently ambling around the park with a piece of the sugary confection stuffed inside his mouth. Weavile darted back and forth, delighted by new and un-terrifying surroundings. Gleeful screams of children clashed with mechanical hummings as a roller coaster and a mechanized swing groaned into action. He stood by and watched, a smile tugging on his lips. When he was a child, the luxury of riding a swing was not presented to him, in fact he had never gone to a park before. It was...fun. After exiting the cold cave, he flew all the way to Nimbasa to board a train, alas, he was informed that the next train to Kanto would take a few more hours to arrive, not having anything better to do, he went inside a bathroom stall and pulled off his winter clothing, after fixing the wig back over his red locks, he decided to give the PokePark a visit. Now he was standing in front of the Ferris wheel where a portly hiker was charging a fee for anyone wanting to ride it. Reaching deep inside his pocket, he handed over the money and proceeded to board a car, a while later another person entered and Silver froze, weavile, sensing his tension pressed its body against him comfortingly.

"Your Weavile really loves you" N stated in a monotone voice like he was confirming a fact. His slate tinted eyes gave the phantom thief a once over and Silver found it hard to relax under his scrutinizing gaze. The male reached up and vigorously rubbed the spot where the Johto native clonked him with a stone.

Silence, the Ferris wheel jolted into motion and the car began climbing higher. Ignoring the individual sitting opposite him, the thief trained his eyes to the scenery and found himself relaxing, with a subtle croon, his dark pokemon nestled in his lap and Silver was acutely aware of how N was staring at him. The man got up and squeezed next to him and the red head shifted up feeling awkward, he forced his gaze outside the window and watched. Unova was breathtaking, spring was giving way to summer and high up in the air, he could appreciate how the trees had started blooming, flowers peeked beneath green foliage and brought color. Cherry blossoms rained down, carpeting the ground in pastel pink petals. He sighed and his breath fogged up the glass. N's bracelets were chiming again; the youth must be doing something with his hands.

The car climbed higher.

"You are a bad person, yet your pokemon adores you...It's a formula I can't figure out..." Silver whipped his head back when N started accusing him of being a 'bad person' the eccentric was playing with a puzzle cube, twisting the blocks and trying to align the pieces up. His pendant glinted in the sun

"...Accusing someone of being bad when you first meet them...Is not good manners." The red head retorted, N's words had a profound effect on him.

"It wasn't my judgment," He twisted the cube again, "Kyurem told me," he looked up and pinned Silver with a beastly gaze "Kyurem said all the humans inside the cavern were evil, but you, hiding in the shadows are the _worst_."

A chill ran up the offended person's spine and he glanced at his watch in an effort to disperse his choked up feeling. The car descended and grinded to a stop, as soon as the door slid open, Silver bolted with weavile hot on his heels. The sharp claw pokemon glanced back once and thereafter scurried to its partner. Its master was exiting the park and walking towards the city. Soon the trainer made it to the battle subway and enquired about the train again. He was informed that it'd arrive in an hour. Giving up, he sat on one of the platform benches and brought his phone out to play games. Almost half an hour later a small tap on his shoulder alerted him to a young child shoving a poster in his face.

"Have you seen these two?" the boy, sporting a headful of lilac spikes asked. Silver snatched the poster and stared at it.

Today was not his day.

The picture showed two children, a boy with a self-confident smirk, russet tinted eyes and a visor; and a girl sporting dark brown hair styled in two Chinese buns, a shy smile and also a pink visor atop her head. A lump formed his throat; the child was staring at him with an intense, expecting gaze.

"Sorry kid" he droned "I haven't seen them; they are the ones who were kidnapped right?" Hugh took a step back and pain flared in his eyes.

"...Yeah, they were my classmates" he forced out through gritted teeth and bit his lower lip. A second passed and he relaxed, shoulders drooping, arm hanging limply by his side, "sorry for troubling you, I'll...Just take my leave." The boy was slinking away when a masked individual crashed into him, silver eyes watched as the thief discreetly slipped nimble fingers in Hugh's pocket and extracted a pokeball, the boy was too busy stammering apologies to notice what was going on, being a master thief himself, Silver saw it all.

' _...But you, hiding in the shadows are the worst.._.' N's words echoed in his head akin to an ominous chant. Getting up, he approached the masked human and twisted his arm.

"Give the child back its pokemon or face the consequences." a low voice threatened. The boy's eyes widened and he bristled with rage.

"My...Emboar! HOW DARE YOU! GIVE IT BACK YOU FREAK!"

"Hmph!" the pirate snorted "get it if you can." Pulling out of Sliver's grip, he leapt over a bench and started running. Hugh gave chase, his poster fluttering to the floor, the red head simply stood there and called for his shiny gyarados, the pokemon emerged from its ball with a loud growl and the occupants standing on the platform all flinched in annoyance.

"Apprehend...The pickpocket." Red body writhing, the serpent shot forward. The fleeing mugger tossed out a ball of his own and commanded:

"Garbodor, use acid spray" gyarados merely charged through, not attempting to dodge the corrosive liquid. Purple fluid splashed on its skin and immediately the skin began burning off in patches revealing the flesh underneath, instead of stopping, the atrocious pokemon charged and its tail stiffened, he swept in in a low arc, carefully avoiding the boy and smashing garbodor and its trainer neatly into the opposite wall. The trash heap stirred and gyarados closed its jaws over the foul pokemon. The crushed pokemon screamed and its voice died out after a bone breaking crunch. Silver, who had run over, paled and hoped Hugh had not heard the sound. Thankfully, the boy's seething eyes were glued to the pirate and he stomped over as the shiny pokemon was recalled.

"My pokemon, cough it up!" The pokeball was meekly handed over and police rushed to the scene. Giving the boy a lopsided grin and accepting his thanks Silver discretely exited from the place.

"Kanto's train has arrived, all personnel please board the train" an electronic voice issued from the speakers. The Johto native hurried, he was going to miss the train if he lingered on any longer.

' _...But you, hiding in the shadows are the worst.._.'

Alas the words in his head would not stop.

Evening

Kanto

Game corner in Celadon city

The din in the casino was loud as Silver entered, his eyes slid over the several slot machines and the greedy, hypnotized people operating it. Some of them sported half crazed grins, the flashing lights reflecting off their glassy irises seemed to not hurt their eyes. Moving to the poster decorating the back wall of the room, he was about to press the button behind it when another slender hand beat him to the punch.

"Silver!" Blue cried and hugged her adoptive brother with all her might. She clasped his face in her hands and studied him closely.

"I'm alright Sis, just tired." he intoned as they made their way downstairs "I found out some...Incredible information," he held up his phone, "there is a guy who can speak to pokemon..." The leader, with Platina in a tow, halted in her tracks.

"What?" she asked incredulously, "talk? As in communicate and understand pokemon language?" She grasped Silver and shook him back and forth, "where is he? Did you bring him here?"

"N-no...And stop shaking me!" Blue let him go and they advanced through the corridors, "His name is N, and he talked to Kyurem, I think he's a native of Unova and probably used in some sort of shady organization. That reminds me...there are people stealing pokemon in Unova, I just defeated one of them at the train station and met Lack-2's classmate, the child is search-"

"You met Hugh?" doe like eyes stared up at him and he regretted the slip of tongue, "How...How is he? Does he look healthy?" Whi-2, already good friends with her senior gripped the front of his black shirt and waited for a response.

"Yes he is healthy." he pried her fingers off "he's searching for you two...I'm going to my room." Spinning on his heels, he made a quick exit. Instead of breaking down to the floor and crying, Whi-2 merely smiled.

"I'm glad he's okay" she said to herself.

* * *

Platina sat on the high stool with her legs dangling, despite the hot weather, she was wearing a jacket. Pearl was chatting away, his words tumbling over each other as he flitted from one topic to the other. Diamond listened and commented once in a while, the blue eyed teenager fixed his chef's hat more securely on his black hair. He stirred something in a large pan and added a few chopped ingredients; the aroma coming out of the pot was mouthwatering. It has been a while since the Sinnoh trio gathered like this. Mostly either Pearl or Platina was always off for missions. Dia, doted on by Red and responsible for being the only decent cook in the entire organization often stayed at base. Today, seeing as none of them were saddled with duties, they decided to sit together in the kitchen to catch up on stories. However, it appears as if there was something gnawing on Platina's mind, the young noble was staring at the rack of forks and other cooking utensils as if her life depended on it.

"Are you okay? Platina? I'm sure you are hungry, just wait for a moment, I'm making pasta." Dia, sensing her conflicting emotions better than his best friend, smiled kindly at her and returned to his cooking, he seasoned his dish, taste tested it and sighed in bliss. Pearl kept on chattering like a monkey.

"...And so the lights went out in the facility and as expected, senior Green chewed me out and then I wandered into the holding chamber...Get that, the alien needed an entire _room_ to keep it enclosed and the doors were thick, Chimhiko couldn't even bust the doors down! When the power returned, the door slid shut again and I had no idea Deoxys was in the room as well. Finally, I decided to call for help and this other worldly sound came from behind me, as I turned around, that thing's tentacles stabbed right through the bone of my upper arm and pinned me to the door. It broke that door down and escaped. Here look, I still have a scar" rolling up his sleeves, till his shoulders, he showed a disinterested Platina and a very interested Diamond the scar, his skin on the upper arm was flawed by a circular patch with ragged edges, "blood was pouring out of it and I collapsed while trying to escape, fortunately boss man found me when I fell unconscious and I woke up at base..."

If the tentacles had aimed for his heart, the blonde wouldn't be here right now, Platina ruminated, why was he not scared? Despite being in a life threatening situation he handled it as if it were and everyday occurrence.

"Dinner's ready" Dia called out and placed three steaming plates on the table. Showing a stiff smile, she began to eat the scrumptious meal gratefully.

Night

Celadon city

Constellate's common room

"I'm Pokaayyy~" not even their stand-up comedy routine was enough to get the heiress to show a natural smile. After finishing their supper, the trio decided to accompany Platina to her common room, it was deserted and the three took the opportunity to hog the entertainment system. Diamond and Pearl snatched a gaming system and positioned themselves at the back of the room, where the largest screen covered an entire wall, they pushed Blue's desk and chair aside and dragged a comfortable couch, thereafter they started playing together, the music and sounds of the video game was at random times, punctuated by either of their shouts or squabbles. Away from them, Platina contented herself to watch a documentary about Pokemon lore and mythologies. A few hours later, the two males tired of their game, sauntered over and started practicing their stand-up routine. Indigo eyes watched them but they did not crinkle in amusement or delight. Something was really bothering the young lady.

"Is there something wrong Platina?" Diamond sat down next to her and fished a rice ball out of his pocket; he ate when he was nervous.

"..."

"Come on!" Pearl hollered, "if there is anything wrong, you can't keep it away from us! After all" he took out his Pokedex "we are the Sinnoh Dex-holders and we are capable trainers trying to create a new world!" Smiling gaily, Dia pulled out his one and switched in on. Platinum did so as well and a synchronized ringing sound permeated the room. Crashing next to her, the three listened to the simultaneous beeps in a contented manner.

"This song keeps me going...When I hear it, I feel like I can do anything."

"Same here" the blonde agreed with his chubby best friend.

The heiress began unbuttoning her jacket, in alarm, the two teenagers blushed and looked away.

"What are you doing?!" They hyperactive one of the three gesticulated wildly.

"Look." Her soft voice commanded and haltingly the duo, still flushed, trained their eyes on her. Spherical bruises covered her body, one near her delicate clavicle, another one on her upper arm and she added that there were several covering her entire body. Done with this, she began to pull the jacket on but Dia stopped her.

"You don't have to hide anything from us, we are best friends aren't we?" he bit off his rice ball and continued speaking in an indolent manner, "look at our leaders, they have different personalities yet they all fit together like pieces of a puzzle..."

Pearl sighed and reached over to brush off a few grains of rice littering his friend's cheeks, "judging from the looks of the bruises, whoever did this to you must've used Magnet bomb...Dia is right!" the strong willed boy suddenly stood up, "just because you got thwarted by a few hills along the way doesn't mean you stop trying! Dia! Let's practice our comedy routine again!"

"Yes Sir!" The teenager in question got up and mock saluted.

Her eyes softened at their antics. Since the three first met (under mistaken circumstances) they had instantly clicked, like pieces of a puzzle as Dia would put it. Platina's thoughts eventually turned to her home. She had set out on a journey to Mount Coronet to create a family crest and unwittingly embroiled herself in this mess. It was Green who had approached one day as she was reading pokemon myths in the library in Canalave city; he introduced himself as a Professor and asked if she could help him with a small project. When she finished her required work, Blue swept out of nowhere and asked her to join, her first intention was to refuse but eventually she caved in when the older female promised her more information. Now she was a full-fledged member of the spy department and had acquired vast amounts of knowledge, something she couldn't have done if she was a normal trainer. She was sure the Berlitz family, her parent's would not mind. Knowledge was power and anyone who gained hold of it was powerful. To be frank, she was pretty sure her parent's would've encouraged her...

"Are you listening?" Pearl's impatient scold broke through her ruminations and she laughed in a dainty manner.

"Yes Pearl" She shook her head, her dark hair falling in front of her face like streams of ink, "I'm listening."

The two boys simply looked at her and blushed.

* * *

A/N: Early chapter because those reviews were very, very motivating. (And also because the electricity is fickle and might shoot off for another few days again). At Silvef (not sure if typo but I'll roll with it 'cause it sounds cool) I apologize for jumping to conclusions, it was wrong of me, thank you for not flaming, Virtual cake to you for being kind. And your theories are interesting (not going to say if they are wrong or right though, revel in the anticipation!) As for titles, how about this one: The digital encyclopedia committers of crimes? Sorry, feel free to hammer me with a mallet. It sounds horrible (basically translates to Dex criminals). At Eevee: You were missed! Did I mention it rains fish here as well? Yep, it rains mangoes, water and fish. I live in a tropical country. And who missed Hugh? Jack54311, here you go, a cameo appearance of the poor guy. Once again, thanks for the kind words and keep on reading and sending theories, who knows, one of them might just give me an awesome story idea.

Oh my goodness! I almost forgot! Much gratitude to illakir for following my story. I hope it's an enjoyable read for you.


	18. Ice-cream melting in the heat of summer

**Chapter 18: Ice-cream melting in the heat of summer**

A few months later

Early morning

Kanto, Celadon city

Dex criminal's hideout: Execution's room

Gold lazily entered the chamber to see Diamond and Red already duking it out with each other, the slow teenager was doing his best to improve the speed of the pokemon and a large gyarados was trying to fight in the cramped space. The blue serpent looked enraged, in complete contrast to Red's other pokemon. This one was reluctantly obeying orders and it did not look too happy to have the champion command it around. On closer inspection, he could see small blemishes dotting the pokemon's body, _must be newly caught then_ , the Johto native concluded.

"We are done capturing the Legendary titans." the gold eyed trainer announced and observed as Lack-2 put his smartphone away and bounded over with a grin stretched on his face. The two fist bumped and Red watched the exchange with an amused half-smile.

"Good, sorry to send you all off like that, we needed the titans captured as soon as possible, seems like the police are going crazy." The leader commented, in the background, Diamond narrowed his eyes at the atrocious pokemon and commanded his torterra to fire another set of razor leaves, all of the leaves were blown away with a roar except for one, it stuck squarely on the fish pokemon's head and Gyara did not look amused. Dia took a step back.

"Training!" Lack-2 demanded childishly and Gold groaned, they boy was overly persistent nowadays. Pulling out a pokeball, he tossed it into his student's eager hands.

"Here, I got a present for you."

The child's russet tinted eyes dimmed after he thoroughly examined the pokemon peering out of the clear covering of the ball, "you got me a ducklett..." he listlessly stated.

"Yeah." agreed Gold "looks cute doesn't it?" The small pokemon was released and it meandered around the room on webbed feet, in the end, it halted at its trainers legs and quacked happily spreading it's tiny wings, the elder male chuckled, "see, it likes you."

"It likes me" a sly smirk formed on his face and he took out his Pokedex, glancing at it he commanded, "okay Ducklett, use water gun! Make sure to soak my teacher thoroughly, he didn't shower this morning."

"H-HEY!" Red and Dia laughed as the second eldest got a thorough washing down. Unhappy with the current situation, Gyara caused a waterfall to rain down on its new trainer and the black haired adolescent's laughter sputtered out like a dying exhaust. Amidst all this commotion, a door slid open and Yellow walked in holding a clip board in her hand.

"Senior Red, Green is asking you to make your way to the legendary pokemon...Holding...Cell" she looked up and flushed. The trainer in question was wringing his shirt out of excess water and he swept his sodden bangs out of his eyes. Next to him, his underling was doing the same thing, except Gold did not have enough decency and had taken off his shirt, a puddle of water formed on the wooden floor.

"Coming Yellow, I'll get changed first, inform Green that I'll be there in a minute."

A few minutes later the leading trio was standing before the Perspex tube holding a curled up Mewtwo. Blue tapped on the glass and relayed the information she learnt about the creation of the world. Green and Red nodded in a somber manner. The three stared at the corrupted legendary, the psychic feline was now almost completely black and instead of trying to straighten itself out, it remained in its fetal state ignoring the humans. Green started musing about its power and what it might be capable of, he inputted a few figures on his palmtop and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. When he showed his friends the numbers on the screen, Blue whistled and Red merely scratched the back of his head and cited that he had no idea of effort values and individual values. Green's cheerful smirk wore off and he face palmed in a defeated manner.

"So only the creation trio can create an original world is it?" the ruby eyed male contemplated aloud, "does this mean Green's work just went to waste?"

"No Red...By Uxie you are such a moron sometimes...I gained experience, if we ever need to create a more powerful pokemon, I'll be able to use this method...Provided that this Monster I created actually listens to us."

"Don't worry" Blue chimed in and fixed her white hat on her head, "if something like happens, we can count on Red to clear it up" she giggled and pulled his cheek in an affectionate matter. "Say Green?"

"Hmm?"

"Why don't we all go on a vaca-"

"Declined" the male brunette sternly stated, "you saw the situation out there, police are hounding down anyone who _breaths_ in the wrong direction, don't be stupid."

"Oh come on! We've been working hard. Everyone has been working hard. My team has already secured the time and space orbs and I'm sure Execution already captured the legendary titans, even though the police are hot on our trail, none of us has given them the slip, except of the cards of course. Most of the time, we go in masked. I NEED A BREAK!" she stood her ground and glared. Red, who was in the middle, took a wary step backwards.

"Then rest at home!" Green riled up and glowered in return. Knowing she won't be able to win if the arrogant man took a firm stance, she switched tactics, there was one person in the entire Poke-verse Green Oak would cave into and that was his best friend.

"Red!" the man flinched and paled "you want a vacation too don't you? I mean you and your team were hard at work getting all the legendries, well not you since all _you_ did was lounge around the base, but your team! Think of their feelings!" The woman looked at him with crocodile tears threatening to spill out of her large, expressive eyes.

"A vacation...Sounds nice...How 'bout it Green" he sheepishly stated, "it's summer so we could go to the beach. I heard that the beach in Slateport is one of the nicest in the world." Giving up, the brown haired male waved his hand in the air.

"Yay! You are the best Green!" Blue gushed.

"Pesky woman..." he muttered under his breath.

* * *

Several days later, afternoon

Hoenn

Slateport beach

White dug her toes in the warm sands of the beach and watched the cream foamed waves of the ocean roll in and out; she wriggled her toes as the pleasantly cold water washed over her feet. A few meters in the water, most of the male members of the organization were busy playing a game of volleyball, their respective pokemon partners were also released from the confines of the pokeballs so that they may also partake in the fun. She watched as Pearl struck a beach ball with vigor and it soared over to the other side, Black jumped up and slammed the ball in return, his carracosta fired a water gun and the plastic orb soared over the heads of the opposing team. The only males absent from the impromptu competition were Lack-2 and Gold, the teacher-student pair were trying to woo some girls; and Green. She twisted herself backwards to see the leader sitting cross-legged in the sand, his shirt was open and he rested his cheek on a fist, glowering at anyone who came close. The Unovian's eyes drifted up to his hair, the spikes were parted in the middle and his brown locks were dyed black. Near him, Yellow and Sapphire were busy building a sandcastle and Blue...was probably swindling some swimmer into buying her what she wanted.

Lazuli irises combed the beach and the chocolate haired girl sighed in content, it was summer and a lot of beach goers were present. Children too young to swim on their own sported inflatable tubes around their bodies, cheerful pokemon cries rang out in the air, teenagers and adolescents wore swimsuits and amused themselves in the water or by playing a game or simply laying around tanning themselves. White began to make her way back to her team, she gave the obviously fuming leader a wide berth and sat next to Whi-2 who was giving her Servine a massage, the smug pokemon was crooning in delight. A while later something cold was pressed into the young girl's cheek and the she looked up to see a grinning Lack-2 presenting her with a can of Lemonade.

"Thanks" she accepted the drink and popped the seal open. The brown haired boy straightened up and observed his senior getting chewed out and refused by Crystal, a while later Ruby came running out of the ocean and dug through his bag, retrieving a long sleeved shirt, the teenager quickly wore it mumbling about the sun's bad effects on his flawless skin. One by one, the other members also joined them. Green's scowl deepened when Red flopped down on the sand next to him. Pika squeaked happily and bounded on the brooding male's head.

"Cheer up Green!" the ruby eyed trainer added and stretched lazily "hmm, it's a nice day to be outside. We need to unwind once in a while y'know"

A grunt was his only response.

Sapphire whooped when their sandcastle was completed, she and senior Yellow did some good work on it. The sand sculpture was pretty impressive, there was a towering castle in the middle, surrounded by a moat and a crude drawbridge, even though it was constructed recently, parts of the palace was already breaking down, the entire thing disintegrated when Blue, with Cleffy in a tow ran up to them, through their creation and landed on Green's back. The man was at first too shocked to say anything, then slowly he faced her and hissed under his breath. Gold whistled appreciatively as he eyed her and Silver raised a fist and smashed it in his friend's head.

"Green, buy me some ice-cream!" she moaned incessantly and smiled at him, "it's hot here, and since you've been sitting here like a darmanitan statue for the past couple of hours, you are the only one I can ask. Pleaseee~? Do your co-worker a small favor?" she finished her request with a sultry wink.

Reflective pendant glinting in the sun, the adolescent picked himself off the sand amongst many mumblings of 'pesky woman' and a few rude words. Blue hopped in the sand in delight as she beheld him walk past a few couples and their pokemon, some sailors and a little group of children. He stood in line to get his turn of buying ice cream, once Blue was sure he was not coming back she turned to the rest of the organization.

"Okay people" her fashionable sunglasses flashed, "let's scram outta here. You don't want to spend the whole day at the beach do you? RED!" she kicked the snoring individual, "wake up and MOVE before Green gets back here."

"Why?" Rather contented with his surroundings Dia asked, he and Pearl were having fun smacking each other down in the sand.

"Because Mr. Professor needs some time alone, to appreciate the wonders of the ocean or whatever." Groaning, the rest of the members got up from the beach or deck chairs and went off, once Blue started on one of her schemes; it was wise to remain out of sight. Red threw a shirt on, snatched his Pika away from Chuchu and dashed after Ruby and Saph who were making a quick escape. Finally, it was only Yellow and Blue on the beach, the junior, wearing a saffron sundress instead of a bathing suit was dusting her dress off and preparing to leave.

"Uh Yellow, could you stay here and inform him the rest of us are gone to explore the region? I mean he's going to get really mad if no one waits for him right?" The girl nodded in agreement. "Thank you, you are so understanding, unlike Red" the girl smiled at the name "he ran first without even waiting for his best friend!" Tossing her curls, the older woman grinned and made a speedy exit. Having nothing to do now that every one of her team mates were gone, she sat on the deck chair and waited. A wide beach umbrella shaded her from the sun.

Done buying two cones of ice cream (he was sure his black haired best friend will wake up and demand for one) he made his way back, sandals crunching in the sand. He returned to see the spot he and the organization was hogging, was deserted. Only Yellow waited for him with an innocent smile. It was really hot and he felt even hotter due to the sheer anger he was unable to articulate. Sweat poured from his forehead, he was pretty sure Blue orchestrated this particular scenario. That pesky woman knew too much. His emerald irises focused on the twin cones of the frozen confectionary in his hands. One of them was melting already and the stuff was running down the sides of the cone. He offered one to Yellow and she informed him:

"The others left to explore the city and have fun, it's only us on the beach." she took the ice cream and began eating it. He sat down with a respectable distance between them.

I _t's hot_ , he reasoned, _perfectly normal to have flushed cheeks under these circumstances_. He risked a peek at the blonde sitting next to him. Immersed by the simple pleasure of eating ice-cream, she ignored everything around her.

Green simply watched, the forgotten ice-cream melting in his hands.

* * *

Around the same time

Slateport

Saph, Ruby and Red were walking through the aisles of Slateport market, the teenager was perfectly fine with his best friend walking with their senior, after all, the wild trainer aspired to be like him. Red pulled his cap lower and looked around impressed by the sights and smells of the different items offered by the shops. A few flat screen televisions were showcasing a variety of shows. He stopped by one and watched, enthralled by the Pokemon contest. An aquamarine haired man, wearing a rather revealing outfit, was commandeering two pokemon to show off the most beautiful moves ever to grace human eyes. A luvdisc and seaking sprayed water from their mouths, this water suddenly changed into a fountain of ice and it was neatly shattered. Sunlight penetrating from the windows caught on the white particles and the dust glowed in an array of colors. The diamond dust scattered when a multicolored aurora beam was fired by a clamperl held by the graceful trainer. The crowds in the television cheered madly and Ruby, who was standing next to Red and also watching the show clapped enthusiastically. His eyes shone with awe and he began to ramble about how great Wallace was. Saph, infuriated because she was ignored, pulled him away by the ear.

"You said you were going shopping! Stop gawking at the monitor and let's get going." He looked back at Red who was still glued to the screen with a dumb smile on his face. Shrugging, the duo visited the markets. As usual, Ruby picked up a large skitty doll, they moved to the next shop and the fashionista held up a few incenses and sniffed them. Saph was busy reading the labels of a few technical machines and deliberating which one to buy, she selected a few and paid the cashier. The trekked onwards to the Energy Guru and here the red eyed trainer splurged all his savings on Protein and other vitamin supplements. He stuffed the crate of medicine bottles in his bag his eyes sparkling at the prospect of his pokemon becoming healthier and more beautiful. At the secret power club shop, Sapphire spent quite a bit of money on the hidden base decorations. She was going to liven up her bedroom in the organization's Hoenn base.

The two exited Slateport market and dragged an unwilling Red along with them.

Inside the oceanic museum, a multi-story blue roofed building, Black squashed his face against the glass displaying cases. His face was set into permanent wonder as he read the metallic plaques and scribbled bits of vital information down on a pad. His musharna was happily growling on his head as he flitted from one case to another, marveling at skeletons of pokemon which were extinct a long time ago. White and Whi-2 followed much more slowly behind him, the two girls, one carrying an amoongus and the other a solosis were chatting in an amiable manner and peering here and there in an interested manner. Their sneakers squeaked on the pristine floors as they caught up to Black. The pre teenager was gaping at a skeleton reconstruction of some ancient pokemon. In a flash, the brown haired boy retrieved his camera and began taking pictures of it from all angles.

"Senior Black is very spirited isn't he" Whi-2 commented, her hair was pulled in a ponytail.

"Yes..." White agreed with lopsided smile, "he gets carried away sometimes." The person in question was screaming words out. Platina, who was descending from the upper floors wearing a delicate frown joined them and admonished the ebullient trainer.

"Do not scream." her chiming voice cut in the screeching like a knife "this is a public place it's best to be quiet." The male apologized and breathed heavily.

"Say senior, why don't you come with us? We'll have fun together touring the museum." The heiress smiled and dipped her head in agreement. Together the new band kept on chatting and walking amongst display cases housing history and pokemon of forgotten times.

Lilycove

Department store

Crystal counted her money and her face morphed into dismay. She sincerely regretted paying a large sum out to Gold just a few days ago. The golden eyed trainer had whined about getting a new skateboard and both she and Silver pitched in and gifted him some money. He bought what he wanted and showed off the decorative plank of wood fitted with adjustments it did not need. Unfortunately the past was the past and she could only wait for the end of the month to get more money. She eyed the various types of pokeballs on the shelf before her, some of them had run out and she needed to replenish her supplies, the heavy balls displayed on the shelves taunted her and she gave up, moving to the next isle, she spied Emerald trying to reach a few containers on higher shelves, alas his short stature was disabling him. With a soft smile on her lips, she picked the boy up and he yelped in surprise.

"It's just me" she soothed and held him comfortably. The boy shot an arm out and retrieved several glass bottles of X-Accuracy and defense.

"Thanks, but please put me down, I still have horrible memories when senior Green...Carried me...Yuck, I need a dream eater to scrub my brain clean."

"Must be a horrific experience," Crys agreed and her eyes strayed to a few pokeball seals, some of them were in breath taking designs. Throwing worry to the winds she gave up and bought several of them, a girl needed to indulge herself once in a while. Emerald was off again and this time she nearly threw her purchases to the ground as she found him, on an upper floor, asking the sales clerk to give him the best deals on a portable computer, the price of the machine he wanted nearly made her faint.

"...I'll take it" the under developed boy declared and the clerk looked at him in a concerned manner.

"Hey kid, where's your mom, I mean you need to pay..."

"I'm not a kid and I don't have a mom, here, let me pay for that." Walking to the checkout he stood on tiptoes and placed a wad of bills on the counter. He was thanked and the large laptop was dumped in his arms. The blonde staggered with the weight.

"Crys...Could you hold on to this?" Astonishment vanishing, she gingerly took the device from him and held it, exiting the store, the duo took the elevator to the rooftops, apparently there was a sale going on there. The doors slid open and a warm breeze welcomed them.

"Say Rald, let's sit here and eat, I'm a bit hungry." The boy nodded.

The located a vacant bench and sat down, the concrete was hot underfoot. The indigo haired woman left Emerald to get something to eat. She returned shortly with two cans of soda, pudding, a cake and other sweet stuff. The boy eyed her in an apathetic manner.

"This is food? I thought you were going to get me a sandwich or something, geez Crys, you and your sweet tooth." The female in question laughed and apologized. After finishing everything, they went around to the stalls. Not caring if her savings were in the red zone, Crys bought several posters, dolls and scrolls whilst Emerald purchased a seedot themed flat screen television, a berry tree and a mini model of Castelia city. The boy grinned viciously showing a mouthful of teeth as adults gaped at him. It was fun to be rich.

With Diamond and Pearl:

"I want this one..."

"No! This one, the one you are holding is lame Dia!"

"Okay, then how about this one?"

"Bahahaha! Good choice, add it to the pile!"

Diamond stood up and carefully placed the latest DVD on top of a wobbling pile. He and Pearl were currently squatting down on the video store carpet and sifting through a huge mound of video discs and taking whatever they wished, they had already assembled the entire Proteam Omega series and were now picking several comedy themed animations up in order to acquire inspiration for their stand-up comedy. Dia had also picked a few exercise routines and his best friend picked a few on meditation techniques. A few live action movies were added, Unovian blockbusters. The tower of cases wobbled dangerously as the hyperactive blonde got up and added a game to the list. A worker, concerned about the huge mess and ruckus they were making approached them. He eyed the swaying column with alarm.

"Sirs, if you are not going to purchase all of that please don't take them down from the shelves."

"Hmm, we are taking all of those," Pearl pointed to the tower and grinned, indignation rose within the salesman's chest. The nerve of these brats.

"Please, those cost a lot of money and I'm sure your parents won't agree to it."

"We will be paying for them, I saved up all my money from my work." the blonde replied again and the clerk's eyebrow twitched.

"Oh yeah! What do you brats even do?" he challenged.

"Steal legendary pokemon" Diamond indolently answered and took a bite out of his chocolate bar. There was a silence as the worker's face turned red in anger.

"Just pay and leave!" he hissed "you are keeping the other customers up." the duo turned and saw they were blocking an aisle and a whole line of irate customers where glaring at them. Bowing and apologizing, they paid for their goods and made a speedy exit. Outside, the two gathered in the bustling lobby and wandered around looking for another shop to cater their needs. A huge fountain sprayed water and the duo alighted at the edge and peered over the crowds and at the shops. Neon signs, gaudy colors and loud music beckoned them and it was a hard time judging which one to go into. Finally Dia stuck out a chubby finger and pointed at a bookstore. The fancy lettered script making up the shop sign had an old age feel to it. Excitedly the two teenagers entered and made a beeline for the back shelves. The smell of pages and ink filled their noses as they scanned the titles of their favorite comic books.

"I found Proteam Omega!" Diamond's blue eyes shone, "I'll take the whole lot" he declared and brought the books down from the dark wooden shelves. His best friend was meticulously sifting through a few and he held a book up. The cover featured a young boy wearing a red cap with a pikachu on his shoulder. The youth had distinct markings on his cheeks.

"It's a new series, based on a boy and his journey of becoming the champion of the pokemon league, but the poor guy never makes it and each time he is forced to travel to a new region and make new friends...I think I'll read it, we can get good gag material from this."

Another tower of comics was being created. The cashier, an aged man wearing a form fitting suit and a neatly groomed mustache approached them.

Half an hour later the duo, clutching a bag full of books and screaming, exited the quiet shop.

Late afternoon

Mauville Game corner

The lights decorating the machine flashed in seizure inducing colors and Silver watched as Gold pumped a fist in the air. So far the black haired trainer was doing a fantastic job...Of course he was, apart from being a professional gambler, Gold was a competent cheater as well, the red head was sure Aibo was there, somewhere, not only ambipom but togekiss as well. The Johto native raked in the coins with a greedy smile. Silver himself was not so interested, he had won a few times, lost a few times, exchanged his coins for powerful (and most probably illegal) technical machines and now he sat next to his best friend as the latter laughed in a maniacal manner every time he won. Eyes locked on the screen, the gold eyed trainer failed to notice a dark skinned beauty approach him, he only jolted to reality once she stroked his cheek in a playful manner. The adolescent whirled around to impart a few choice words but his voice died in his throat.

"Hey there!" he smoothly voiced and ran a hand through his bangs, "nice meeting you, name's Gold from Johto." behind him his partner face palmed.

Wearing a cyan blouse and skirt, the female tossed her voluminous mane of black hair and smiled. Her fringe was highlighted in blue and she introduced herself: "My name is Shelly and this," she dragged a pale skinned girl hiding behind her and thrust her forward, the girl, sporting short pink hair stumbled in Gold's arms and pulled her thigh length dress to cover her knees, "is Courtney."

"Hello" she blushed "n-nice to meet you." Silver, ever the observant one, saw how her eyes narrowed slightly, despite her apparent discomfort; she made no move to shift from his friend's arms also, there was another thought nagging at the back of his mind…this Courtney seemed familiar. Seeing the trio exchange pleasantries he shrugged, it was probably his imagination. In a relatively few minutes, the three became best friends and agreed to hang out together. The red head suddenly felt like a fourth wheel, he wished Crystal were here, a kick was all it took for Gold to regain his senses. The newly formed group walked toward the exit with the silver eyed male trailing behind. At the gates another commotion was taking place.

"I'm old enough" another low tone washed over, "I just look young you know, I've got a lot of battle experience." Lack-2 twirled a lock of his brown hair between his fingers and showed a seductive smile. How a kid managed to make her heart flutter this fast was a question only Kyogre could answer, the guardswoman mused. He was half her size and yet every time he smiled she found heat rising in her cheeks. Unfortunately no matter how much he whined or begged, she stood firm. Lack-2 with his Bouffalant star sign matching well with swasbuck (according to him that is) was under the legal age for entering. The boy eventually pouted and she wanted to give up her post and go somewhere else, preferably far away from this child.

"Oh...You finally decide to come out..." he drawled as Gold exited with two women in a tow. The student's eyes shrunk in displeasure. "I was trying to get in but Ms. Pretty over here said no! Its late already." He complained and his voice changed in tone again as he saw Courtney, bounding up to her and holding her hand he added,. "My teacher here is a total moron, how bout we hang out together?"

"You didn't tell me you had a student." Shelly, hanging off Gold's shoulder peered at the boy; he was clinging on to Courtney like remaroid to mantine.

"Gah! I'm sick of this!" Lack-2's simper widened as the pink haired woman lost her cool. Breaking away from her, he dropped several short knives and a belt studded with Pokeballs. Her eyes widened.

"You...really picked the wrong people to mess with." Gold held the admin's arm in a vice grip and picked the tracking device she discreetly placed on his clothes. "Run along home and be good girls." he showed gleaming teeth, "criminals are bound to be punished!" he finished and the three males watched as the second in commands of team Magma and Aqua made a dignified retreat.

"Aww...And she was quite pretty too." Lacing his fingers behind his head, the trainer looked up to see the moon making an emergence in the sky. "Let's go home guys" he said and the trio nodded, departing for their regional base situated inside Mount Chimney.

"Today was a great day...Did you enjoy yourself Lack-2?"

"Hell no!" he droned "I spent over half of my day trying to get inside the damn game corner so I could warn you about those two shady women...All my effort went to waste it seems!"

The trio shared a chuckle as they walked down together.

* * *

 **A/N:** Much gratitude to AngelMaster14 for following the story, virtual cookies for you. At Silver: N is going to be fun, his character in the manga was rather...a refreshing addition to all our (mostly hotheaded) protagonists. As for the title, I'm glad is sounds funny to you, to me it was just an nonsensical sounding word salad, but I bet such a ridiculous title will snag attention. To the readers: I hope you enjoy this chapter, I certainly had fun writing it. Please keep on supporting the story and drop a review for encouragement.


	19. His metropolitan home

**Chapter 19: His metropolitan home  
**

Late afternoon

Unova

Castelia city

"Lack-2, get back here you stupid BRAT!" Gold hollered irritably as he wove through the crowd mingling about in the city, it was difficult to navigate through the skyscrapers, numerous houses and other buildings making up the cosmopolitan. Dodging the crowds on his skateboard, he spied the blue clothed boy sidestepping into a gap formed by two huge buildings, propelling his skateboard forward with a push; the gold eyed trainer gave chase. A trio of dancers walked in front of him and he found his path cut off. Cursing under his breath, he decided to go down another alley. Fishing his phone out, he tapped on the screen and brought out a map of Castelia city. He needed to find Lack-2 at all costs.

"Senior Yellow" he spoke into his poke gear, "any sign of him?"

"No," her faint voice came through the speakers, he could hear people speaking in the background, "I don't know where he went, but he is not at the harbor...I'll keep a lookout anyway, have you contacted Black?"

"I'll do so in a minute, he's hiding somewhere here, I just caught a glimpse of him...Dear Arceus, I need to find him before he bumps into a police officer" the black haired trainer, voice strained with worry, trailed off. He cut the connection and while still balancing on his skateboard, he dialed another number and called his junior.

"Black!" the teen screamed a greeting in return, "any sign of him?"

"Wait musharna, get back here!...Ah no senior sorry, I'm too busy chasing after... MUSHA! Come back here! You can have my dreams you dream eating monster! GET BACK HERE" Pulling the gear away from his ear with a grimace, Gold exhaled and came to a stop. The capture team had flown from Kanto and landed at Striaton city due to the acting leader's insistence. The Johto native wanted to try out the new restaurant which also boasted pokemon battles. The afternoon was spent with Gold and Black having fun with mock pokemon battles against the three chefs of the restaurant and then he decided to traverse Skyarrow Bridge by foot much to the chagrin of everyone present. The flirtatious trainer boarded his skateboard and went zooming down the long stretch of road, hands thrown up in the air due to sheer enjoyment. Black followed him on Brav, Lack-2 and Yellow merely strolled along the length of the bridge and observed how the hyperactive duo careered back and forth several times on the asphalt. They got into some trouble with a cleaner and remorselessly Black rendered the aged individual's pokemon into a bloody mess of fur and feathers. Job done, they entered Castelia city via the gate and the moment they stepped foot into the large city, Lack-2, without word or warning, tore off by himself. Dusk was setting in and after incoherently yelling some instructions, Typholsion's trainer too shot off, screaming at the boy to return. The pair left behind nodded to each other and split to search for the rogue child.

"Damn it! Where could he be? It was a huge mistake to give him his first project on his home region" mumbling under his breath, Gold hopped off his skateboard and called his partners to aid him on his search. ambipom, the mischievous monkey, merely hopped on his head and began grooming its trainer's messy locks. Shouldering past the jostling masses, the adolescent sidestepped constantly in order not to run into the people going home, or to work, or to wherever they needed to go. Spying a narrow street and praying he won't find his student in here, he stepped through and was immediately shoved against the wall by a thug. Several others, wearing faux leather jackets imprinted with sandile approached him, their breath made him gag.

"Lookie here" a man on unsteady feet slurred, "another well groomed city boy!" He gripped Gold's collar and shoved his face closer, "cough up some coins kid or we'll do this the hard way."

"I prefer it the hard way" the adolescent shoved the half-drunk off him and took a deep breath, "I still owe Crys and Silver, don't think I'm forking my hard earned gambling money over to the likes of you!"

The ruffians chuckled and sent out their pokemon, battle scarred monsters hissed on the dirty, sticky ground. Eyeing the several snarling krookodile and scraftys the gold eyed trainer blanched. All his monsters were out searching the city and Aibo...Was gone.

"Where's your mons brat?" the leader of the gang leered, "still not backing down?"

"Nope!" he took out his pool-cue from the pocket of his pants and used it to poke one of the opposing beast's stomach, it turned out to be a horrible decision because in the next moment he ducked in a desperate manner, an energy infused claw was aiming for his handsome face. Perhaps sensing the predicament their master was in (or maybe Aibo went to call them) his Exbo had just made an entrance in the dimly lit street, the volcano pokemon was flanked by the others, seeing them, the master's spirits soared to epic proportions. Pointing a finger at the opposition he bellowed:

"Guys! Show time!"

The dumpster ignited from a flamethrower and the trash fueled flames poured out in the dank street. The gangsters roared as their jackets caught on fire, some of them took their clothing off and were flapping it frantically in order to put the fire out. Togebo used hyper beam in the congested space and part of the adjacent skyscraper's wall was scraped off, plaster and bricks fell on those down below. ambipom, screeching in an earsplitting manner swung around and gouged deep red gashes in the ruffian's faces, sudowoodo on the other hand, broke the pokemon's backs and bones with a well-aimed Hammer arm. The bruised beasts wailed and howled and fire danced in golden irises as the trainer watched it all.

"We're done here," wiping soot and sweat off his face, Gold stepped out and recalled his partners. Picking up his skateboard he ambled away from the scene. He could already hear the distant sirens of a fire truck, the people in this city are rather quick. Spirits sinking, he decided to go through each of the streets in turn, if by the end of the day Lack-2 was nowhere to be seen, the mission was aborted. His mind churned with the prospects of what would happen, they'd have to switch bases and go into hiding, most probably leave Kanto and move to a new region...He shook his head and slapped his cheeks in an effort to psych himself up. Gold first walked into Gym Street and scoured the area thoroughly; his apprentice was nowhere to be seen. Heart thumping, he peeked into the gym to see it deserted. Castelia Street was a mess of people; he bumped into several well-dressed business men who scrunched up their noses at his unkempt appearance. Muttering apologies he went through the entire street without seeing a hair of Lack-2. Gritting his teeth, he stumbled into the next one and inhaled. He was going to find his student...And give him a good spanking!

Mode Street (according to the digital map in his hands) was rather calming. Trees and bushes lined the sidewalk and there were several benches lining the road and commuters going about their daily business. Spying an ice cream stand in the distance, Gold pushed forward and froze.

A young boy was standing near the shop and eating a soft serve ice-cream. His russet tinted eyes had a faraway look, in his other hand, which was hanging limply by his side, he held a phone. When the Johto pokemon trainer first saw him, Lack-2 had a forlorn look in his eyes, this morphed into a smirk as he held his half eaten cone out to his superior.

"Where...Lugia's name...WERE YOU?!" the elder individual huffed angrily and bore down over his junior who had a nonchalant mien.

"Busy eating soft serve ice-cream and appreciating my home city. I live in Castelia you know...Wanted to visit mom but..." he looked away and continued after taking a healthy bite out of the frozen confectionery "...I understand that there are issues so I came here to get some ice-cream. Casteliacones are my favorite...And where were _you?_ You stink like a trash dumpster."

"I was looking for you, you stupid BRAT!" Several commuters gave the pair disgusted glances, "whatever" Gold calmed down and his eyes softened "you live in Castelia you say? How about we gather all together and check out the sights of the city huh?"

Lack-2 stopped licking his cone, "what about the mission? It's a risky one right? Won't our leader chew you out or something? And even if he doesn't...Senior Green sure will."

"Pffft" the older male retrieved his pokegear and started calling his friends "What Green doesn't know won't hurt him" he winked.

* * *

Yesterday, early morning

Kanto

Beneath Celadon city's game corner

Black and White were seated before the organization's three leaders. They were in a small room and separating the two groups was a low glass topped table. On the table lay two spheres, the light stone and the dark stone. It was already concluded that Black was a suitable user of the light stone, since he was not proficient; the teenager was trying his best to figure the mysteries of the stone out in order to wield it better. At times the rock would give off an intense pure white glow and then fade. On the other end of the spectrum, White was given the dark stone to keep and unfortunately not once did the sphere glow to indicate that she might be the chosen trainer. It never grew warm, it did not exude any light, it simply stayed a dormant mass of rock. Dead. Today, they gathered to discuss prospects of a new wielder of the stone. Blue perched on the couch's arm-rest, checking her nails, Red was in the middle, his Pika on his head and Green sat on the other side of Red. The spiky haired individual was falling asleep.

He was falling asleep, a rare occurrence indeed.

"Wakey wakey Green! Can't have the brains of the group snoozing can we? Come on; time to think for a solution!" Blue admonished and went back to filing her nails. She had neglected them for far too long. Ruby had better looking cuticles than her and he was a guy.

"Right, sorry for that" the male yawned and stretched lazily, "So to sum everything I learnt about Kyurem...Red pay attention this is important...Basically the ice dragon is a shell made when Zekrom and Reshiram, which were initially one dragon, split to follow their choice of trainers. If we can combine either Zekrom or Reshiram with Kyurem, the dragon becomes very, very powerful. But we first need to capture that pokemon and get DNA splicers, unless we do these two things, we can't see the new forms of Kyurem. Okay, that aside, we have another problem on our hands. White, it seems like the dark stone has refused you for a partner right? Is it still unresponsive?" The girl affirmed the fact in a tiny voice, "Don't worry, we'll simply have to kidn...Acquire a suitable trainer to manage the stone."

"You wanted to say kidnap" pointed out the female commander.

"Shut up pesky woman..." he exhaled in an irritated manner, "White, you can take you leave now, Black go and call Lack-2, Yellow, you will find her in Strategy's common room and Gold. We have a mission for you three."

"Ah yes. Capturing Kyurem" Red echoed as his underling left the room "Green, are you sure I can't go...I mean Silver relayed how powerful the dragon is, won't having a neophyte on the scene mess things up? And Gold...Can get carried away sometimes...I'm a bit...Worried."

"Relax will you, since when where you so fussy about these things? Gold is an excellent trainer; he will be more than enough to capture the pokemon. And walking into the lion's den Red? A stupid move, the moment you set foot in the giant chasm and Groudon forbid, one of them recognizes you...All this is _over_." The brunette swept his hands around the space. Blue was eerily quiet and only the sharp sound of filing nails could be heard, "you do realize that don't you?" The black haired man nodded and scratched pikachu behind its ears, the electric mouse gave a satisfied squeak.

Moments later the required trainers piled into the room and took their respective seats. Straightening up, Execution's leader relayed their mission in a somber voice:

"Your task, is to capture Kyurem who is currently being held in the giant chasm between route twenty three and twenty four...Near the pokemon league huh...I wonder ho-"

"RED!" snapped his best friend's cold voice, "get to the point!"

"...As I was saying, it is situated near the pokemon league, the area is extremely cold, fire types are required to be used...Although y'all know that already. Kyurem is a dangerous, unstable beast, made even more so due to the experiments carried out by the scientists. There are three gym leaders present they are members of the international police. Silver has also stated that Looker is on sight. Beware of him." Red tinted eyes fell on the youngest member of the team, Lack-2's visage, normally set to apathetic or perverse, were hopeful. He saw the boy's copper colored eyes betray an emotion not seen on him before. "...Lack-2..." the child immediately guarded his expression, "this is your first assignment right? I do hope Gold takes good care of you. If there is something bothering you, don't hesitate to ask me alright?" Only the people sitting with him on the sofa were able to pick up the cutting edge in his voice. A hidden threat, so becoming of the kindest one of them three.

"Yeah, I won't pull any stunts, I promise." The boy solemnly swore and bowed.

His eyes were still shining.

The next day, evening

Unova

Castelia city

A fist clonked Lack-2 on his head as the four-man team ambled down the roads.

"You promised senior Red and you still disappear like that" Gold admonished "don't take Red for granted, you will regret it."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever" Hand carrying an ice-cream cone, Lack-2 and company walked about the bustling streets. He always loved big cities, the people rushing around, neon signs and street lights permanently lighting up the sky in a dazzling array of colors. Skyscrapers, brushing the heavens, cafes, with their lilting music and the rich smell of coffee and milk. The art gallery...displaying paintings and images he didn't really care about. And Casteliacones.

The taste of home.

His lips were starting to get numb from the constant contact it made with the ice cream but he didn't really care, he was lagging behind his seniors. Gold, Yellow and Black were peering at the city with wide eyes, it was already dark and he wondered where they should go first. Maybe the art gallery, voicing out his request, his self-imposed teacher clapped him on his back and they entered Studio Castelia. The art gallery was currently exhibiting works from both new artists and art pieces depicting ancient Unova and its legends. The boy broke away from the group and dragged himself to see a painting depicting the two pokemon in a fused form. His sneakers thumped on the gleaming laminated floor and he stared at the image. The turbo on the tail of the draconic pokemon was laced with black stripes, the huge, feathery wings were two toned as well, the pitch black top fading to pure white at the bottom, the fused dragon's maw resembled not Zekrom, not Reshiram but Kyurem. The boy snorted, whoever painted this particular piece sure had an imagination.

Tearing himself away, he focused on the image next to it. This painting was framed by gold leaf and depicted a battle between three giant pokemon. The background of the image was a mix of different shades of black. A white serpentine creature sporting gold crown-esque decorations on its head and hovering on black leathery wings was busy warring with two other beasts. One was a crystalline blue sauropod with metallic projections on its body; the other was a light purple therapod with two large pearls encrusting its shoulders. A swirl or vortex was painted between the three, the purple, blue and white-gold smudging together. Lack-2 was enraptured by the image and slowly his eyes drifted down to read the metallic plaque bearing the name of the piece, the fancy script read: Dialga, Palkia and Giratina, on the eve of a new world. Blinking, he glanced at the artwork one last time and joined his seniors in exiting the gallery.

The capture team made their way back to Mode Street and the boy simply listened to his elders chatting away, expressing their opinions on the different artwork they just saw in the studio. Being the most familiar with the layout of the city, Lack-2 walked in front of them and decided to swing by his favorite cafe before hitting the hotels. A glimpse at his Xtransciever told him it was little past nine; there was still plenty of time to while away in a teashop. When he squeezed himself into the Narrow Street and wrinkled his nose at the smell of sodden garbage, Gold grabbed him by the scruff.

"Where do you think you are going?" the adolescent demanded.

"Cafe Sonata" came the deadpan reply "it's in this street, the fancy ones near the piers only open in the morning, this one stays open till late. It's got good coffee." he stated once his superiors gold tinted irises shrunk in mistrust. He twisted himself free of the man's grasp.

"For a boy you sure know some shady places."

"Says the man who started gambling in his pre-teenage years." he flippantly added with a smug smirk.

"You got me, so where is this place?"

The bell attached to the glass door twinkled when Black opened it, one by one, the group walked in. Lack-2 pulled his visor over his eyes and kept his face down. The smell of warm milk and coffee greeted them. Soft orange light and a worn carpet underfoot gave the place a homely feel. The foursome gathered around an empty table and sat. On one corner of the cafe, a man strummed a soulful tune on his guitar and a few pokemon danced to the twanging rhythms. A few minutes later a waiter came and received their orders. They all gaped at him when he ordered moomoo milk.

"I don't see anything wrong with me drinking milk" he sniffed arrogantly and stirred his cup.

"Ah, it's not that we're making fun of you Lack-2" Yellow soothed and blew into her mug of cappuccino, "you act so much like an adult I suppose we found it strange you still drink milk."

The boy downed his steaming mug in a few gulps, "have fun sleeping tonight...Especially you senior Black." the teenager in question was already jittery, hearing this Gold paled.

"You...Are a devil in disguise."

"Serves you people right from kidnapping me from my comfortable home...I'm tired hurry up." yawning he slumped on the table.

It was a little past ten when they exited the cafe, Lack-2 could only remember being carried on Gold's back as they made their way back to the wharf area and the hotel of their choice. In a sleep induced haze, the multi colored lights of the city appeared brighter than usual. Streaks of neon green, pink, white and yellow were punctuated by the darkness of the night. He briefly registered entering an elevator and the next thing he knew was being gently lowered into bed. His mentor whom he loved making fun of, was busy stripping him of his visor, sneakers and socks. The man even went as far as to take off his clothing and dress him up in pajamas...Who gave him the right to snoop in _his_ luggage anyway? The curtains bordering the large windows were tightly drawn together and the lights in the room dimmed. A fluffed up pillow was jammed underneath his head and a comfortable comforter was pulled over his body.

"You...Where did you learn... how to take care... of people so nicely? The boy, safely secured in bed garbled. His brown hair was fanned against the pillow cover.

"Jeez, if you were awake then speak up sooner!" the older male quipped, "for your question...My mom used to tuck me in like that when I was younger. She used to work at a daycare center and our house was always filled with baby pokemon.

"Oh...Mmm, thanks for tucking me in. Mom never tucked me in bed" Rolling over, he buried his face under the covers. Imparting a soft smile, Gold headed for the showers.

"In fact, I don't even have a mother." Lack-2 mumbled to himself.

* * *

Night

Unova

Giant chasm

Looker shivered in his tent and stared at the images on the screen. This was outright impossible. He rubbed his eyes and continued to read, according to the data, Unova had their own share of local criminals. A group of people calling themselves Team Plasma. Apparently their goal was to free pokemon from human oppression. Discretely, his eyes slid to his Croagunk, the toad was fast asleep, crouched at the entrance and a thin layer of ice was coating its body. According to those Team Plasma individuals, humans had no idea of the true intentions of pokemon; they only imposed their ideals on their respective partners and forced the sorry beasts to go along their schemes. He cringed at the words on the screen, their fears were perfectly plausible. What was more shocking was the image of their 'King'. He was the exact same youth who entered the giant chasm each day and talked to Kyurem. He briefly contemplated what the dragonoid could be telling the human...Was it hungry? Did it want to eat them?

He quivered.

Fingers tapping on the keys, Looker went through another file. All these pages of information were e-mailed to him by his superior...Who basically did whatever he wanted. He recalled a time when his boss had just exited a battle simulation chamber. He had come out with a content smile on his face and Looker was falling fast asleep whilst waiting for him. Handing him a can of soda, the higher ranking officer had gone on a tangent about the wonders of battle simulations and how he was not forced to deal with idiots. The memory brought a smile to his face, Looker sometimes took great pleasure trying to design a few simulations, his ideas were all shot down mercilessly but the individual kept the discs nevertheless. Phasing back to the present, his heart did another double take.

 _This is outright insane_ , his mind supplied, _I need some sleep. Yes, sleep sounds nice. My brain is too tired to compute this nonsense_. He closed all the folders and powered the laptop down, but the images he saw did not erase from his mind.

* * *

 **A/N:** So the vacation chapter was a refreshing read huh? Glad to know that everyone enjoyed it. At Silver: I'm so happy you got the Ash reference, I was waiting for someone to point it out and I'll miss reading your theories and reviews. Have a happy time nonetheless. At Eevee: Did you feel the depth of the feels? Personally, I love getting inside the character's heads and writing how they feel (PS: While I was writing that Chapter, I died a little inside as well). Your comment on Yellow coming to her senses gave me a nice plot idea, so thanks for that. At AngelMaster14: I don't own a 3DS hence I didn't play any of the new games, so yeah, the characters are only going to be till Gen 5. Watching the trailer for X and Y had me intrigued on Mega evolution and I want to incorporate that into the story, but that's going to happen much later and I'll need to do a bunch load of research for that. Anyway, please look forward to how the story turns out. And keep on reviewing! Virtual cookies/chocolate/cake and chocolate cake to everyone!

Edit: Guys, for some reason, this site is being wacky. I get an error when posting a chapter however said chapter still gets posted (then why the error in the first place?) Also I update this fic every three days without fail (unless I've got power issues/or I'm busy dying in bed, I WILL update it.) So if you see no new chapter after three days, check the story out, apparently fanfic is having issues with story updating *or something like that*


	20. Power of will

**Chapter 20: Power of will  
**

Dawn

Giant chasm

Outskirts, Forest area.

Dew, evaporating into mist by the sun's rays, rose into the air and obscured the surrounding area with a thick grey veil. Lack-2 pulled his jacket tighter around the body, he longed to rip off his mask and throw it to the floor, not only was it scratchy on his face, but it also hindered his vision. His seniors were advancing through the woods. Gold and Black were simply crashing through like hoodlums whilst he and Yellow lingered back, moving through the dense grass in a careful manner. There was a certain tension in the air but all of it vanished when Black sneezed.

"I TOLD you to wear a thicker coat, but do you listen?" the acting leader of the group admonished, he was the only one not wearing a mask, pulling his goggles off, he peered irritably at the offender.

"So-sorry" the teenager's teeth chattered, "didn't think it'd be this cold...Anyway, I'll warm right up after a good battle."

And suddenly a harsh din echoed around them. Lack-2 looked around and saw that they were surrounded by a group of people dressed in strange garb. Medieval knights and pirates. The gaps formed by the humans were filled with hissing, growling and snarling pokemon. His body heated up in rage and he found himself moving automatically, he hated criminals with a burning passion.

How ironic that he was one himself.

Wrath fuelled his actions as his apathetic mood did a complete turnover. Shrugging off his parka, he sent his dewott out and commanded the disciplined pokemon to use razor shell. Gripping the sharp scalchop, the otter flashed forward and swung the blade around, the edge of blade tore through human and pokemon skin and flesh, blood and multi colored fluid swept in an arc and splashed against tree barks and foliage.

"Hey..." his mentor began.

"Stay back!" the boy hissed, "Let me deal with these filth" he released his other pokemon, "Herdier, body slam, Ducklett, scald, GO!" The loyal dog charged forward and it was instantly covered and pressed down by a group of liepard, the felines sunk their sharp teeth into brown fur and the dog cried out in pain. From above, ducklett fired a stream of boiling water at them and the cats retreated, licking their burning wounds. Lack-2 tossed several berries to his partner and herdier yipped gratefully, the mammal charged and collided with a garbodor which promptly fainted on the spot. A snarl alerted the youth to his dewott.

"Aqua Jet!"

Cloaked in water, dewott disappeared and smashed into a krookodile, the monster was rendered inert by a vicious tackle to its belly. Cleaning it's scalchop on the grass; the discipline pokemon swung its whiskered head around and looked for a new target. Up above, ducklett continued to rain down boiling and salt tinged water, it was beginning to get fatigued as evidenced by its erratically flapping wings. Herdier sunk its canines into the hind leg of yet another liepard and the grunts, awed by the boy's ability to single handedly battle them all, retreated. In their place a sage came forward and Gold, sensing urgency, also stepped up.

"I told you to stay back! Don't butt into what I'm doing!" His student screeched and pinned him with a poisoned gaze. Yellow shuffled back in alarm.

"...Fair enough," the gold eyed trainer relented and put on a mask, "although if I see you in trouble, I'm pushing you aside to take your place."

"You don't have to do that." Lack-2 mumbled under his breath. He focused his attention on the newcomer, sporting a violet jacket and a long hat, Zinzolin strode forward and assessed his opponent through half lidded eyes. He raised his face and took the other members standing behind all wearing masks. An evil smirk crossed his face and he tossed out his first monster.

"Cyrogonal, use ice beam."

"Herdier, protect."

Alas, the ice beam was not aiming for the dog; the beam arced upwards and hit ducklett. Frost crept over delicate feathers and within moments the bird froze over, squawking and crashing to the thick undergrowth. Retrieving his frozen pokemon, the boy glared at the man. He was distinctly aware of his dewott prowling around, sharp eyes flicking back and forth between its master and the enemy. It was simply encircling Zinzolin and he knew it would not attack unless provoked.

"Giga impact" the loyal dog glowed with yellow light and its face morphed into a furious expression, howling, it charged at the floating ice crystal, dodging all of its attacks. With a bone breaking crunch, it collided, shattering Cyrogonal's body and ice chains. Thereafter it leapt to the ground and staggered, after taking a few steps backwards it lied down and panted. Seizing the chance, the sage let out a golbat; the vampire pokemon clamped down on the exhausted beast's neck and began sucking life force. Herdier twisted in pain and agony as the bite area began turning purple, he was poisoned. Fishing out a pokeball, the dog was recalled and golbat flapped its webbed wings and screeched. At once Lack-2 swayed, his head was turning violently and he wanted to throw up. The woods were stirring and he blinked his eyes in an effort to remain standing.

"Hydro pump" the boy announced, his words coming out in a drawl. Seeing no pokemon before him, the Plasma sage laughed.

"Lost your mind child? There is no pokemon before you! Accept defeat in a humble manner and release your pokemon!"

"That old dude's crazy" Black muttered and his seniors nodded.

The monster hiding in the shadows hesitated, if he used hydro pump, his master will also get caught...Nevertheless it complied with the odd command. Opening its mouth, it let loose a pressurized torrent of water, this jet stream caught Zinzolin on the back, thrust him forward into his frantically flapping golbat and finally into Lack-2. The three bodies were lifted off the ground and their propulsion was stopped by a particularly sturdy tree trunk. Lack-2's body ached so bad he wanted to pass out, nevertheless, he shoved the sage off him and grabbed the semi-comatose bat. Ordering the otter to use X-scissor, the Unova native twisted golbat's wings and only let up when he heard a satisfying snap. Getting up on shaky legs, he flung the offending bat to the ground. Zinzolin himself was lying in the mud as well, a large X was scarred onto his back, the clothes he wore were pigmenting into red.

"Whew, nice job there student!" Gold tried to diffuse the situation with a lighthearted comment. His underling's eyes were still smoldering with anger. The boy motioned for his beast to come closer and it was sprayed down with a potion. Job done, the beast was comfortably secured in a pokeball.

* * *

His rage only petered out when they entered the final cavern. The team leader tossed him a ball and he caught it in both hands.

"Another present, for doing a good job out there. Hopefully it reminds you of home." hearing this, the child peeked into the ball and a sardonic smile spread out on his face.

"Very funny, I look forward to the day I can turn you into a popsicle." shrugging, Lack-2 let out the fresh snow pokemon and it floated next to him in an airy manner. Vanillite truly resembled a Casteliacone. He wondered if it also tasted like one...Yuck; better banish that line of thought. The team advanced cautiously, it was getting colder and damper and he had no time to appreciate the beautiful layer of ice coating most surfaces. Everything was sparkling in the faint light thrown by holes situated in the tunnel's roofs. He noted the lack of wild pokemon in the surrounding space. Was Kyurem's presence so terrifying that it even chased away the local wildlife? He inhaled deeply, his vertigo had stopped but he was in no mood to battle. As they came across the entrance to the last chamber, a woman, wearing a high ponytail and wielding a whip marched out; she cracked her flexible weapon on the ice caked floor and took a fighting stance. Heart trembling, Lack-2 stood rooted to the spot, his russet irises swiveled to Gold and he was sure the adolescent was smiling underneath his mask. The smile did not falter when two other gym leaders came.

"Black, Lack-2 get inside the cavern when we create an opening," Claire's stern expression hardened into fury, "clean up everything inside and make sure Kyurem is ready for capturing once these three bite the...Whoa! Lady! Don't interrupt me when I'm talking!" The black haired man ducked low when the dragon tamer's whip aimed for his face. He hastily fixed the crooked mask back into place and jumped a few feet backwards. Black pulled Lack-2 behind him and shuffled to the side. Yellow on the other hand released all her pokemon and the creatures formed a loose ring around her. Seeing her choice of monsters, the youngest member of the team scrunched up his nose.

"How is she going to take those gym leaders on with such under-leveled pokemon?" He asked Black as he peered into the Pokedex, "Those levels barely go till the mid-thirties..."

"Shh...Just watch" the duo crouched a bit further away. The lone female member of the group had closed her eyes and clasped her hands to her chest. She glowed and her pokemon resonated with her, in an instant the levels of the beasts shot up, making past the eighties mark.

"...Arceus, she can do this?" Taken aback, Lack-2 poked the screen of his device to ensure that it was not malfunctioning and his senior's pokemon did _indeed_ leap up in levels...Through sheer power of will. The image of a smirking Gold surfaced into his mind.

A screen of dust was thrown up as a violent battle commenced. Black, with Musha stuck on his head stared at the well-guarded entrance for an opening. None of the gym leaders looked like they were going to move from the place. Several dragons, electric types and avian pokemon were rampaging around the area, shaking the cavern with their cries and powers. A stray droplet of mud-brown blood splashed on Black's mask and he swallowed nervously. Out of nowhere, he saw Gold leap up and tackle the blonde haired gym leader to the ground. Pulling out his pool cue, he jammed it at the man's throat. The electric type gym leader coughed.

"GO!" The Johto native shouted and Black broke into a run. Lack-2 holding a hand over his mask followed suit and nearly stopped when a dragonite careered into the way, his senior however, showed no signs of slowing down and soon the peach furred dragon was slammed to the side of a rock face by a rolling golem. The megaton pokemon raked its steel hardened claws against the dragon and with an earsplitting shriek the dragon fainted. Its large body crashed to the floor.

Inside the cavern Lack-2 dove into the shadows once he saw the army of police officers and a snarling Kyurem. The older Unovian watched him with a disbelieving look on his face.

"Reshiram's sake" the boy bellowed despite the threat standing before him, "what are you doing Lack-2? Get up and fight!"

"NO! They are the police!" He still held his hands before his mask as if trying to protect himself from something, "I don't want to fight them...You battle them yourself!" He shrieked and curled up into a ball, trying to make his form appear smaller. Exhaling angrily, the brown haired teenager faced forward and nearly toppled over when Kyurem roared, it was pulling desperately against the chains binding it in place. The metallic links creaked with effort. Wasting neither time nor energy in trying to talk sense into these criminals, Looker sent out his trusty croagunk and ordered it to use sludge bomb. Two orbs of purple goo soared in the air and Black summoned emboar; sludge bomb hit the pokemon's beefy arms and began to eat away at the skin.

"Bo, flame-charge, go!"

Ignoring the searing pain, emboar charged forward with flames writhing around its huge body, it swatted the toxic mouth pokemon aside like a fly and went straight for Looker, the man jumped aside to avoid the charging boar and Bo ended punching Kyurem's head.

Silence. The team of police officers all stilled and locked their attention at Kyurem and emboar. Slowly, too slowly, the dragonoid raised its head and let loose another Glaciate, emboar, croagunk and a few police officers fainted on the spot. The sound of shattering metal rang hard in their ears and in a moment

Kyurem was free.

"PERFECT!" Black screeched and wiped frost from his hands, the mask on his face was starting to crack, "all I have to do now is chip away at its health and we can capture it! Yahoo! Another legendary!" Ignoring Looker who eyed him somewhat disturbingly, he ran to the colossal ice dragon, tossing a few pokeballs along the way. Out popped Brav, Tula and Costa. The electric spider scurried around and weaved a web, it intended to cover the dragon with it. Brav screamed and encircled above and Costa merely observed the dragon with aged eyes. Their trainer issued instructions and the partners all carried it out.

But, it was all for naught. The dragonoid shrugged off their powerful attacks like it was nothing. Braviary and carracosta were blown away by attacks whilst Kyurem picked the annoying spider off him and crushed it underfoot. Black screamed when he saw Tula's shattered exoskeleton mingled with appendages and bones, the insect was promptly recalled. In his bag and unbeknownst to the fretting, bawling trainer, the light stone was glowing. Emitting a pure white radiance.

"Black!" Gold's voice cut into the yowling, "where is Lack-2 and is everything o- HOLY MESPRIT!" The adolescent along with Yellow entered the cavern and stared at Kyurem in shock, the dragon was bearing down on them, its wrathful eyes glowing with hatred. It emitted another roar and several police members fled the spot on shaking legs.

"Get away from here" the acting leader of the criminal group urged the rest to leave, some of them obeyed, the others merely shuffled to the entrance to help their fallen comrades. Yellow's pokemon was preventing the ice beast from moving about too freely. The over powerful creatures, glowing with aura, bordered the dragon. Just as Gold called forth his Exbo, Black's bag ripped apart at the seams, pokeballs, the TM case, berries, healing items, a folded bicycle and his phone all spilled to the floor, a warm breeze flowed in the subzero cavern and Reshiram, in all its fiery glory appeared and breathed a stream of warm flames. The thieving trainers stared in awe and the Unova native yelled in joy. Gingerly, the pristine white dragon touched down and Black reached up his hands to stroke the thick creamy fur in a loving manner, he rubbed his cheek against the vast white pokemon and it growled softly. Resolve burning hotter than sacred flames. The trainer hopped onto Reshiram's back in one smooth move and commanded it into battle.

The turbo attached to Reshiram's tail whirred and ignited. A heat haze swept the area and the rime coating the walls melted into water and ran down in small rivulets. Wing's flapping, the dragon took to the air and Kyurem followed it with a greedy gaze. A trail of fire danced around the cavern and Black took out his Pokedex to see what the dragon's strongest move was.

"Blue flare!" making a sharp turn, the white dragon beat it wings to steady it in place. Opening its maw, it released a cascade of cobalt colored flames and the fire erupted into a pillar. The crackling inferno and roars of the ice dragon intermingled together to create a cacophony. Once the attack died down, instead of an energy drained Kyurem, the found a gleaming sphere.

"Wow" Yellow breathed, "it's another stone, except this one looks light blue, like ice." She spun around and enquired, "should we take it home with us?" Black leapt to the ground whilst Reshiram transformed back into the light stone.

"Yes we should!" he exclaimed excitedly and went over to examine the stone thoroughly. None of them noticed the shadow of a man falling into the entrance of the cave. The man grinned evilly and his pokemon commenced a sneak attack.

Something tickled the brown haired teen's nape and he glanced back, his mouth fell open and in that moment one of cofagrigus' shadowy hands wedged in this mouth and smothered him, the other three tentacles wrapped around his form and proceeded to drag him across the floor where the main body of the ghost, a golden sarcophagus, was opening. The boy, now sporting tears of pain in the corner of his eyes wriggled severely and managed to free his arm, he tried to get a hold on the floor but the friction caused his fingers to bleed. Gold sprung up and took hold of him and pulled with his might, Yellow commanded her pokemon to attack. As the beasts rushed, a menacing voice stopped them in their tracks.

"Assault me and the boy dies." To emphasize his point, the two seniors saw the boy thrashing desperately in the coffin pokemon's hold; he was still painstakingly being dragged to his doom. The shadow hand clogging his mouth was spreading across his face.

"What do...You want?" Gold did not relinquish his grip although his arms were tiring, if he let go, his junior would turn into a mindless zombie.

"The stone. Hand it over and we will call it even." Ghetsis stepped into the cave and raised his staff. Narrowing her eyes, the female trainer picked up the stone; it was icy cold to the touch. She walked stiffly to the man and gave it up.

"Release Black!" she demanded fiercely not budging an inch away from the green haired man.

"Fine...Cofagrigus...Imprison."

With a mighty tug, Gold tumbled as Black, now with tears streaming down his cheeks, was yanked away. Eyes wide with terror, the boy observed his astonished seniors get smaller and further away, the coffin opened and after the teenager was secured inside, it closed with a thud. A bright flash of light was emitted by the pokemon and muffled screams could be heard.

It was dark, he was curled up and floating in a warm cocoon. The cocoon burst and he was dragged into a world of bright lights and screaming people. He started sitting and thereafter attempting to walk on two stubby legs. As a child, he grew up watching dazzling pokemon battles and from the wonderful scenes shown on television, the seed of a grandiose dream was implanted in his head, he wanted to be the Unova pokemon league champion. Everyday he'd go to the library and do research and in the process he made two good friends. One was scholarly and upright, constantly scolding him for forgetting things and breaking promises. The other was a ditzy female, whose sole aim was to have fun and escape her father's overprotective tendencies. It was dark and he felt as if something important was being forcibly taken from him.

 _Cheren and Bianca_

Yes, he missed them, on the day they were supposed to receive their Pokedex, he ended up not meeting them and instead ran after tepig, they do eventually meet up at Professor Juniper's library later and instead of starting his journey together like they were supposed to, he vanishes again...That was the last time they saw each other before he met White and joined the criminal organization. He made it a point to visit them at least once, alas once he made up his mind and stood in front of their houses...and he just couldn't see them...he was ashamed of his actions.

" _I'm gonna be the champion of the Pokemon league"_ he remembers screaming this out to anyone listening or not, sometimes he'd climb a hill or a tree with his pokemon and scream it out to the world.

" _I'M GONNA BE THE CHAMPION OF THE POKEMON LEAGUE"_

"I'm gonna...Be the CHAMPION of the Pokemon league." Cofagrigus' lid was being pounded from the inside by the confined occupant. The coffin was forced open and Black slumped out. His seniors immediately ran for him and Ghetsis, together with his pokemon vanished from the scene.

"Black! BLACK!" the team commander cradled the boy in his arms, the mask had fallen apart and the boy's normally healthy complexion was ashen. His eyes, wide open, were absolutely bloodless, no warmth emanated from his body.

"...Ugh...I feel like a zombie..." shifting in his arms, the brown haired teenager got up and stared at this seniors who looked like their souls were about to fly away from their bodies. He smiled.

"What's up? You two look like you're seeing ghosts."

"You...you gave me a heart attack you moron!" the golden eyed trainer exclaimed and sighed in relief

"I suppose so...Man it was dark and horrible in there, I nearly died!" the ashen boy happily chirped, "Uh Gold? You might wanna get Lack-2 from the shadows, I think he fainted and is probably contracting hypothermia." The older man scrambled off, "and I need to get my pokemon back..." he tried to get up and as he did so, he fell back on the floor and passed out.

* * *

The next day, mid-afternoon

Kanto

Dex criminal's hideout.

Pearl, Diamond, Whi-2 and Sapphire gathered around the kitchen table and listened as Red lectured them on battle strategies. The man's eyes were alight with fervor as he related techniques.

"...And when your pokemon has a slower speed, it is always a good idea to reduce the opposing pokemon's speed to match your own, in that way you can even out the differences even if it is by a tiny bit. Another good tactic is to have your pokemon learn moves opposite to its typing, simply teaching them is not enough and they have to train themselves to become adept in a move they are not used to executing. This protects them being over powered if they encounter a pokemon with a type disadvantage." The blonde member of the little group was nodding and scribbling the notes down on a little pad. His best friend next to him was lazily stuffing a rice ball.

"I'm not really fond of using stat raising medicines during my battles, even though the effects of those drugs are said to be negligible, they might eventually cause some sorta side effects later in life...I think. Anyway, I don't like using them, my partners are strong enough." Pika gave a squeak and hopped off his head to snatch a poffin from Diamond. A while later, the doors slid open to reveal a lethargic looking Ruby. Instead of joining them, the teenager went to the refrigerator and started packing snacks and cans of soda in his arms.

"Ruby, don't wanna join us?" Saph enquired.

"No...Senior Silver and I are busy with work, didn't have breakfast yet so I came here to fetch something to eat, be seeing you later." Arms loaded with junk food, the exited the room with castform floating next him.

"Any tips when battling someone overwhelmingly strong?" Dia indolently questioned and Red looked at him.

"I suppose...If it's against another monster...You must have the will to stay alive. In any case, you fight to win and to have fun."

"I think...You'll be the only one having fun in a dire situation like that..." Whi-2 pointed out shyly.

The red eyed man chuckled and added: "Probably, anyway, for grass types, when opposed with a strong opponent, you have to plan your attacks according to your pokemon typing, for example, Saur is heavy and kinda slow, so I like using ingrain and frenzy plant. Not only can I sap my enemy's health, I can also use the wide area of frenzy plant to entrap the opposition. If one side misses, the tendrils come out from another. As for Green's charizard, it is fast and has high attack stats, therefore I have it dive into the thick of battle, blast burn hits hard and accurate...Hmm hydro cannon..."

"Is better than frenzy plant and blast burn" Blue interrupted his little lecture and sat down; she placed a sheaf of papers on the table and began rifling through it.

"Hey Blue" Red greeted genially, "you look busy."

"I am" she confirmed "trying to track down that N or whatever his name is. We need him."

"Someone who can talk to pokemon huh...I wonder what Pika thinks of me?"

A jolt of electricity had him yelping and jumping up in his seat.

"Hahaha, we all know what he thinks of you!" The brown haired female stated and winked.

The chatting around the table turned to mundane matters, the weather, pokemon contests and gym battles. Pearl was busy telling Dia off for having his cheeks covered with rice. Whi-2 placed Foongy on the table and was admiring the little bow on the pokemon's head. The noise levels in the kitchen swelled as the talking rose in volume. Laughter seeped out and Red mused when the Kyurem capturing team would return. In the meantime,

A loud explosion rocked the base.

* * *

 **A/N** : Much thanks for the lovely reviews/crackpot theories. Things are getting pretty wild and I sincerely hope my story stirs more of the readers into reviewing. Virtual chocolate chip muffins for you. At Eevee: The story won't have any OC's in it, but Blue as a matchmaker? Sounds totally plausible. And I don't find your fascinations annoying, rather it's quite fun to read the speculations. Asdfgkxlqwerutooxbcnjsksn? Don't worry, I totally understand. At Silver: Your review made me chuckle not because it was totally ridiculous (although I have to admit, it is interesting) but because I just finished a short scene on his past and then you dropped this. So is he a clone raised by pokemon? Heh, read to find out. Once again, keep those theories rolling in! Oh yes, constructive criticism is also well appreciated


	21. Life is a heavy price to pay

**Chapter 21: Life is a heavy price to pay  
**

Mid-afternoon

Kanto

Celadon city.

After failing in Kyurem's capture, the trainers decided to take the ship back to Kanto. True to what Black predicted, Gold found his student curled up and comatose behind one of the large boulders dotting the cavern. He picked the boy up on his back and returned only to see the other Unova native passed out. They team managed to wriggle their way into the cruiser and the night was spent on a comfortable bed. Morning came and they were deposited to Vermillion city port. Heaving the two fainted trainers on him (Black's body was getting frighteningly cold) Gold summoned his togekiss and flew off to Celadon, anticipating a warm shower and a long nap, what he did not look forward to was this apocalyptic scenery playing before his eyes.

Their base, his home, was up in flames. The area surrounding the Game corner was cordoned off by crime scene tape and a fleet of police cars, officers and gym leaders were prowling the area. A column of thick black smoke was rising from the main building, he numbly observed his co-criminals sliding in and out of various battle formations. All of them had taken to the air and were wearing masks to prevent their identity form being known. Peering in between the flying Dex holders, he spied an ebony skinned creature resembling mewtwo. It carried a large spoon and was twisting it around in the air creating a tornado and preventing the trainers from getting close. Panicking, he urged his togekiss to fly nearer to the scene; alas it collided with an invisible barrier and twittered angrily. He now understood why none of the police joined the battle, either mewtwo created the barrier or his team members did, it was small comfort to know that their identities would at least be protected. Securing the two prone bodies with him, he breathed a sigh of relief when his team leader came over on Green's charizard.

"Gol-" Red began but was cut off by his underling.

"What's going on? Why is the base up in flames? More importantly, Black and Lack-2 need serious medical treatment, my lackey is frostbitten and Black got his blood sucked out of his body by cofagrigus. We need to do something!"

"Listen to me..." Gold was impressed by his leader's ability to stay calm under such pressurized circumstances. He on the other hand had broken out in a cold sweat. "Go to Professor Oak and leave Lack-2 and Black there, just explain that those two need medical attention, say they work for Green and nothing else! Come back afterwards" before Red finished his words, his subordinate was already soaring away. The adolescent turned his attention to Yellow, her eyes were wide with horror and they darted back and forth amongst the trainers. "Yellow" she flinched, "sit with me on Charizard; we desperately need your help. Seems like Mewtwo's levels far surpasses our own. It might even be higher than hundred." The girl nodded somberly and sat behind Red, her arms hesitantly gripped the older male. With a roar, charizard dove aside as a black ball of energy assaulted them.

"Red," she questioned as her hazel irises combing the area for signs of her leader and group mates, "how did this happen?

* * *

Morning of the same day

Kanto

Dex criminal's hideout

Jade irises peered into the laptop and swung back and forth. The air conditioning in the room was on the lowest setting and Green pulled at his shirt in an irritable manner. His work was tiring and he had been up since dawn planning the organization's heists. He often wished Red would take a bit more responsibility. All that man was good at was battling and planning battling strategies...And escaping it seems. Sometimes when Green needed him, he was duly informed that Red was not present at base. It was times like these that his blood pressure would spike to dangerous levels. Exhaling to calm himself down, he reached for the coffee mug sitting next to his laptop and drank a good quantity of the scalding liquid. Pushing his wheeled chair back, he slumped into it and shut his eyes. Emerald would come in soon, followed by Crystal and White...Yellow was with the capturing team in Unova, he briefly hoped everything was going without a hitch, if so; they should be making their way back to Kanto. Straightening himself up, he was about to wheel back to his laptop when a large detonation resounded throughout the base. Confused, he lifted himself off the chair and in a second, Dark Mewtwo teleported in the room.

Green had never known such fear. The monster's eyes were glowing with tangible hatred. It lifted its three fingered hand and a giant spoon materialized. Whirling around, it smashed the laptop and proceeded to swipe its spoon, destroying the bank of computers and other equipment situated inside the chamber. A twister was summoned and it tore through the floor and roof of the game corner. Exiting via this tunnel, mewtwo raised his weapon to the sky and a condensed mass of energy was pooling around it. He fired it downwards and the base crumpled in on itself. Red had rushed into the room and pulled his best friend out. Commanding out their pokemon, all the trainers were ordered to leave the base and engage in combat.

The future looked bleak.

Like beedrills protecting its nest, the trainers rose, some of them partnering up to share a single flying type. Green tossed Red his charizard and told the raven haired man to take control of both their pokemon. He himself grabbed Aero and surveyed the condition from above. No doubt the police would be coming in soon. Thankfully Execution's leader flying in an arc, organized the traumatized trainers into a formation. He spied Sapphire whizzing past on a tropius with Ruby and called her. The girl hopped off her flying pokemon and joined her teacher on the ancient dragon.

"We will have to get up close and personal with Mewtwo, are you up for it Sapphire?" The teenager clenched her jaw and her eyes shone with conviction as she nodded. "Good, you see Mewtwo is hovering on that piece of broken building right? We'll descend there, get your strongest pokemon out, I'll pull Scizor in and we'll try to prevent that monster from teleporting from the area, sounds alright?"

"Yes, let's...do our best."

The onyx feline glowered at the two foolish humans who leapt down near him. Mauve irises locked on to the spiky haired brunette...the man who made him. A sense of rage and bloodlust washed over the monster as he began to weave a barrier around the group, he did not want any intruders to take his prey. He will enjoy torturing them, folding their minds till they gave up the will to survive. Mewtwo will wipe that defiant look of hope off these humans' faces. He wanted them to know pain. They needed to know the meaning of hell.

"HUMANS!" he roared and saw their eyes widen with shock and disbelief. Some of them had stopped what they were doing simply to gape at him in astonishment, "your capacity for cruelty is spectacular, you create, seeking dominance over each other and when the tool is not suited for your needs, you simply discard it." Mewtwo pointed his spoon to Green who drew his hands into fists, "was it fun? Making me? Knowing you are giving birth to a monstrosity that cannot be controlled? Did it ever cross your puny mind that I would be able to comprehend speech? Able to understand you humans...WILLING to live together with you? No...Of course not. YOU ONLY THINK ABOUT YOURSELVES!"

He flashed to the petrified man and brought down his spoon, intending to crush Green's skull for good. However a metal coated insectoid blocked his attack, an impressive feat. The ground catered at Scizor's feet as he held Mewtwo's spoon, its body was glowing in a yellowish aura. With surprising strength, it pushed the legendary pokemon back. Blaziken moved next, when the levitating pokemon halted, several elemental blasts hit him and he was tossed around the area for a bit. Up above, the sky brightened considerably and the sun's rays shone harsher. Toro, body shrouded with orange flames dashed to the reeling monster and slammed into it. Both beasts emitted pained cries, recovering first, the psychic wound its tail around the blaze pokemon's throat and hefting its spoon, it executed a perfect psycho cut. Saph wailed as Toro was tossed at her feet, the flames encircling its wrist sputtered out. The grief stricken trainer sunk on her knees and the moment she did so, the opposition fired a ball at her.

Time seemed to slow down as Green attempted to block the attack, the intensity of the attack was muddling his mind and his skin felt like it was peeling off. Something huge landed before him and miraculously the attack rebounded. The older male wiped sweat and tears off his face and observed a solemn faced Dia next to him with a crew of pokemon, the monsters lumbered off and took strategic places on the crumbling platform. The brunette realized that Dia's monsters were primed to defend.

"DIA! Come back here!" Red screamed in a panicked voice from above, "I told you to stay with me! Saur, ingrain!"

The boy slapped his cheeks with both hands and looked up, clear eyes locked on to his screeching teacher who was trying to dive down and snatch him. Smiling, he proclaimed:

"I'll defend Senior Green and Saph by all costs, you said I'm a defender sir...Please have faith in me and let me do this! I can't attack like the other members of our team so I'll focus on what I'm good at." His blue eyes fixated on Mewtwo, "I'm the only one who can do this...Tru, use ingrain and get ready for frenzy plant." The two males positioned themselves next to Saph who seemed to be burning in rage.

"Phado, Rono...Attack!" she shouted and several other flying trainers did the same.

"Zuzu, Mimi go!" Ruby's voice echoed.

"Blasty, Hydro cannon."

"Scizor, Night slash."

The attacks came from different angles and all rushed to the center where mewtwo hovered. In the midst of their attacking, they all became veiled with a yellow aura and the mythical pokemon noted how their strength exponentially increased. He focused on swatting the deluge of water away from him. A punch landed on his belly and he spat up purple blood. Lightning came down and struck him endlessly and soon the area darkened and it began to rain. A steel hardened tail ripped numerous cuts on his body and he saw a red blur flash past in the periphery of his vision. Suddenly it felt like his skull was being torn apart at the sutures. He howled and shot something at the offending human, instead of hitting the target, the shot was absorbed by bastiodon.

Before he could recover, two grass snakes, serperior and servine, charged out and wrapped themselves around him, seeds buried into flesh and bloomed, vines constricted him and flowers blew out spore, paralyzing his movements. Pulling apart the vines, a hand clamped over servine and tossed it away, the grass type hit the edges of the barrier and it promptly fainted. Serperior on the other hand was proving to be a worthy adversary. It coiled around him, around his neck and suffocated him. Pulling the regal pokemon off his person, he threw it into the air and sliced it.

Neatly in half.

He heard the trainer scream somewhere to his left. The two halves of the serpent lay in a pool of viridian colored fluid before him. Unfortunately this beast will never wake again.

"Red...I can't do this anymore." The ruby eyed trainer's concern shifted from Dia to Yellow who was sweating profusely behind him. Swaying, her grip weakened and when charizard swerved to avoid colliding with Crystal. She slid and fell off, fainting as she did so. The indigo haired girl dove after senior and Red sighed in relief. The blonde had worked hard, too hard and now it was time for his counter attack. He wasn't sure what to do. Should they kill off Mewtwo? Was it possible to kill it? If they didn't the barrier surrounding them will never come down. Soaring higher, he got a bird's eye view of the place. The boundary was vast. It prevented the prowling police from even getting a good glimpse of them. His eyes strained to the diminutive figures directing terrified civilians and he wondered if Misty was there with them.

 _Oh for Celebi's sake..._ his inner voice admonished him, _now is not the time to think that._ Why did the voice in his head sound like Green?

The dilapidated buildings were crumbling apart and he spied green vines writhing underneath the concrete surfaces. Frenzy plant was ready for action. He stroked charizard's head, after the grass type move managed to pin Mewtwo in one place, he'll hit it with a blast burn...Putting all this into contemplation, he pulled his poke-gear out and called his two best friends.

Hiding behind bastiodon, the two older trainers watched Diamond as he took a cupcake out of his little backpack and began eating it, the boy explained he ate when he was nervous and Green's body tensed when another attack rebounded off the shield. Abruptly his poke gear began beeping and he reached deep inside his pocket with sweat slicked hands and answered it. Red and Blue's face popped up on the mini-screen

"Green, what should we do with Mewtwo?" His friend's worried tone transmitted through the speakers, "we have to decide, at the rate its going, it's going to kill our pokemon and turn on us next. By the way, Yellow fainted; she couldn't handle the stress of raising all our pokemon's levels at once."

His mind blanked.

 _Yellow fainted_...she didn't faint, she went into a coma. It happened once before when she trained for a longer period of time, devoid of sleep, her body shut down forcibly for almost a month.

"K-kill it" his voice was hoarse and scratchy, "Kill mewtwo." he relayed and his body shook unwillingly.

"...Got it," Red cut the connection and Blue merely eyed him with sympathy before the screen went blank.

 _Don't look at me like that._

He swallowed bile and readied himself to attack.

"Frenzy plant!" Red commanded loudly over the din of battle, Dia scrambled up from his place, stuffed the pastry in his mouth and also ordered his Tru to execute the same move.

The surroundings burst apart, raining concrete and dust as thick green vines erupted everywhere. Mewtwo, sensing the ultimate move teleported from place to place in an effort to escape, but no matter where he went, the tendrils pursued him. Some of them were wide as tree trunks as they rose and followed him of their own accord. Thinner ones caught up to him and ensnared him, the fatter ones crawled over his body like insects and some buried itself in his flesh and absorbed his power. Mewtwo thrashed, struggled, but the bonds held him tighter. The tangled mess confined him so securely he couldn't even move his head. A red eyed trainer flew before him with an orange dragon; he was flanked by another youth wearing goggles. Together the duo shouted something and he felt like he was dipped in hell. The flames licked over the vines and charred them; the agony had no words to describe it as he flopped tiredly to the ground.

The world was turning before his lilac irises.

"You will suffer for this..." the psychic beast premonitioned, "you will die by the hands of the very people you wished to protect! Mark my WORDS!" Holding the spoon upright, it teleported to Diamond and broke the spoon on the teenager's head. The boy slumped down, eyes turning upwards and he stilled. Pearl howled and ordered his partners to go after him; they were saved from an untimely death due to Blue.

The three leaders touched down to face Mewtwo; the feline was leaning tiredly on its spoon stump. Saur, Blasty and Charizard stood behind their trainers. Looking up, the monster eyed the three humans with distaste. Although he hated the spiky haired male the most, his eyes locked on to the ebony haired trainer who was viciously tugging a cap over his blood red irises. His emotions were in turmoil, boiling from rage, to grief and back to rage. Pulling his weapon out from the concrete, mewtwo decided to attack him, clearly he was the weakest link in the formation.

It was not every day that Mewtwo's predictions came untrue.

A solar beam in tandem with hydro cannon blew a hole in his stomach. Distraught, he looked down to his abdomen which was held together by a spine cleared of flesh. Vines forced him into a kneeling position once more and he tried to use psywave to counter the attacks, alas, the move rebounded. Blast burn cracked his spoon and splintered his bones. The trio was now standing right before him, their dark shadows casting over his pitiful from.

"Hu...mans...I...Hate humans. Selfish...You are such selfish creatures." Tears were streaming down the pokemon's eyes as it quivered, "you...Will..."

"Scizor, Cut" The insect slashed its gleaming pincers downwards and cleanly severed Mewtwo's head from its body, despite being dead, the pokemon completed what it wanted to say, it's lilac eyes pinned the three criminals.

"Die..."

* * *

"Dex criminals hmm? What a fitting name for a bunch employing the likes of Gold, Black and those two new members...Who also hold Poke-dexes." a pink haired woman scrutinized a list.

"Are there any other names on the paper?" Norman enquired.

"No, see for yourself" the document was passed over to the skeptical gym leader, his eyes scanned the paper multiple times and he let out a sigh of relief.

"More importantly Chief..." a cyan haired man cut in, "it is rare to see you with us, usually to let me know when you are coming so why didn't you?"

"It was an emergency Falkner,' the chief replied in a bitter tone "the nobles in Ransei are not so happy about the development. They have started warring again, claiming that the legendries need to be returned to their correct posts in order for peace to return to their region."

"That...Is a total lie isn't it?" The flying type gym leader rested his chin on folded hands, "those people are always warring with each other, taking over each other's states is simply a game to them...But you are right, if the mythical pokemon are not returned to their original post, who knows what might happen? We already had a mess with Deoxys."

"Exactly" Anabel got up and dusted off her uniform, "So now I had to come here and confirm the situation for myself...The barrier surrounding the game corner is extremely powerful...I suspect they designed it over Mewtwo's original barrier, it is impossible to slip in without knocking all of the pokemon out at once. I'm leaving for Kalos again, Falkner, please keep me posted on the details."

"Will do ma'am." The rest got up and bowed as their chief left the meeting hall, her cotton candy pink hair streaming out before her.

"Are there any other suspects we can add to the list?" Surge boomed, once Anabel left, he put his legs back on the table, "we can scribble names down for now and confirm it later...damn furrets think this is a game."

Misty squirmed uncomfortably in her seat and tried to appear nonchalant, thankfully everyone was poring over the document to notice her uncomfortable behavior.

"The Pokemon league's association would like to replace Red as the dual champion of Kanto and Johto" Steven piped up, "according to them, he does not do his work properly and he is missing for almost one year...Discussions are taking place to replace him with Lance."

"Whatever, not my concern" Volkner yawned and got up from his chair, seeing this, Norman did the same and the duo exited the chamber in a haughty manner. The superintendents merely watched them with an unfathomable expression. Theories and plans were discussed and before the meeting broke up, a giant screen lit up and a figure appeared on it.

"Hey..."

"Boss!" Looker jumped up and the person on screen smiled, "where are you?"

"Chasing after those criminals Looker, what else? Oh yes, I investigated Red's room in the champion's league and there are signs that he does not use that place at all. I'm trying to track him at the moment but it is proving to be difficult...Tsk, they are good at keeping their movements hidden that is for sure...I have to leave now...I'm busy. Take care and make sure to do your work instead of slacking off!" The monitor beeped and went silent. Looker sat back in his chair trying to calm himself.

A lot of worry gnawed on his mind.

* * *

A few days later, Evening

Kanto

Pallet town

"Following the commotion in Celadon city's Game corner, police officers still cannot get inside and investigate, there seems to be a psychic barrier surrounding the entire place. Cameras placed on the scene are fed with false feed on a daily basis thus we are still in the dark about the criminals' identities. From eyewitness reports, it seemed like this organization is made up of highly skilled trainers and on the day of the Game Corner fiasco, they were fighting what seemed like a dark mewtwo...It is speculated that it might be a product of illegal research..." Tired eyes peered at the screen and the old man let out a moan. Shaking his head he switched the television off and duly observed how his grandson entered the room, the youth had a distracted look on his face as he placed several coffee mugs in the kitchen sink and proceeded to head upstairs to his room.

"Green!" Oak sharply called and the adolescent halted with one foot on a stair.

"Yes Grandfather?"

"Are you going to clean up this mess they're showing on the news? Or should I just go ahead and declare that my grandson is a criminal?"

His question went unanswered as the brunette climbed the stairs and shut his door with a resounding bang.

Two weeks later

Afternoon

His poke gear was ringing and he cast a quick glance at the clock hanging on his bedroom wall...right on time. He picked up the device and answered the call:

"Blue...Update me on the situation."

"Hello Green~ It's nice to meet you too you ingrate!" her sigh was a rush of static over the speakers "anyway, Red still can't be tracked, he and Gold have gone into hiding together, I suspect they are roaming around somewhere in Johto or Hoenn...As for Diamond, his condition is still critical, the amount of brain damage he suffered is frightening, Platina and Pearl are taking him to Unova for treatment, using Platina's resources, apparently my young underling had told her parents about her real doings and they actually support her, so the money is coming from the Berlitz family. Dia's parents have been informed that he suffered an accident whilst trying to capture pokemon."

"I understand, continue"

"Yellow...Is still in a coma. At least visit her for once Green! I'm tired of dealing with everything here on my own whilst you and Red get to relax! It's unfair!" the female complained bitterly, "The psychic barrier around the base, although you can't call it a base anymore, is being maintained by Red's espeon, your golduck and alakazam which I fished out of storage, gallade and gardevoir, Black's Musha, Xatu and a whole other bunch I don't care to remember. Silver, Crystal and Lack-2 are tasked with salvaging the base for any important research materials and recalling our legendary pokemon into pokeballs for easy transportation. White, Emerald and Black are setting up our new headquarters in Johto whilst Ruby and Sapphire come in from time to time to help out with everything. Ruby informed me that Norman doesn't allow him to go out much."

"..."

"As for YOU! Congratulations for returning from Alola Professor Green!" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, "The media and public are absolutely over the moon for you being able to crack the mystery behind a black mewtwo! Nice isn't it? You get to go to conferences and sip expensive coffee while smiling for the cameras, gorgeously I might add; and I get to run around cleaning up our mess. Next time, take more responsibility, you are worse than Red, at least he has a legitimate reason for hiding a-"

"And I don't? I'm keeping the media's attention to myself so you and the crew can run around undeterred in the shadows. Don't think I find it pleasing when my Grandpa looks at me like I'm the world's worst human ever to grace the Poke-earth..." his voice was low and hard, "if I have time, I'll squeeze in some extra work."

"Right, fine...Be sure to visit Yellow okay~ be courageous and confe-"

"Shut up pesky woman!" he snarled and put down his pokegear, he could hear Blue's laughter ringing in his ears.

Exhaling, he laid down on his bed with one arm covering his face. Perhaps he should visit her...After all; her ability to raise pokemon's levels at will was a crucial factor in their battle against Mewtwo:

" _Die..."_

The ominous words uttered by the beast echoed in their minds and his best friend lost it on that day. Red gripped his cap, threw it to the ground and started screaming. Behind them, Pearl and Platina had rushed to Diamond and the blonde was trying to wake his best friend up by smacking him lightly on the cheeks. The heiress was sobbing quietly. White on the other hand, numbly knelt and gently stroked her Amanda who was beyond a shadow of doubt, dead. Green himself was about to return charizard back into a pokeball when he noticed that the dragon's tail was cut off. The pokeball fell from his hand just as his loyal partner breathed its last. Seeing this, Red screamed further and Blue tried to calm the trainer down. It has been a long time since the ruby eyed trainer cast away his calm like this. Outside, the helicopters were gathering and the barrier was slowly dissolving.

"First things first!" Blue, who was good at controlling her emotions better than anyone he knew, took command of the situation, "we have to prevent that barricade from breaking down completely, or else were good as dead, Hand me your psychic types, I'll weave the barrier myself. Also..." she added in a more solemn tone..."get ready to bury our partners who passed away."

"What?" the words tumbled out in shock, he too was losing his grip, "what do you mean bury?"

"Exactly what I mean Green!" she hissed..."Ruby! Where are you going?! It's dangerous in the base!"

The teenager did not heed her words.

Sluggishly, he spun around to see Red stroking his Charizard's head, he joined his best friend in doing the same, he knew the flame pokemon ever since he was a child, he grew up with it, fought with it...Lived with it. And now...That was all gone.

His consciousness shifted and for a split second he was disconnected from the flow of time, when he came too he saw his charizard frying Red with a flame thrower...His confusion further expanded when he saw White hugging her Serperior, wasn't the grass serpent dead a few minutes ago? Wait, what was he saying?

"This is really odd!" Red exclaimed as he tried to put out the embers singeing his jacket, "I was patting charizard who was lying on the floor...He was dead...And suddenly it wakes up and breaths fire on me!"

"Whatever senior, let's get going before Senior Blue puts up the barrier" Gold grabbed his teacher by the arm and dragged him, "Silver, Crys, be seeing you! I'm gonna make sure my team leader doesn't get caught!" Waving, the duo departed hastily. When Green got up, he heard Diamond utter something in a garbled manner and faint once again.

Celebi he pondered...This must be the work of the time travelling pokemon. A small slip and they arrived at not so different future, but to the happily sobbing Poke-Dex holders...It made all the difference.

* * *

 **Arc one:**

 **Boredom is the root of all evil**

 **The despairing refusal to be oneself**

End

* * *

 **A/N:** Much thanks to Jack54311 for reviewing. I guess this chapter answers your question of the explosion? Also I'm not getting any stats, this site is experiencing some funky problems and seeing no reviews or viewers for my story is making me cranky. Anyway, I hope the readers get to enjoy this chapter...if people are able to read it.


	22. Might is right

**Arc Two:**

 **Little drops of water**

 **Little grains of sand**

 **Make the mighty ocean**

 **And the pleasant land. Thus the little minutes**

 **Humble though they be**

 **Make the mighty of ages**

 **Of eternity**

* * *

 **Chapter 21: Might is right**

Half a year later, afternoon

Johto, Mahogany town

Beneath the souvenir shop

Silver really missed the lowered platform in their Kanto base. The red head was seated on a sofa and staring at a giant mirror set in the wall before him. Their new common room was smaller and instead of the laminated flooring, it sported cream colored tiles. Black velvet couches were arranged before a huge, stylish coffee table and one side of the room was separated by a screen. The partitioned space housed computers and other stolen artifacts which were haphazardly dumped and kept out of sight. Once the shelves were fixed into place, the priceless objects will be put on display again. The adolescent sighed and blew a strand of hair, watching Proteam Omega on a wall sized screen...Will probably never happen again. Although, to give credit to his sister, this place was much more work orientated, he was sure Ruby will appreciate the several mannequins and mirrors decorating the room, not to mention the coffee table had a hologram function built into it...Where did Blue get it anyway? He wondered and then promptly banished the line of thought. No doubt something like this was most probably stolen. Picking himself off the couch, he decided to look around the base, the past few months, they were hard at work salvaging everything from the previous hideout in Kanto and bringing it here whilst dodging the police radar.

Poor Green, the brunette took it upon himself to act as the diversion. As Silver was walking down the metal lined corridors he bumped into the man who looked a bit stressed. Coming through another hallway was Lack-2, Gold's so called apprentice. They boy had his arms full.

"And where should I dump this?" the russet tinted youth drawled, "don't tell me we're gonna start using them, I'm still a kid after all." He was referring to the several firearms and other dangerous weapons he currently held. Strategy's leader eyed them distastefully before issuing an order.

"Silver, take them and incinerate them somewhere...When you are done, give the base a sweep, I'm going with Lack-2 to check out execution's room." Nodding, the red head took the load off the boy's arms and moved away. Folding his arms behind his head, the brown haired child walked with Green in a tow and the moment they entered Execution's room, the older male frowned and stared.

"Lack-2...I told you to destroy the battle simulator, why didn't you?"

"Why should I get rid of it?" the Unova native asked, "I happen to like battle simulators...don't have to deal with morons." he mumbled the last part out.

"Red hates them" the commander replied.

"Why?"

"Something about being forced to train in one when he was the champion of the league, says he can't experience emotions when battling in one and it robs people of compassion...Anyway, just do as you are told and don't ask so many questions...Also, who transformed the back of the room into a kitchen?" The trainer eyed the stove, cabinets and refrigerator with disbelief, jade irises swept over the place and took note of several photos lining the walls, a humungous television, sofas, chairs and couches of mismatched colors were littered throughout the room instead of being placed around the rectangular glass topped table. The floor was dusty and his eyes trailed up a ladder set in the middle of the room, it gave access to a second floor. Warily climbing the ladder, he gazed at the second floor and scowled. Bookshelves and beds were placed side by side; a gleaming counter housed several computers and a pokemon healing machine. All in all, the situation in this room has not changed.

It was still chaotic

"Who...Set up this place?" Green demanded as he descended from the upper floor, Lack-2 was reluctantly tearing the machine apart with his dewott.

"Hmm...Senior Black, Sapphire and I did. We all decided to include a bit of everybody's hobbies in here. The kitchen is for Diamond, that computer counter and bookshelves is for Black, that slot machine over there is for my mentor..."

 _A slot machine?_ The spiky haired male was dumbfounded.

"...That punching bag is for Saph, but we still need to find a place to hang it up. As for me, I designed the flooring space, since commander Red likes battling so much, we can simply kick the chairs out of the way and voila...A huge space opens up in the middle. Oh yeah, the table, we use it for those useless stacks of paperwork you will obviously be forking over to us for no particular reason. Our common room's setup is great isn't it?" Done tearing the simulator apart, the boy listlessly examined the jagged pieces and watched as dewott sharpened his scalchop on them, the pokemon was rigorously dragging the organic blade over the pieces of alloy and the friction caused a few orange sparks to be thrown off. Green tapped the floor with his shoe and spoke up.

"Get rid of the soaking junk, this entire base is constructed out of iron and a mixture of other metals, even if you put a thick rug on top of it, the water might soak through and the floor will rust. Clean this place up as well, Gold and Red will be returning shortly."

Lack-2 looked up from his phone.

"How do you know? We haven't heard from them for over _six months_. Are you sur-?"

"They will be back by evening...Mark my words."

Done with crushing the firearms into a pulp worthy of modern art, Silver returned to base and looked for Crystal, he needed to confirm if Gold was returning today or not. Returning feraligatr back into a pokeball, he stuck his hands deep inside his pockets and ambled down the harshly lit corridors. The surroundings were already familiar to him so he had no problem navigating through the maze. At a junction, he saw Saph hefting a potted plant and marching to strategy's room. He followed her and when he entered, he blinked his eyes.

The room was tastefully decorated.

There were no wires crisscrossing the floor and there was a stone colored vinyl sheet covering the ground. A long rectangular table was placed in the middle complete with plush chairs and laptops. No mammoth monitors, no hum of electrical machines. Instead of a wall covering bookcase, several small ones were placed along the walls. Pictures and paintings depicting pokemon and still life were hung. Floor lamps and extravagant wall fixtures threw light in the space. To Silver, who was gaping, it looked like a very expensive meeting room. Off to the corner, Saph was placing the plant and shifting it to a place Crystal was pointing at.

"This place looks nice" he murmured once Crys came over.

"It's all thanks to Rald; he got rid of the clunky machines and developed a new system where we can use laptops to process everything that's going on...He also mentioned piggybacking the Radio Tower's signal. I didn't really understand what he meant but I'm glad we don't have to watch out for wires anymore. I couldn't even sweep the floor properly because I was scared of tripping over one of them and cutting an important connection." she turned to her best friend, "doesn't the new place look lovely? Yellow and I decorated it"

No wonder it appeared so lavish.

"When is Gold coming back?"

"Gold...Ah, you really miss him don't you?"

"As if" he turned pink "who'd miss that idiot anyway? I'm simply making sure things are proceeding according to schedule."

The girl laughed and he reddened further. "You sound like my leader" she teased, "yes, Gold's coming back with senior Red this evening, you best get some sleep Silver," she eyed his tired countenance, "the rest will arrive shortly and you can count on a rowdy party when they all return, you don't want Gold to see you like this right? He will make fun of you." Inhaling deeply, he turned his heel and marched out, nodding to Yellow whom he met in the hallway. In Constellate's common room, he poked his head inside to see Whi-2 lying on one of the sofas and reading a book, her servine and foongus were frolicking on the floor. Imparting a greeting to his engrossed junior, he made a beeline for his room. Opening the door, he took of his jacket and threw it on the bed and thereafter crashed on a small couch inside his room and curled up. Crys had implored him to take some rest, alas; sleep won't come to him easily. After all, this place was riddled with bad memories.

It was Team Rocket's former headquarters.

His father's criminal legacy was seeped into the very foundations of this building.

A few years ago

Johto

Team Rocket's headquarters

"Be more vigilant will you!" Crystal fumed as the three of them ran down the passageways, sneakers thumping odd rhythms against the metallic floor. The gold eyed trainer merely winked and the girl next to him curbed the desire to kick him through the next wall. Cameras followed their every move and Silver decided to ignore the bickering duo next to him in order to focus on the path before him. As they turned a corner, a grunt blocked their path and before anyone of them could send out any pokemon, the brutish man's neck issued a snapping sound and he dropped to the floor, eyes rolling upwards. A brunette with and impassive look was standing behind him.

"Don't you three know the meaning of covert?" Green hissed and his scizor's pincers gleamed, "Gold, make another ruckus and I'm tossing both you and your idiotic mentor out of this place! Kadabra," he ordered the psychic, "use teleport."

"Pfft, no need to get your spikes in a tangle dude." the capped trainer whistled as the trio snuck around the corridors, they noticed another grunt patrolling the area and the teenager yelled exuberantly. Calling forth his Exbo, he commanded the volcano pokemon to scorch everything in sight. This caused the alarms to start blaring, smoke detectors went off and water rained from the roof. Cursing, the three of them bolted from the area.

"This is all your fault." Green delivered his words with forced calm whilst next to him Red sweated nervously, "you said we needed a new place to stay, I point one out to you and you don't even have the decency to lecture your student about the mission protocols...We're done here. Blue" the brunette angled his head and spoke into an ear piece, "we are retreating from our posts, no use keeping the monitor room hostage when those three decided to announce their presence to the world. There are too many people swarming the base, we will...Hey Red, where are you-?"

"...I'm going to help them, things will swing in our favor if we end up joining the battle right?" A feral glint passed his blood red irises, "see you later Green!"

"Damn...Whatever, change of plans...do whatever you want and from the way you are not responding to me, you are already doing that aren't you?" Angrily, the trainer took the earpiece out and grounded it underfoot. Leaving his kadabra to guard the area, he too tore off after his best friend.

 _Bang_

He was mercifully pushed aside by his best friend's pool cue as the shot rang out. The noise was loud in his ears, were the Rocket's using manufactured weaponry now? Ducking low, he careered up the stairs with Gold and Crystal and body slammed the grunts out of the way. Feraligatr swiped its massive claws along and he saw his pokemon's forelimb was tinted with blood. The metallic tang of it perfused the air. Not paying attention to the new swarms pouring from all sides, he ran straight ahead. Explosions and shouts rang throughout the base. Fire raged, water swelled in the hallways, short circuiting the cameras and throwing up an electrical storm. Plants bloomed on flesh, thriving and leaving their hosts in comatose states. It won't be long before the executives decide to take the stage, he was well aware of his seniors taking command of the monitoring room. A sly smirk worked into his face, things were going rather well. At this rate, he'll be able to get rid of his rotten parent before the day ends. Team Rocket's reign was over, time for a more gifted organization to leave its mark.

"Any idea where we are going?" the gold eyed trainer huffed, all this running was taking a toll on him, he wiped his soot covered face and pouted, "my face is all sweaty and stained, what will I do if I meet a fetching gal in this place?"

"I hope this fetching gal of yours kicks a brain into your skull."

"Nah uh Crys!" he winked, "there aren't many people with legs like yours."

"Quiet!" Silver hissed and abruptly halted, he pressed his back against the wall and strained his ears; his friends followed his actions and remained eerily silent next to him. Craning his neck, he caught a glimpse of four individuals exiting from a room and coming down the passageway. Unlike the other criminals they ran into, these four radiated authority and power. A red headed woman tossed her hair back and grumbled about something, the cyan haired man responded to her grumbles and smoothed the front of his pristine white suit. Two other men boarded them on the sides, both wearing deep grey uniforms decorated by an embroidered with a giant letter R. Silver's smirk, which was indiscernible in the beginning, had notched up to maniacal proportions. Pulling his co-conspirators, he began to unfold a plan before them:

"Listen here, soon the Rocket executives will come here and apprehend the ones disturbing the base, thanks to our seniors, they have no clue of your identities. Gold, Crys, I need you to keep all four of them busy."

"And what about you Silver?" Crystal questioned, she looked worried.

"I have something I must do, just do as I-" his words were cut off when Gold pointed his stick at his throat. The teenager had an unfathomable expression.

"We trust you, remember that. I want you to place the same confidence in us, when this is all over...You spill it. Everything."

A gloved hand gently pushed the slim piece of wood away from his Adam's apple, "alright" Silver promised, "I'll do so. I hope you don't hate me for who I am." Not willing to wait and see their reactions, he took off again, summoning his trusty weavile along the way. As his figure disappeared around the corner, the Rocket admins came into view. The woman snorted and flapped her hand whilst the males all had pitying smiles on their faces.

"It's just a bunch of brats." Petrel sneered as he surveyed the duo; he cracked his knuckles and unclipped two pokeballs from his belt. "I'll make short work of these two; the rest of you can go back."

"You truly are an idiot aren't you? There must be more of them hiding somewhere, we well take them all together, those brats are holding poke-dexes so they must be really tough, we don't want another fiasco like three years ago on our hands. Finally Boss Giovanni is back and I won't let another of these upstarts take him away from us again!" Archer delivered his speech passionately and Proton heaved a breath, nonetheless the four took stances around the two teenagers and sent out their pokemon.

"Hmpf, scared of a bunch of children crushing your organization...How pathetic," despite his bold front, the young trainer had broken out in a cold sweat, four executives of the most feared criminal group in both Kanto and Johto, they must be good. As soon as the words left his mouth, a searing pain emitted from his left shoulder. Biting on his scapula was a large purple snake, the fangs embedded in his flesh oozed acid and it ran down, dissolving flesh and clothes. He gnashed his teeth in pain and resolved not to scream out. Arbok retreated and ran a forked tongue around its bloodied fangs. Staggering, Gold partially leaned on Crystal and proceeded to battle.

Typholsion and arbok charged at each other. Flames writhed around the snake as it slithered from side to side on the floor. Rearing up, the volcano pokemon swiped a fire cloaked paw at a vileplume which was releasing paralyzing pores. Shaking its fur free of the stinging dust, it swatted the flower pokemon aside and wrestled the poisonous serpent to the ground. The toxic sludge pooling around the snake began to corrode the metallic floor. Exbo held arbok's head in the pool of acid and drowned the reptile in its own secretions. Satisfied, the beast tossed the creature to its owner, after cutting it into smaller pieces.

Understandably Ariana was furious, Gold's arm was turning purple but that didn't stop the flirt from imparting a victorious simper. Mortified, the woman retreated and Petrel took her place. Instead of having his pokemon battle, he ordered his creatures to go for Gold instead. This time the male screeched in agony and horror as a raticate used hyper fang on his leg and began gnawing on the bone. He fell to the floor and tried to kick the rodent away. Calling for his pokemon did not help, they were all engaged in a fight with Petrel's and Proton's other monsters. Crystal was kept busy with Archer who was proving to be a formidable adversary. Crobat was raining lilac acid and Mega was trying to keep itself together in such inhospitable conditions. The flower around the herb pokemon's neck was wilting. Natee's protect was slowly being eroded away. Bonee and houndoom were engaged in close quarter combat; the hell hound was breathing fire and lashing its whip-esque tail whilst the cubone was herding it off with a bone club. The bleached bone shattered and the lonely pokemon received a hellish whip on its face, with a whine it fainted.

"Bonee, no...Gold, hold on please...Mega, use solar beam!"

The arc of light missed the flapping crobat and hit weezing. The balloon of poison burst apart and engulfed the area in an acrid haze. Crystal coughed and Gold moaned on the floor. Pulling out gas masks, the admins put them on and gloated at a victory in sight. The mauve cloud was blown away by a whirlwind; it seemed a new person has joined the fray.

Or several new people.

"…" Red took in the scene before him and his ruby tinted eyes trailed up at the offender. Seeing him, the blood drained from Archer's face as he pointed a shaking forefinger at the adolescent.

"YOU!" the cyan haired male sputtered in anger, "how dare you show your face after what you did to us back in Kanto. Boss Giovanni...Because of you our boss went to hiding. Crobat, use acid spray on him, now!" The four winged bat zoomed to the trainer and was put out commission when a pikachu darted out from behind and met the bat in a head on collision. Sparks surrounded its body and it targeted Petrel's raticate next, one volt tackle was all it took to faint the rodent.

"…I don't like it when you guys pick on people weaker than you...And especially not someone who I hold dear" the glaring adolescent intoned, his student had fainted from blood loss and his leg and shoulder was a nasty sight to look at, "Saur, use frenzy plant."

"Red, wait!" Blue and Green simultaneously shouted.

 _Too late._

The floor burst apart and vines writhed and coiled around the four admins and their pokemon. The thick green coils constricted them so tightly a few ribs were cracked. Petrel spat out blood and screamed for mercy, as ominous shattering sounds issued from his body. Once they quartet and their monsters were completely still, they were violently dropped to the floor. The champion took no notice as he was trying to stem Gold's wounds. A bit shocked by the spectacle played out before her, Crystal slid to the floor and recalled her pokemon; she ordered her barely surviving mega to release some healing spores on her unconscious friend. Blue moved closer to her and enquired about her adopted brother. All Crys knew was that he ventured off alone to complete a task he set his mind to.

Silver noted how the aisles were all deserted, the only thing keeping him company was the cameras and the electrical drone of machines. His senses were all alert and smoothly he traversed from one corridor to another as he sought the man he was looking for. This area must be restricted and only accessible to the administrators, atrocious pokemon experiments were probably also carried out behind these metallic walls. Running, he came to a crashing stop when two individuals and their pokemon stood their ground before him.

"Prepare for trouble" the woman began and struck a pose.

"And make it double," the man echoed.

"To protect the world with devastation"

"To unite all people within our nation"

"To denounce the evil of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!" the female introduced herself with a dramatic flair.

"James!" the male followed suit.

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meow" the little meowth between them licked its paws.

He stared at them, half waiting for the cat to start spouting some nonsense in English, when it became apparent that no, the meowth can't speak, he calmed down and glared at the offending duo.

"What is this?" he snarled and the two hugged each other with comical terror, "a freak show? Out of my way, I have some unfinished business with my dad!" Bowing humbly, the two opened up a path and he regally brushed past them.

"I didn't know boss had a son" James commented when the youth had left.

"We don't know a lot of things James including how to do our job." Jessie slumped to the floor.

Sitting on his wing backed chair, Giovanni listened to the cacophony brewing outside and stroked his Persian's head in a lazy manner. He was aware that some teenagers had broken into their headquarters but he did not mind. Most likely it was the black haired youth who shamed him a few years ago. Persian purred and stretched, getting up, the feline turned on its spot a few times then snuggled back into its owners lap and emitted a satisfied meow when its human began stroking it again. The head of Team Rocket was well prepared to deal with anyone wanting to tear his empire down. He heard the door creaking and got up from the chair, his opponent must be worthy if he got past the Rocket executives, in that case, the enemy deserved to be greeted courteously. The man smiled down at the nidoqueen secured in his palm.

The double doors creaked open and a figure stepped in.

"Hello father." the red head greeted.

* * *

His hand went slack and the pokeball fell from his palm and onto the wooden table, from there it rolled to the floor and came to a stop at Silver's feet.

"I...I've been looking everywhere for you...Son." the boss faltered, he took note of his son's features, his red hair was long, falling below his shoulders, sharp silver eyes peeked beneath messy bangs and his face was set into a sneer.

"Looking for me? Why? I periodically announce my presence on television, I'm sure the news reports me doing one thing or the other right?" The young male spread his hands apart and glared, "I found it funny that other people concern themselves over me more than you."

Giovanni couldn't speak, he simply stared at his shoes, the scorn in his son's voice was tangible.

"And now, I'd like to hand you over to the police" the man looked up in shock, "your time to stand at the top is over."

"What are you saying?" Team Rocket leader's voice had a dangerous edge to it, "do you think I'll just do as you say and step down simply because you asked me to? Son, that's not how it works here, I'll defeat you and take you in. Remember those with power always rule."

The teenager trembled, "power...Power you say? Is that why you are using weapons now? Because the pokemon partners are too weak? Ha, you are a funny one... father. You as an individual is weak, to have senior Red take you down while he was running around competing with gyms? Pretty pathetic if you ask me, you hide behind the face of your organization and you go by reputation alone...And cheap tricks it seems like." He eyed the way rhyhorn was stomping on weavile; the dark pokemon uttered a pained cry and fainted.

"You are not making any sense child and as your parent, I'll drill some common sense into your head. Also you should stop mixing with bad crowds...Rhyhorn, rock blast.

"What wrong crowds? Those people...Care about me more than you ever will! Gyarados, thrash"

The red atrocious pokemon started to bash his head against any solid surface in the room. The oak desk splintered, glass cabinets shattered, walls were cracked and in the midst of it all rhyhorn fainted. Giovanni side stepped as the shiny monster rammed its head into a steel cupboard set to the back. The chamber, once neat and tidy, now resembled a ransacked room. Finally, gyarados exhausted its energy and flopped tiredly to the floor. Both pokemon were returned and new ones sent out.

"Kangaskhan and Nidorino use mega punch and horn attack."

"Feraligatr, superpower go!" lumbering at an astonishing speed towards its opponent, the crocodile met the mega punch with a fist; its arms bulged from effort, veins distending visibly. With and almighty roar, it pushed kangaskhan back and the parent pokemon lurched backwards and fell, it was unable to battle. A sharp stab to the big jaw pokemon's side had it growling in fury, it lashed its claws out, caught the poisonous beast by the ear and flung it away. Stomping its feet, the water type bulked itself up and roared, causing the nidorino to flatten its ears against its head. A stream of boiling water hit it and the barbs on its back emitted steam.

"Good," the red head praised, "now use hyper beam." The energy in Giovanni's body left him as he beheld his squirming pokemon being incinerated in a blinding white light; the smoky silhouette within the column distorted and eventually vanished all together. When he tried to recall his pokemon, all he saw was a blanched skeleton. His son... _Son_ had gotten rid of his pokemon.

"Remember, those with power always rule was it?" An ugly grin had plastered itself over his son's handsome face; the boss was getting dizzy, very dizzy. Everything was turning around him, once he dropped to the floor; Silver went over and retrieved the tranquilizer dart he shot earlier. He stared at his father's fallen figure and his expression turned to one of utmost sorrow.

"...He never treated me like a son anyway" he muttered to himself, "didn't even care if I existed or not." Heaving the prone body on his back, the male failed to see a lone picture of a smiling man holding up a red headed child. Although, even if he did, the deed was already done.

And cruelly so.

The next day

Johto

Mahogany Town

Falkner was shocked to see Team Rocket's elites all unconscious and bunched together in front of the local police station. He was just going to open up the building when he was subjected to such a sight. Holding the baton in one hand, he advanced cautiously and came to a stop before the five individuals. All of them, except for Giovanni, sported various wounds on their body, slowly, he encircled the group to look for any other evidence, and found three small cards laid out near the bodies. Gingerly picking them up, he looked at the stiff white pieces of paper and his eyebrows furrowed. The three cards depicted strange images, One half of the cards had a pictures of two maroon swords, crossed over each other, a lime green chess piece and a cluster of dark blue stars. The other half sported portraits of various pokemon. Turning them over he gaped at the back, which was left blank save for a single letter written in fancy script, an E, S and a C.

The police officer diligently searched their bodies two more times, alas, he came up with nothing.

* * *

Present day, evening

Johto

Dex criminal's new hideout

A loud cheer resounding through the base forced his drooping eyelids to snap back to their respective place, if the noise levels were any indication, it seems as if Gold and Red were back. A half-smile formed on his face and he curled up further. He was in no mood to join their festivities. What he did that day still haunted him somewhat, but at least they were wiped out of existence, to him, no other criminal organization would be as bad as the one his father created. He and Blue were kidnapped by them at a very young age and the acts performed on him had scarred his young mind. The satisfaction of putting his father in his place outweighed all other negative aspects of his inhumane deeds. At least, that is what he kept on telling himself. He was birthed by a criminal, he'll die a criminal and there is nothing to it.

"Might is right." he mumbled and looked at the small brass plaque in his hand; he picked it off his father's desk all those years ago.

"Oh man I smell depression in here! Silver, what on earth are you doing? Can't you even welcome your friend back?" Gold sauntered in and began tugging the red head off the couch. "Come ON! Senior Red is back and so is your sister, everybody is back! Today was supposed to be our reunion remember? Crystal is worrying her hat off for you!" Giving up the tug-of-war, he allowed Gold to drag him to the kitchen were raucous laughter was spilling out. The doors opened and he looked at all the warm smiles given to him by his juniors and seniors, bad ruminations forgotten, he took his seat next to Blue and contently started eating.

Maybe being a criminal was not so bad after all.

* * *

 **A/N:** So sorry for disappearing from the face of the earth for so long! I was away on a vacation. But now I'm back! To all those who read and reviewed the first arc, I give you my utmost gratitude, those reviews were very motivating and fun to read. Virtual Devil's food cake to you all. At Jack54311: Misty joining the team, that would be a terrific twist no? Does she join them? Heheheh. At Eevee: Once again, I'm dedicating this chapter to you, (to be honest, it was your latest review which spurred me on to post this chapter) your concern is heartwarming and your reviews cracking. I hope you enjoy this chapter. To the readers: Updates will be back on schedule again. Please read and review, as usual constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. And so is crackpot theories...

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, merely this story. The arc introductory quote is by Julia Abigail Fletcher Carney**


	23. Throwing an anchor

**Chapter 23: Throwing an anchor**

Morning

Mahogany Town

Dex criminal's hideout

The soft thuds of pots and pans hitting a carpeted floor prompted Red to look up from his work. He noted how Diamond stared helplessly at the fallen utensils instead of picking them up. Easing himself off the chair, the ebony haired man went over and picked them up; his underling shifted his blue irises to his leader and gaped. Clutching a spoon in one hand, the child switched on the stoves and waited, his eyes reflected dancing blue flames.

"Dia, are you feeling okay?"

"Mmmm okay." he spoke, his words slurring incomprehensibly. The boy tried to say something else, his lips moved but only warbled sounds came out. Ignoring his senior, he pulled a pan over the stoves and drizzled oil on the surface. As he lifted his spoon, the grip on the cutlery slackened and now the spoon fell to the floor. Muttering to himself the boy bent down and instead of picking it up, he keeled over and lay motionlessly on the carpet. Red watched him, apprehension ballooning in his chest. He was well aware that Diamond's condition was not fully medicated but to see his little pupil in such a state was tearing him up inside. The boy couldn't speak properly, he always dropped things and his empathic skills, which were in the top tier in the organization, was lacking. After suffering that skull crushing blow from Mewtwo six months ago, Dia had fallen into a coma and had undergone several operations and therapies. The Sinnoh native had woken up and insisted on attending the reunion and straightaway it was apparent Diamond he was not the same. Platina had informed the three leaders that he is still undergoing treatment in one of the most reputable hospitals in Unova. Right now, the child was sent home to Sinnoh with medications and the doctors were trying to rehabilitate him. It was still quite some time before he will be able to function on his own, he was not allowed to battle and someone was required to stay near him at all times.

"You must be tired," the leader of the group bent down and scooped the warbling boy up in his arms. Diamond thrashed and made some noise before quieting down and blinking confusedly at his senior."

"Senior Redd...Wherre are you taking me?"

"Back to bed for you Dia" the adolescent stated kindly, "yesterday night must have been quite tiring for you, you were singing at the top of your voice with Pearl and Gold remember?" The boy merely looked at him owlishly.

"I don don't remember...Mmm...Mom said I should start counting the berries growing on our berry tree. We have a berry tree in our garden Red...You should visit one day, I'll ask Mom to make a berry grll...Grill. Her berry grill is the best, mmm...I'm hungry."

"Should I get you something to eat? I'm sure I can make a decent sandwich."

Diamond laughed at this, Red had put him down on one of the chairs and the teenager swung his legs back and forth and giggled. Pulling his cap off, the red eyed man smiled and began working. His subordinate was humming a little ditty and he listened as he worked. The clock ticked and soon Gold and Lack-2 swaggered into the area, both boys hauled themselves to the couch in front of the television and switched it on, soon a mini argument started brewing as they tugged for the remote, each wanting to watch a program of their choice. The second youngest trainer, mildly disturbed by their rising voices stuck his fingers in his ears and hummed louder. Eventually the pulling turned into a brawl and the mentor-student pair started tumbling over each other on the rug. Seeing this, the black haired boy cheered indolently and approached them with the intention of joining in. Rude words flew from the tussling pair and Red, who was watching the proceedings, became alarmed when Dia dragged his feet to the group. Throwing everything down, he forced the screeching Lack-2 and Gold apart.

"Dialga's sake you two, it's early in the morning! Don't cause such a ruckus you will wake Black up; and besides I'd appreciate it if you could show some restraint, remember Dia is still sick." he admonished

"I'm fineee, really!"

The scolded duo glanced at each other and then at their leader who gazed sternly down at them. Bowing, they mumbled apologies and raised themselves off the floor, dusting their clothes off, they reseated on the couch. This time Diamond sat in between them. Switching on television, Gold flipped through several channels and halted when Diamond made a noise, the boy tried saying something and after several attempts he finally worded a request, his fingers twiddling nervously.

"I want to...watch...this."

Lack-2 glimpsed the screen and his eyes flickered back and forth between the monitor and his childish seniors. Both of them sported zany smiles and his teacher outright fist pumped when the Poke-Gundam smashed a building down. Turning his head back, he observed his commander was also engrossed in the cartoon. The four of them watched and when the ending credits rolled by, he was acutely aware of Gold and Diamond singing along at the top of their voice. Black, who was asleep on the second floor, had woken up and leaned over the railings glaring at them all, his brown hair was stuck up in odd spikes and he had the flower patterned pokemon resting on his head.

"I'm trying to sleep! Geez have some thought for other people will you? I was up late at night trying to developing strategies to deal with legendary pokemon and I finally got a nice one which minimizes collateral damage...Ah my notes are all scattered beneath my desk, I'll give them to senior Green to analyze later...And is our leader making breakfast?" All this was delivered in a loud tone and those on the first floor winced as his voice steadily got louder with each word.

"Yeah" mumbled Red, "is there something wrong?"

"N-no sir...I look forward to eating whatever edible things you put on the table." The brown haired quickly stated and disappeared from view.

"Senior Red can't cook?" Lack-2 voiced out clamorously and watched in satisfaction as his commander flushed. Gold raised a fist and bumped the child on his head, the russet eyed youth ducked in time. "I'm surprised though, I heard you lived alone all your life and...Really? You can't cook?" A wide mischievous smirk formed on his face and Red's Pika scampered out of nowhere and attempted to tackle Lack-2. The boy sprang from the couch and smoothly dodged to the side; both the pokemon and the occupants in the room beheld him in awe.

Except Red, who was trying his best to chop an onion without crying.

"You are surprisingly agile on your feet." The gold eyed trainer commented as Pika and his apprentice flitted around the room. The electric mouse squeaked in indignation and let loose a thunderbolt. To the astonishment of all, the cinnamon haired boy managed to side step just in time. The smirk on his face grew wider as even Red stopped tackling the onion to gape at him.

Pika had enough.

With a roaring squeak, the yellow rodent let loose a deafening thunder, striking Gold, its master and Lack-2. The lightning graciously missed Diamond who was rolling the floor, laughing. A shout from upstairs relayed that Black was not spared of the electric mouse's wrath. Satisfied, it hopped out of the room. Red moaned and put the knife down; he started fixing his electrified hair. The Johto native was doing the same as well. As for the young Unovian, the boy's hair was sticking up like a brown halo and he gritted his teeth. Before anyone could have a look at his twisted expression, he smoothed his face and ran a hand through his disheveled hair.

"Well, at least we were entertainment for Dia" Gold stated and dropped to the floor. If Red was making food today, they'll need another half a day before breakfast was ready. Stating that he was going to nap on the rug, he lied down and closed his eyes.

Execution's commander swore, he was still having a difficult time with the onion.

* * *

Mid-morning

Hoenn

A meeting room

Steven stone placed four video discs on the table, each of them were labeled. One of them read Team Aqua and Magma, another one read Team Plasma, a third one had Team Galactic and the fourth one was left blank. The other people seated around the room grabbed the discs and examined them. Cynthia tossed him the first disk and asked him to play the contents. The adolescent got up and inserted the disc into a player, the large monitor blinked to life and the police officers leaned back in their seats and watched.

At first there was only static and then the footage showed a clear image of a rocket launching session. The crowds shouted elatedly and a countdown began. Once the number reached zero, the camera zoomed up to the rocket, instead of a burst of smoke and fire announcing the takeoff, a loud noise assaulted their ears and a rough voice spoke up. It told the assembly not to panic. Droves of maroon and blue uniformed personnel swarmed in the area and released their fire and water based pokemon, subtly threatening the audience not to make a move. Another team entered the secured area and started commanding their monsters to tear the rocket apart. Aron and its family of metal eaters reduced the spacecraft into nothing in several short hours. The two external torpedo shaped fuel tanks and the interior spherical one was carefully dragged away by camerupt, claydol and baltoys. Thereafter a large explosion was detonated; the launch base crumpled and steel pipes and girders fell to the earth dispersing the crowd in a panic. The event was so masterfully executed that the local police could do nothing. The platinum haired female grimaced and looked away.

"Can we watch the next one?" yawned Volkner. Surge imparted a disgusted look at him and flipped the disc he was holding.

"Put that in next."

Right away the screen showed a large ship flying in the sky. Baffled, the officers leaned forward in their chairs and for the first time in many ages Volkner's look of apathetic boredom morphed into fascination. His eyes widened and he tethered to the edge of his seat. The enormous ship was flying over the mountain ranges of Unova and one could see the snowcapped peaks. Some distance later, the craft released its sailcloth and descended slowly into a huge body of water, an ocean no doubt. Oars were lowered into the water and the vessel was rowed near a shore and anchored. The monitor went blank and shifted in perspective, the surroundings were pitch dark, muffled words could be heard and suddenly a light was switched on. A young adult with green tea hair was smiling and pushing his face right in the camera. The blonde recoiled and hissed:

"What's his problem?"

"Quiet!" his superior snapped.

N finally angled the camera away from his face and started talking.

"Father is not here today," they adolescent sounded sad, "he urged me to keep a video diary of what I do each day so...Zorua wait, this is important we can play later..."

"I didn't actually believe it when you told me he talks to pokemon" Cynthia's irises grew big, "now I'm seeing it with my own eyes."

The slate eyed youth resumed talking: "Let's see, I'm in the new headquarters of Team Plasma," the camera panned and showed cream colored walls and Greek styled pillars holding up the roof, "Today I was trying to coax Kyurem out of the stone again but to no avail, he won't respond to me no matter how much I call. Dad is constructing this new base and asked me to keep watch here, the ship is not enough now that we have more members signing up for our cause. I'm glad the people of Unova are starting to see our ideals, we have no right to keep pokemon cooped up in..." The screen went blank.

"What happened?"

"I assume someone cut the connection abruptly. More importantly our suspicions are confirmed, those people are building a fancy new castle for themselves somewhere in Unova, we need to send out troops in order to determine where it's situated." Falkner tiredly replied. "We will view the last two discs later, the unnamed disc contains information on the Dex criminals and it hasn't been updated yet."

A few grumbles were heard in the room.

"Now for the purpose of our gathering here today. After the fiasco in Kanto, the Dex criminals are assumed to have disbanded; we haven't found any of their calling cards after investigating the crimes happening in the different regions. These new teams seem to take the center stage now and considering how the local police were unable to handle the situation on their own, I'm proposing a joint team consisting of gym leaders and police agents." Norman and Volkner glowered at the cyan haired deputy, "...I mean that gym leaders who are not part of the international police will also be required to help out in the field. We international agents are not always available to deal with local crimes so this project has been suggested by the chief. It is an inter-regional effort and we already contacted the other region's champions and leading authorities to gain their consent." Falkner shuffled the documents in his hands and extracted a paper, "unfortunately Kalos and Alola politely refused. Kalos stated that they already have the chief of the international police operating in their region whilst Alola added they can't take part due to lack of gym leaders...As for Ransei...Lord Nobunaga personally video called me to remind me that the nobles are above ordinary people. So yes, no co-operation from them.

"Hmph! All they do is eat rice with gold plated chopsticks and shove all their problems to us, just because Arceus rests in their region doesn't mean the rest of us are scum!" Lt. Surge roared.

"We are still trying to locate the missing legendary pokemon and the youth shown on the video just now. It seems Looker has some information for us."

The man in the trench coat shuffled and placed a sheaf of papers on the table. He began to speak: "It is rumored the green haired young man is the King of Team Plasma, as mentioned, he goes by the name of N and can communicate with pokemon. This villainous group is supported by seven sages acting as the back bone; their names are Gorm, Bronius, Rood, Zinzolin, Giallo, Ryoku and Ghetsis. It seems this Ghetsis is a father figure to N. Their members are mostly dressed as either medieval styled knights or as black clothed pirates. A floating ship anchored near Route twenty one acts as their base of operations."

"Hold on," Cynthia cut in, "how do you know all this?"

"Boss mailed it too-"

"He keeps in contact with you?" The blonde woman quizzed.

"Yes" Looker replied "He drops by my house at random times and he gathered all of this information himself. He says he could do so since the main targets are not so active anymore."

"I see...we should thank him for his hard work." Falkner nodded his head and the burly male crossed his arms and snorted.

"For the main discussion, Steven, please open the doors and welcome the gym leaders in and Norman, switch on all the monitors will you? Please?" The two went about their respective jobs, the screens came alive and the champions of each region greeted. Inside the meeting chamber, Hoenn's gym leaders all squeezed in and took a seat. The atmosphere inside the room became cramped and humid. Laughter spilled as old friends met, fists were bumped and compliments exchanged. From one of the monitors, Iris excitedly waved at Cynthia who smiled back. Kanto's champion was already replaced by a new person, Lance the dragon tamer; he was the previous title holder before Red.

"Please calm down we have important matters to discuss." Falkner sat next to Steven and initialized the meeting, once the din died down, the young champion related the need for co-operation across all regions, he implored his own gym leaders to take up on the offer.

"It's of utmost importance, you saw how easily they managed to hijack the rocket and steal its fuel. The local police are on their trail but to no avail, these two teams have hidden themselves quite cleverly, it is up to us, who possess power, to do our duty. You can still go about your professions as a gym leader, this is voluntary, we need a few gym leaders to accompany police at all times. I'm sad to report that the local police are not too great in terms of battling and handling situations where strong pokemon are involved."

The champions all agreed, they knew better than anyone about the pressure of keeping an entire region safe. However some of the gym leaders disagreed and others claimed they had demanding occupations. Only a handful stepped up and the rest left.

"I feel a bit disappointed" the steel eyed man mumbled as he eyed the twins before him, his gaze swept to Winona and Wallace who were also present.

"But we are one of the strongest gym leaders in the region Stevie" the young champion winced at the nickname Wallace had given him, "we can't force the others to co-operate can we? Besides when push comes to shove you will see all of them swarming together to defend Hoenn, don't be so down!"

"We are trying to prevent a disaster, not to wait for one and then band together, the situation may already be too dire to handle when the time comes."

"As I expected, co-operation will be difficult" the flying type gym leader from Johto muttered, "but we already have a few willing to help so I say we make do with whomever we have." Turning to the motely group, the vice bowed and uttered his gratitude, "we are thankful for your help, please assist us when the time comes." Exchanging pleasantries the volunteers left and Steven heaved a sigh, he loosened the collar of his shirt and fanned himself.

"We don't have time to relax." Sinnoh's champion abruptly broke the silence. "I'll be returning to my home region to conduct some investigation on my own. Steven, when you are done here, go to Sinnoh as well. Meet me in Celestic town." Imparting these words, she got up regally from her chair and left the room.

* * *

Afternoon

Mahogany Town

Underneath the souvenir shop.

Cramming the sandwich in this mouth, Red focused on the screen before him and typed out a few words. A while after he finally managed to make breakfast, Green had called him to strategy's meeting room to discuss some matters. Once he got there, the brunette was nowhere to be seen. Not really in the mood to wander around and search for his friend, he brought a plate of sandwiches, sat down in one of the chairs and began reading the news on one of the several laptops placed on the table. His chewing halted as red pigmented eyes skimmed over an article, apparently the pokemon leaders association replaced Red as the champion of the league. Lance's spiked hair and stiff smile were littered across the news article. The man blinked and wondered why he didn't feel a bit of remorse. He worked really hard to stand at the top, only to come tumbling down on his own. Memories of being lectured on etiquette, thrust into battle simulators for as long as twelve hours a day, surfaced in his mind and his face turned dark. According to the higher ups, he was a natural at battling and his potential far surpassed anyone else who came across them. Johto's champion had to step down and all new challengers were encouraged to go to Kanto to compete. Both regions' victory roads were slated to be redesigned with him in mind. He saw the plans and that was the first time he took flight. It only lasted for a day though, guilty conscious forced him back.

Then he met Gold.

The upstart had no ambition in mind, he swaggered into the champion's arena and Red practically glared at him, hostility rolling off in waves. Deciding to crush the teenager's listless optimism (and why did this amber eyed youth remind him of himself?) he let loose his pokemon and turned his back. His partners knew what to do; he didn't need to command them. One intense battle later he was surprised when the challenger actually beat him.

Red felt happy. He was elated beyond words there was someone of his level, someone whom he could enjoy a battle with

His elation did not last.

Gold's victory over him was kept a secret, the boy himself was being accused of cheating in the challenge (because who can win against someone who spends days on end in a nonstop virtual battle?) and Red was once again jailed to his spot. The night Gold was supposed to be sent home on the basis that he never participate in another competition ever again, Red broke out from his confinement (lavish confinement he might add) and offered the sulking teenager a proposition. The duo escaped and bit by bit Red stopped going to the league altogether. He had a little family to come home to now.

Losing his title didn't evoke any negative emotions from him, in fact a sense of content settled in his chest.

"Why are you getting bread crumbs all over the laptop keyboard Red?" Green's voice cut through his happy musings. "I spent a fortune on them, don't get them dirty." The brunette sat opposite his friend and observed him, "and why do you look so happy?"

"I just got replaced as a champion, isn't that great?"

"Black would weep for you" the jade eyed male stated and flashed a wry smile. Blue came in a few seconds later and crashed next to Red, the black haired male offered her his platter and after eyeing it disturbingly, she politely refused. Pushing the laptop aside, the three started discussing future goals and projects.

"Well, I found a bit of information about this N guy after I spent a month at Unova," Blue related and placed several papers on the table, "He is the king of some sort of criminal organization and he's somewhere in Unova, as much as I tried, I was unable to pin down his location. I don't want to send anyone after him when we don't even know his location." She bit her lip and exhaled, "I'm not sure what to do though."

"I want to send Dia, Pearl and Platinum back to Sinnoh" Red spoke up quietly and his best friends looked at him, "Dia...Still needs to complete his rehabilitation...I'm worried for his health. You guys understand, don't you? The poor boy almost died...no...He died but a time slip prevented the worst from happening."

"What will you do Red, if the child does not recover completely?"

"GREEN!" hissed Blue "be more sensitive will you?! It's not like Red never thought about it."

The man tugged at his cap, pulling it over his eyes. "I...I'll...I don't know." he deflated and his jaw tightened, the surroundings seemed to swim before him. "I really won't know what to do then." he whispered and his leaned back, shoulders drooping with depression. The brunette female gave Green a pointed stare.

"We can't run away from our problems like that. Alright, the Sinnoh trio will be sent home and they will only return when Diamond has fully recovered. I read the doctor's reports, according to them, he is making remarkable progress. It seems they are using a new therapy on him, something along the lines of having psychic types enhancing the neurons that were left unharmed. They can't do anything about the ones which are dead, however, with proper stimulation, the remaining ones will be able to create new pathways and reduce his damaged state."

"You way of trying to comfort someone is so lacking Green, Red didn't even crack a smile."

"Quiet pesky woman! Not my fault he doesn't even understand half of what I'm saying."

"I don't actually," the mute adolescent spoke up.

The pseudo professor sat back down on his seat and scribbled something on a piece of paper. "Have White and Black go to Unova to search for this N, it's their home region and I'm sure they will appreciate it. They can scout the region for any signs of him, if they find him great, if they don't, they will have to come back empty handed. Red, here are the mission protocols, give it to Black, I'll make another copy and send it to White." The adolescent took the paper and scanned it, after shrugging helplessly he shuffled out of the room.

"I'm worried about him." Blue took off her hat and slumped on the table, "I hate it when he enters into that dejected mode of his...Ugh Green do something! He's supposed to be the closest to you, cheer him up!"

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying my best...leave him be. Red will be like that for a few days and eventually he'll let up. He needs some time to calm down. Anyway, you promised me those creation myths you managed to steal from Sinnoh? I'm still waiting for them."

"Oops~" the woman made an exaggerated motion and leapt up from her seat, "I still have them in my bag. Be right back." She practically flew off and left the brooding male to stew into his thoughts. Strategy's commander sighed heavily and stared at the potted plant.

The plant mocked him for being so complicated.

In executions room:

"Yahoo! So it's only me and the Prez?" Red nodded "and we can do anything we like?" another nod. Finally Black asked in a skeptical tone, "Is this for real? Senior Green isn't going to saddle us with something difficult when we get there is he?"

"Nope, I don't think so." the leader replied and dropped languidly into a couch, "we are not aware of our target's whereabouts so the mission is sort of a half vacation for you two. I think he liked your battle strategies so he's being lenient. You deserve a holiday don't you? I mean, you work so diligently Black."

The youngster blushed with happiness at the compliments and took off at breakneck speed, no doubt to tell his friends about the good news. Musha frantically followed its trainer, trailing a thin mist of fuchsia smoke along the way. Saph was in the corner of the room; Red watched her as she leapt up in the air and executed a devastating kick on her worn sandbag. Blaziken followed suit and an arc of flames writhed and dissipated in the air. The plush cushion depressed and the male turned to see Gold, with towel around his neck, sitting next to him.

"...Senior...there is something bothering you isn't there?" The adolescent's eyes were uncharacteristically somber.

"..."

"Diamond's gonna be fine, he was wandering around the corridors last night so I took him to my room and he slept there. So...don't worry, things will work ou-" he stopped when the older man start laughing. "...did I say something weird?"

"No Gold" his senior gasped, "it's just...I appreciate you trying to cheer me up. Green is horrible at this..." he calmed down and smiled bitterly "Dia is going home till his condition improves. Ah, Thanks for taking care of him...I guess I'll miss training him."

"I could do with some lessons...Gold offered and grinned mischievously." The two continued to talk whilst Lack-2 eavesdropped on their conversation. Copper tinted eyes pinned the duo with an enigmatic gaze.

* * *

 **A/N** : Eh...no crackpot theories to get my brain boiling? That's just sad. Anyway, much thanks to Jack54311 and sileaf for reviewing/ alerting the story. At Jack54311: Silver is Giovanni's son, it's canon in the manga. As for Eevee's question (which I forgot to answer in the last chapter) Dark Mewtwo was the experiment Green conducted with the cloned mewtwo...basically a black homicidal mewtwo who's got issues with his creator. Hope that answers your question. Anyway, please keep on reading and reviewing, is the story good? Bad? Drop a line of your thoughts. And virtual cookies for all (unless you prefer cake then please tell me)


	24. Nostalgic footprints

**Chapter 24: Nostalgic footprints**

Night

Sinnoh

Twinleaf Town, Diamond's house

He really didn't understand what all the fuss was about. A few days after their reunion, Red told him that he was going home. Didn't his senior want him around? Sitting on a chair, he nibbled on a berry and tried to think, but his head hurt badly. Lax was sitting next to him, putting a variety of berries down on the table; Diamond ignored him and scrunched up his face in thought. It didn't register when the berry in his hands dropped to the floor.

It seemed like a lot of people were carrying him around. Gold picked him up in the corridors when he goes on midnight strolls, Red scooped him up from the floor, Senior Black screeched in fright and stopped him from clambering over the railings on the second floor. Saph too, put down the roaring, glorious orange flames emitting from his pan. If he walked one way, Pearl or Miss Platina would steer him in another direction. He winced, just trying to remember all of this was hurting his brain. Spacing out, he grabbed a rice ball and started eating it. Blue eyes focused on the clock and he watched the seconds tick by with great interest. The sound of a door opening and shutting prompted no reaction and soon his mother walked in the living room and hugged him tightly. Again, he didn't understand why she did that...he was only away for a few days...Shoving the food into his mouth, he turned towards her and attempted to speak:

"Mommy...my head hurts..." her large eyes widened and she rushed to the telephone, after speaking rapidly to the person listening on the other end, she came back with a smile on her face and assured him that everything is going to be alright, she called someone to help take the pain away.

Dia simply stared, mouth slightly agape. He was no genius by why did mom's smile look a bit stretched? Did her tummy hurt? Was she scared of something?

Why did he think that?

His legs stopped their swinging motion and he hopped off the chair. Trepidation took hold of Diamond's mother as she watched her son tardily make his way to the basin and fill a glass up with water. He came back and in the process of handing it to her, the glass slipped and shattered on the floor. No astonishment or shock showed on her Dia's face, he angled his head down and gawped. Muttering an apology, he bent down and began picking the pieces up. Alarmed, she did the same and told him to go watch television instead. He ignored her and carried on with what he was doing.

"S...Sorry for breakin it." his words slurred.

"Its fine Dia, Mommy will take care of these glass shards, you go change, your clothes are a bit wet right? The doctor will be here to see you shortly."

Half an hour later, Diamond was still struggling to secure the belt around his waist; he refused when his mother knocked on the door and offered help. He didn't need any. Finally, he managed to haphazardly buckle it up and he stumbled in the living room. A team of white clothed men showed him stiff smiles, he eyed the various chinglings and chimecho's levitating around the room. The gnawing anxiety in his mind melted away when their bells produced a pleasant sound. He was guided to the couch and the doctor started asking him a few questions and he answered them to the best of his ability:

"So Diamond, how are you feeling today?"

"Great! I had a head...ache a few minutes ago, but the pain flew...away."

"That is some good news" the man praised and wrote down something on a clip board, "has anything interesting happened so far?"

"Nnn, I broke... a glass today and water splashed...on my clothes...And I put on a belt...the right way" he showed the questioner the fruit of his results.

"Lovely," the psychic pokemon had started releasing waves, "do you remember what you were doing last week?"

"I was...I was..." he trailed off

" _Hello Diamond!" Red's voice was loud in his ears and he returned the greeting, the black haired trainer grabbed hold of his hand and seated him, thereafter he began pushing all sorts of delicious looking food and snacks. Elated, he grabbed hold of several cupcakes and ate them all with glee. Pearl came running inside the kitchen several seconds later and admonished him for walking away without supervision. He paid no attention to his screaming best friend. Sometime later, the large kitchen began filling up with people and chatter as more friends poured in. He was gifted with a set of expensive chocolates by Blue and his leader gave him a pair of fingerless gloves. Happy beyond belief, he stopped eating to try the gloves out, they fit him perfectly.._.the rest of the time passed by in a jubilant haze... _Then he remembered warbling a few songs on a karaoke machine with Pearl, Gold and Black..._ Who else? _Oh yes, Blue, Ruby and Emerald. It was a memorable time..._

"I was having... a fun time with Senior Red and the others." he eventually remembered and smiled.

"Who is senior Red?" the doctor kindly queried

"He..." _Is the champion of Kanto._

For some reason, the nagging feeling of putting someone in danger assaulted him so he kept quiet.

"You don't remember?" Concern was marring the stranger and his mother's faces once more.

"He is uh...A friend, like Pearl and Miss Platina. We are friends, um, he's my senior and he helps train...me in pokemon battling."

Diamond suddenly remembered and his head buzzed.

Morning of the same day

Sinnoh, Fight area

Battle Frontier, Battle tower.

Pearl ignored his rambling father in order to stare outside the room's window. From this height, the view was absolutely wonderful. He was able to see all the way to the rocky slopes of the little island and how the white foamed waves crashed against the hard rock. Last night, Palmer had come home like a bolt from the blue. And before dawn even set in, he woke Pearl up and together they flew towards the Fight area. The teenager was in no mood for pokemon battling and his father's over eagerness was irksome. Casting a bored gaze around the decorated room, he went to the back and sat down mirthlessly. Palmer, knowing exactly why his son's mood was so sour eventually stopped his non-stop blathering and proposed a battle.

"I don't feel like it." came the bland response.

"Come on, you'll feel better," the older blonde urged. Gritting his teeth and showing a fierce expression, the boy got up from his sitting position and took a stance on the brick patterned floor. He let the flaming monkey go first.

"Chimhiko, Mach punch." The beast ran on all four limbs with blinding speed and smashed a fist on the opposing milotic's head. Enduring the attack, milotic's tail stiffened and with a swipe, it sent the fire cloaked creature careering into one of the stone statues placed around the arena. Before the pokemon could leap back into battle, the beautiful sea serpent charged and bashed its head against Chimhiko's abdomen. The monster coughed up stray flames and black smoke. Holding the milotic's head in a vice grip, the monkey dragged his claws against the scaly surface and ripped a few multicolored scales in the process. Sharp claws dug into the flimsy skin below and blue blood seeped out, coloring the attacking paw and surrounding scales. The tender pokemon thrashed its tail on the floor in agony, cracking the ground in a few places. Writhing, it detangled itself and opened its mouth.

"Hydro pump." Palmer issued the command with a solemn tone; his coat tails blew dramatically in a slight breeze. A gush of water washed over Chimhiko and with a pathetic chatter the pokemon fainted. Letting out a defeated sigh, Pearl whirled around and marched back to his place. His father followed him and sat down on the floor. A tense silence stretched between the two.

"Diamond is trying his best to get better, its best not to interfere with his treatment." The battle tycoon shattered the silence.

"I'm not going to interfere!" the younger blonde exclaimed angrily, "I just want to be there for him."

"Be there for him and do what? His mother is already taking care of him, you being there won't change a thing and you will just impose on their hospitality."

"I..."

"Pearl...Dia is getting better; shouldn't you be trying to improve yourself as well? For you friends? There may come a time when they might all depend on you, will you let them down like the way you did to Chimhiko?" Palmer pressed his son with harsh words.

"Please stop" Pearl put his hands over his ears and shook his head. When he looked up again, there was resolve burning in his flame colored eyes. "I'll do this! I'm going to do this for my FRIENDS!" he screamed and pulled his sleeves down.

Way down below, the receptionist wondered why the building was shaking.

* * *

The next day, mid-afternoon

Unova

Humilau City

For White, it was a dream come true. They had arrived at Humilau via a cruise ship and as soon as they landed, Black had zoomed off to the gym in order to test the facilities out. White, having nothing to do, decided to comb the area and ask the local residents and tourists for any sign of her target. As she made up her mind and ascended the wooden boardwalk, she stilled. In front of one of the holiday huts, a figure clothed in blue rested on a deck chair. Even though the neighbors and other civilians might have not recognized him due to the fact that he had slightly altered his appearance, the chilly demeanor exuding from him was a dead giveaway. Forgetting her initial goal, she hiked up the wooden stairs enthusiastically and approached the frosty gym leader who was reading a newspaper. Giving a sunny smile she introduced herself:

"Hello, my name is White; I was a former employee at the BW agency. It is a great pleasure to meet you Mr. Brycen; may I please have your autograph?" She pulled out a blank sheet of paper and eagerly handed it to him. His azure tinted eyes inspected her critically before he grudgingly signed the paper. Delighted, she carefully filed it away after gazing at it in awe.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't spread the news around" his intoned, "I'm here for a much needed vacation, if you will excuse me..." and he went back to peering into the newspaper. The young female bowed once again and muttered her appreciation. Setting herself back on track, she decided to go about with her original duty. Pulling out a picture of N, she went to several socialites and other residents and politely asked them if they had seen the individual. Most shook their heads and claimed to never have seen the green haired youth. Others commented on how cute he looked and White twitched. Only one person seemed to have an inkling of who he was and she violently scowled at White's question.

"How do you know about this individual?" Skyla, who was also conducting an investigation bore down on her and queried.

The brown haired teenager did not know how to respond to such open hostility, maybe this woman thought they were related in some way? N was the lynchpin of some criminal organization. Thinking fast, her brain cobbled together a believable explanation on the spot, based on the information she heard from Silver, Blue and her own leader.

"I'm looking for this person because I heard that he is the leader of some ugly group of people who does bad things like stealing pokemon. From what I heard, he encourages all the people of Unova to give up their partners and to set them free. Some of his underlings even loot pokemon from trainers and research institutions..." All this was relayed in a falsely conflicted tone; White finished her sentence with a self-pitying smile. Bit by bit, she saw the tanned woman's face morph from skepticism to sorrow and understanding. The gym leader sighed and placed her gloved hands on the teenager's shoulders.

"I'll help you search for this individual; I'm part of the police and the name's Skyla. We are also looking for him and yes it is true, he is an awful person."

The chocolate haired trainer blanched at the proposition whilst Skyla was making preparations to leave. Police? What did she get herself into? Her mind flashed to Black who no doubt was having the time of his life challenging the water gym leader. She wondered if he was nearing the end of the challenge. Was he already engaging the leader to a battle? Or was he still getting there? Dread poured over like a bucket of icy cold water as the blue uniformed woman smiled at her kindly. She returned the gesture with a strained one of her own.

"I...Have a friend who is currently busy inside the gym...thank you for your offer but-"

"Don't worry!" The pilot brushed her ruddy bangs behind her ears, "we'll wait for your friend and the three of us can go together. I won't let youngsters like you be duped by those team Plasma jerks!"

"Ah...I'll just go and inform him then..." Dragging her boots down the walk, she listlessly pulled herself through the soft sand and entered the gym. At once, her ears were blasted with surf music, the electric guitar riffs seemed out of place with the harmonious setting inside the gym. False miniature islands were dotted over an expansive pool of water. This little sea was traversed by wooden boardwalks, a white-stone bride and enormous lily pads. Carefully navigating her way to the leader's arena, she stood one side and watched the proceedings with an enraptured gaze. Black was absolutely beautiful when he wasn't screaming or flailing around. She liked the easy going smile on his face when he battled. Right now, the dark skinned gym leader was cornering his opponent as the brown haired male weighed his options. On the field, Bo panted with effort, it had just finished crushing the sturdy shell of its enemy's carracosta. Bits of the ash colored exoskeleton were littered on the floor. The two sized each other up and sent out another pair of pokemon. A giant wailord crashed in the pool spraying water everywhere, Marlon chuckled and did a running leap to his pokemon, he ended up sliding on the whale's back. On Black's side, Brav beat the air on powerful wings.

"Brav, crush claw"

"Wailord, ice beam." Knowing if the attack hit, his eagle would crash and burn, he trusted his partner to avoid the attack. And avoid it did. White gasped as the bird flew straight in to the oncoming beam of ice and before the two collided, it swerved sharply to the side, tumbling elegantly. Extending its gleaming claws, the avian beast raked the surface of the whale's fattened skin, tearing through blubber. Wailord screeched and buckled and Marlon yelped, braviary flew out of the reach of a scalding burst of water. It circled near the roof of the gym and waited till its trainer gave a command. Keen hearing picked out Black's voice and after tucking its wings it, the bird dropped like a cannon ball on its target. The blue-white whale went under water and created a large wave, with a mournful bellow, it fainted.

"Man you are good!" Marlon praised and Black beamed, "say, why don't we both do a double battle for the last act?"

"It's fine by me! After all," the challenger took a deep breath and White's face morphed from elation to a slightly deadpan expression, "I"M GOING TO BECOME THE UNOVA POKEMON LEAGUE CHAMPION! YAAHOOO!" Galvantula clicked its mandible in agreement and musharna ignored battle protocols and floated to his trainer and began sucking his dreams in without permission. Seeing this, Marlon became a bit horrified, he eyed White.

"Uh, miss, is he gonna be okay?" The boy's eyes were turning mechanically blank and he uttered a string in unrelated words in a robotic manner. Running to him, White tugged the pink pokemon off him but the work has already been done.

"Mantine and jellicent. One is a flying-water type and the other is a water-ghost type. Water and flying types are especially vulnerable to electricity...the damage done is intensified four fold. Jellicent, ghost, normal type attacks won't work...Right."

The chocolate haired teenager issued a monotone order.

"Tula, thunder."

"Crap! Mantine do-"

A clump of dark clouds formed from thin air above mantine's hovering form. Multiple arcs of dazzling electricity struck it, throwing the arena into a world of black and white. The kite pokemon floated to the ground, electric burn marks crisscrossing its body. It was promptly secured into a capsule.

"Jellicent, confuse ray and Hex, thereafter use Trick room." The water type gym leader rattled off in one breath and the lone spectator clenched her hands, she seemed to have forgotten about the police officer waiting outside for her.

The ghost jellyfish fired invisible waves and it struck the electric spider accurately. Tula, who was scampering to its opponent promptly stopped in its tracks, it angled its head left and right and its eyes spun around in their sockets a few times. Slowly the insect turned around and started rushing to Black. The humungous spider climbed on its owner's back and placed yellow furred mandibles around the trainers slender neck. It squeezed. The little teeth lining the edges bit into soft human skin. Marlon watched with morbid fascination whilst White, eyes wide with horror, slid to the floor. The attacked trainer seemed not to have felt any pain. Sharp teeth punched and rivulets of blood flowed down Black's pale neck. In another second all of this stopped when hex was activated. Mauve flaming orbs encircled the trainer and spider, glavantula went rigid and it neatly fell off, thrashing its legs in the process.

It went still.

"Ghost type...weak to its own type and dark...Musha use hypnosis." Black chanted.

The surroundings suddenly turned bizarre. Instead of the surf music and calming scenery, it was replaced by an endless white space punctuated by door-esque boarders that were tilting. White shut her eyes; the image was making her dizzy. She listened to the two battlers in this way. Marlon managed to sap almost half of Musha's health and thanks to her best friend's strategizing skills, he retaliated with fury. The blue jellyfish was put to sleep, it was cursed and Musha happily sat on it and used Dream eater, the gym leader could only helplessly moan as he watched his prized ghost type get upended by a psychic. The fight ended, trick room dissolved and Black went back to normal. He pulled the collar of his shirt up to prevent people from seeing the bite marks on his skin. Humbly accepting the wave badge, the Unova natives went outside and the boy screamed out his desires once again. Seeing Skyla approach them from the Pokemon center, White hurriedly explained the circumstances to Black. He nodded in understanding and faced the police officer.

"Ma'am we are truly grateful for your help but we don't want to get in the way of your policing duties" he bowed, "I'm sorry for my friend bothering you, she is indeed searching for him but we have found no leads. At the moment White is going through some tough times so I coaxed her to come with me and visit the marine tube in Humilau City, please forgive us for being a nuisance." The duo performed another deep bow and Skyla smiled, they exchanged Xtransciever numbers and parted on good terms. After Skyla soared away on her swanna White thanked Black for bailing her out of a sticky situation.

"I'd do anything for you Prez" he smiled and she blushed.

Late afternoon

Marine tube

The semi-circle tube of toughened glass was situated under the ocean, connecting Undella Bay and Humilau City. Dazzled beyond comprehension, White could only stop and stare at the numerous water pokemon flitting about under water. The large shadow of a wailord swam overhead, droves of cherry colored luvdiscs flitted by. Herds of corsola settled down on reefs, supporting an entire ecosystem, allowing schools of basculin and feebas a home. Mantines floated with remoraids stuck to their underbelly or fins and mantykes performed acrobatics in the water, creating waves and bubbles. The girl was excitedly taking pictures with her camera, running after the pokemon she wanted to take a photo of. An octillery came up and she snapped an image, the startled pokemon squirted ink on the glass and propelled itself away. The surrounding water turned murky. As for her co-worker, he was furiously tailing an alomomola and trying to take notes. The aesthetics of the marine tube was totally lost on an obsessively goal driven guy such as him.

"Black, the point of this walk was to admire the undersea pokemon, not to take down notes."

"...So the pokemon is around 1, 2 meters tall, hmm do the fins count?" a deep furrow formed on his forehead, "uh Prez, were you saying something?"

"Nothing, never mind" White waved her concerns away, "let's enjoy the rest of the marine tube okay? There is some beautiful pokemon talent just waiting to be discovered, oh look at how the frillish is dancing around its partner!" she squealed happily and took another picture.

"Um yeah," the male scratched his head with the pen in his hand, "...the alomomola...cripes it's gone! NOOO!"

* * *

Evening

Sinnoh

Sandgem Town, Berlitz mansion

Platinum sighed and arranged the string of pearls around her neck carefully. Her inky hair was pulled in a high pony tail and a silvery ball gown was draped over her slender form. There were some important officials coming to visit the Berlitz estate today and she was requested by her parents to be present at the meeting. There will be an information trade taking place. Letting out another breath, she fixed a silk scarf over her bare shoulders and pinned the family crested brooch to hold it in place. Satisfied with her appearance, she turned around to exit and her eye fell on her Poke-dex which lay forgotten on her study table. Glancing at the ornate clock, she went to her table and flipped the device open, how long has it been since she heard the morning sound? Dia had dubbed the synchronized beeping as the morning sound and every day, they made it a point to gather together at the base to hear it. When her best friend was flown to Unova for treatment, she and Pearl begged their families to allow them to accompany him. Every morning they gathered in his hospital room in order to listen to the ringing sound, it gave them strength.

"Platina darling are you ready?"

She hastily put her Pokedex down and stepped to the door, "yes mother, I'm coming." she replied and entered the lavish ballroom. Inside, the noble was immediately swarmed by body guards, ever since she came clean to her parents about her real occupation; they had become extra protective of her. Walking in tandem with her two protectors, she stood next to her parents and the guards melted into the shadows. Far away from the noble company and standing near the windows, a woman with red hair looked at Platina with interest and retrieved a phone, calling someone she spoke rapidly.

"I saw the missy boss; she sure is a beauty even at this age. You are right, it's the same girl as the one in the photo, kidnapping her is impossible, I can't run in this dress and ridiculously high heeled shoes and there is the slight issue of the police surrounding the house, plus the doll has two other hulking brutes hovering around her. Those brawn brains probably can't battle, but that won't stop them from snapping my darling pokemon's necks. Getting close to her is quite impossible; I'll just observe things from afar. Yes, I'm doing my job seriously!" Putting her phone away, she turned her attention to the piece of cake on the table and promptly dug into it sighing in bliss.

The embellished table held laptops, pen drives, files and loose sheets of paper. Sitting on a high-backed chair next to her father, Platina inserted the discs into the laptop and read the information, the well-dressed men and woman in front of her watched her eagerly, searching her masked visage for any signs of satisfaction. Platina was thus cautious not to show even the slightest bit of emotion, she read the articles and commented her thoughts in a frosty manner. Most of the people were casually dismissed, they moved away with poisoned gazes, others were rewarded with princely sums of money and yet there was one person who hung out on the edges of the crowd and ran his fingers through ironed hair.

Flint.

He was sent here to investigate whether the Berlitz family had connections with any of the criminal organizations. His afro was harshly reduced into long strands of hair. Some fell over his eyes and the others were tied together. Pushing the annoying fringe to the side, he approached the table and handed a disc over to the heiress, she opened the files and her dark eyes began scanning the words. He held his breath and prayed.

Unown, Platina read, a mysterious pokemon said to resemble ancient writing and hieroglyphs, research disagrees on whether Unown communicates using electromagnetic waves or telepathy. The frequencies given off by these pokemon can be detected by radio and is interpreted as the melody of an Azure flute. Moreover, it is concluded that an odd sort of power emerges when more than one Unown swarm together. It is capable of reading the thoughts and energy patterns of other life forms. Vast numbers of Unown are capable of distorting reality and creating things beyond the scope of imagination. However, they can only do this when more Unown are present and it is a shared effort rather than an individual power. Unown are extremely rare Pokémon primarily residing in their own dimension. They rarely venture outside. When it moved into the Poke-verse, these symbol pokemon orbited other Unown or stuck themselves to the walls of ancient ruins similar to engravings of archaic temples.

Her eyes zeroed in on the words:

Vast numbers of Unown are capable of distorting reality and creating things beyond the scope of imagination

 _and creating things beyond the scope of imagination_

Creating Arceus. She lifted her chin to eye the man haughtily.

"Where did you get this information?" her voice chimed akin to frost.

"Classified archives ma'am, I can't say...Boss will kill me."

" _...Classified archives_ , she mused, _either he is related to those Galactic people...Or the police_ , a gamble won't do, the police are the last person she wanted on her trail. Discretely copying the files to her laptop she extracted the disc and handed it over.

"I'm afraid the information contained in there is of no use to me, our family is interested in facts not myths or antediluvian lore. Thank you for your patronage." Flint bowed and shuffled back.

 _Another wild goose chase huh?_

Around the same time

Johto

Dex criminal's hideout, Strategy's common room

"So Arceus created Mew and together they created Dialga, Palkia and Giratina, but the latter was chained due to its violent tendencies and it managed to create its own space and vanish once the RED chains binding it were broken down..." Green read and re-read the information Blue mailed to him, the other two department commanders were sitting next to him, also reading the creation myths and texts. " I think this red chain is the key factor here in controlling the space-time duo as well...I mean if it could contain Giratina who is made from the same vein...Why not them? Red what do you think? Ugh who am I asking? Blue, your thoughts?"

The woman was busy filing her nails, on being questioned; she put the file away and answered:

"Well, according to that article, Giratina created a world already, from the other myths and information I've gathered I understood that the world he created is one without spirit. It is also known as the distortion or reverse world...as for the red chain, I done some more investigation and deemed that it will be able to restrain Dialga and Palkia, as you mentioned, they are made from the same substance as Giratina."

"Hmm...Yeah. But what about Arceus? It seems only he is able to fashion a completely functioning world...How on earth will we be able to capture a God? More importantly, is it capture-able?" The emerald eyed trainer contemplated with a fist on his chin

"Why can't we just use Giratina's distorted world as the basis of our own? I mean Arceus didn't create the other legendries for show right? Say we take an unbalanced world and thrust Dialga and Palkia in it" Green and Blue watched their best friend with disbelieving eyes, "they will be able to put in a semblance of time and reorganize the space into one of order...Throw Celebi in it and plants will grow, time will flow...And...And why are you two staring at me like that?"

"Who are you?" Green demanded.

"Very funny junior professor Oak" Red taunted in return.

"Red...What can I say? Your theory is so plausible I'm having a difficult time just believing it came out of your mouth" Blue stated and grinned good naturedly at him, the adolescent scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"I've been reading up a bit...He he he."

"About the Red chain, what else do we know?" The spiky haired trainer brought the discussion back on topic. The three co-conspirators gazed at the screen:

The red chains binding Giratina eventually wore off and he disappeared into a dimension he created on his own. This chain was refashioned into knowledge, emotion and willpower.

"Ugh guys, my head is starting to hurt."

"And Red's genius streak lasts for a few seconds" Green retorted, "whatever, it says the chain was remade into emotion, willpower and knowledge...Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf is it?"

A figurative light bulb went off over Blue's head.

"That's it!" she exclaimed, "those are binding factors...Think about it-"

"I can't think anymore" Red complained.

"I'm not asking _you_ to think...Anyway" the female brunette carried on "emotion bounds us to act a certain way, knowledge limits our ignorance and willpower forces us to do the things we wish do the most, thus the chain, a restraining factor, is broken up into these abstract concepts which basically tie humans down! I think...The red chain can be recreated from those legendary psychics...But the question is how."

"That...Is something we will have to find out." Green narrowed his eyes and the three of them stared at the laptops' luminous screen.

* * *

 **A/N:** Much thanks for those who read and reviewed. You guys and gals rock! At Jack54311: What will the Dex-holders do know? Read on to find out. At Eevee: I hope you enjoy your vacation, I did enjoy mine (didn't want to come back home) And the chapter wasn't rushed, I type them out way in advance. Green cooking? I'm definitely going to squeeze that in somewhere...probably in the third arc, look forward to that! As for long paragraphs, sorry bout that, sometimes when I start writing, I get carried away and it's difficult to break it down without ruining the flow. Hope you understand and if you have questions...or if anyone has questions for that matter, Fire away! I don't bite...not unless you are made of chocolate and the last time I checked, chocolate can't read. Anyways, review people and tell me what you think!


	25. A trade of disharmonious words

**Chapter 25: A trade of disharmonious words**

The inside of the cave was warm and rocky, toned with the rich colors of earth. The floor of the cavern was sandy, the boulders were banded with rings of tans and reddish browns. Since the cave was rather small, there was no water dripping from the roof. Inside, staring at a roughly hewn mural at the back wall of the grotto were two individuals one was a platinum blonde woman, the other was a steel gray haired man. The duo inspected the fresco depicted on the rough canvas; it showed three pokemon in a triangle formation with a ball of light in the center. Reaching up, Cynthia traced her slim finger along the jagged drawings and a fine layer of dust caked her fore finger as she ran it down the ancient lines. Next to her Steven seemed deep in thought. Behind the duo were their pokemon, garchomp sat down next one of the large rocks and trained sharp eyes on its trainer whilst metagross was levitating in the air and to the irritation of the land shark, releasing a humming noise and flitting about in the cavern endlessly. The shark angled its head to the psychic type and wondered if a good chomp to its face would calm it down. He could pick up his master's anxiety at the bothersome piece of metal.

"Steven" the Sinnoh champion called out, "what can you decipher from this engraving?"

The young male paused before answering, his eyes deep in contemplation.

"I think it depicts the lake guardians of Sinnoh, the center ball of light might be either Dialga, Palkia or Giratina and the pokemon surrounding it are Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf..." he trailed off when his superior glared at him. His metagross was acting crazy and he wondered what got his sensitive pokemon so riled up, was it perhaps responding to a hostile presence?

"You heard this folklore from my grandmother didn't you?" Cynthia accused.

"...Yes ma'am..." he sheepishly looked away and flushed, the woman sighed.

"Since olden times, everyone has been told that this image in the cave is depicted by the lake trio surrounding either the temporal, spatial or renegade pokemon. However, if you turn the thinking on its head and approach it from another point of view...You will be able to realize that this mural depicts the creation of the universe. Say for instance the pokemon surrounding the ball of light is not Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf, but Dialga, Palkia and Giratina, the original creation trio...then that means the large light in the center has to depict something else...Something more powerful than them. The alpha pokemon, Arceus." she scrutinized the art again and continued expanding her theory, "I am led to believe that long time ago, the creation trio made frequent appearances in the human world...Their presence must have both awed and terrified our ancestors and so they created this fresco and recorded their appearances in rock art and monuments. Arceus has probably never shown himself therefore his form is merely portrayed as an orb of light."

"I don't think that's true Cynthia"

"Pardon me?" her tone was inquisitive.

"I think Arceus did come down to the Poke-verse...There are remnants of him everywhere." He twisted one of his thicker rings off, instead of having a jewel, this ornament sported an iron-esque mineral in the center, he held it out to Cynthia and pointed to the embedded piece. "This is a shard of an iron plate. I first found this in Iron Island here in Sinnoh and when I kept it with me, I realized that it raised my steel type pokemon's power. Fascinated, I studied this extensively and found that it was comprised of a material not found anywhere on our Poke-earth. Finally I traced its origins and found out that pieces like these are scattered everywhere, not just this iron plate, but plates of all seventeen types. This painting Ms. Cynthia...What if it's a record of a colossal war between the three creation pokemon and somehow Arceus came down to quell the three? It will make sense if people at that time could not lay eyes on it. It must have been surrounded by great power and aura, during the fight, the alpha pokemon's plates must have been heavily damaged and so pieces of it rained down on the regions...Metagross, stop swinging around and return to me!" Steven was fed up with the way his partner was acting, normally, the steel type was composed.

As soon as the master placed a hand on his beast he was assaulted with an intense wave of psychic energy.

"Is there something wrong?" The blonde lady questioned on seeing Steven pale a bit.

"Someone with a terrifying power visited this place recently...Metagross picked up insidious electromagnetic signals littered all over the rocks and the entire cavern...Hence its peculiar behavior. Whoever this person was, he had strong negative emotions as well." The champion gritted his teeth and recalled his pokemon in a capsule.

"Are you going to let some sinister premonition by your pokemon weaken you? I still did not forget how you let the dark stone be stolen from your grasp Steven" Cynthia harshly admonished, "or did you neglect to train once you attained your champion's position? Is that it?"

"No I..."

"I will not listen to any excuses" the female champion cut into Steven's mutterings, tossing her golden mane back she exited the cave with her underling in a tow, "we will be going to Route two hundred and fourteen to train."

"Why all the way there? I mean there are other routes we can train in." The Hoenn native pointed out.

"True." she agreed, "have you seen the impact craters around the route and near Veilstone?" The man nodded, "that is where my grandmother used to practice her Draco meter, I was also taught the same move there and it is a good place to train. The area is clear of trainers therefore we can go all out!" The steel haired male noted how she burned with passion. Resolving to polish his skills as well, the duo exited the cave.

* * *

Mid-afternoon

Johto

Mahogany Town

Crystal and Yellow were leafing through some clothing catalogues when Emerald burst into the room. Alarmed, the two girls looked up to see the blonde waving a screwdriver and attacking his specially made seat. As he adjusted it, the boy complained bitterly about his underdeveloped stature, cursing Sapphire and Ruby who were the same age. Done with fixing the chair, he tossed the tool to one side and sat on it, yanking a lever, he shot up in the air, in level with the table and started frantically typing on the keyboard.

"This looks cute doesn't it?" done with watching Emerald and his antics, Yellow pointed to a summer hat and Crystal grinned in agreement, if White was here, the three of them would spend their free time gossiping, comparing outfits or swapping stories of their required work. At times, when Green was away from the common room, Gold would barge in with Silver or his lackey in a tow and the indigo haired female would get irritated. The boys mostly came in to comment on how the girls would look in different outfits, except Silver of course, he would walk up to the shelves, extract a book and start reading, or join Rald who'd give him tips on computer and camera hacking. Despite her scathing, Crys really enjoyed the time they all spent together. Strategy team members hardly got any free time, so when a holiday did roll around, it was coveted.

"I think it would really suit you senior and this dress as well, don't you agree?" The two giggled and flipped pages, eyes roaming over the several brands and items of make-up shown on the glossy folds. The catalogue was promptly shut by the Viridian native once she eyed the price, huffing, she put it down and picked up a novel instead.

"Some coffee and biscuits would be nice, actually I don't really want to stay here anymore" The blonde female sighed, "both senior Blue and Green are busy and Red...is busy as well." she concluded and hastily got up. "Crystal, let's make some coffee and hang out in Constellate's room, I'll see if Ruby will put on a contest for us, if not we'll read books...do you want to come with?"

"Yes please!" the taller junior jumped at the suggestion, "Gold asked me to spend some time with him and I don't want to! All he does now days is brag about how good of a job he is doing with Lack-2"

Yellow giggled, "He and Silver are fond of you."

"We are friends senior" Crys intoned and smiled, "...they mean the world to me." All of a sudden the topic turned to Red and Yellow found herself being teased by her co-worker, her furious blushing ceased when Green walked into the room.

"Can't find Red" he mumbled under his breath and glared at the opposite wall.

"If you are looking for Red, he just left the base almost an hour ago, Gold told me." The spiky haired brunette turned his attention to Crystal and after some interrogation, he ran out of the room. His underlings watched him go with visible concern on their faces

Green Oak was angry, seems like his best friend's habit of leaving the base without notice had not disappeared, he briefly tried to recall when this odd addiction of his started...Somewhere after the Deoxys fiasco? Or was it much earlier than that? Lost in his ponderings, he did not see where he was going and thus bumped into someone. Snapping back to reality he saw it was Blue, without as much as an apology, he worded out a request.

"I want you to go after Red; he's flying towards Kanto as we speak."

The woman was a bit distressed.

"Is he in some sort of trouble?" her cyan irises widened.

"No, just go after him."

"You...You want me to _spy_ on him?" the brown haired commander gaped in shock, "Green what's _wrong_ with you?"

"Just do as I say...And I expect a full report. I'm simply worried about him." Shaking her head and casting another furious glance at her best friend, she tugged her hat on her luxurious locks and left the area. For his part, the acting professor slumped against the walls.

Late afternoon

Kanto

Cerulean City, Cerulean Cape.

He really did not know why he came here, perhaps it was the view...Or perhaps it was something else. Quelling the growing trepidation in his chest, he leaned on the fence with one hand fisted underneath his chin and gazed out to the endless sea. The breeze ruffled his bangs and surrounding him were couples, some taking commemorative photos, others declaring their love for each other. Funnily enough, he was the only one here who was alone...Apart from the children. Exhaling, his blood tinted irises looked up to the giant ball of fire in the sky, it was slowly dipping downwards, it's rays extending, colors shifting from harsh yellow sunlight to the diluted orange and pink streaks. For some reason, he loved watching the sunsets here. Maybe he should drag Blue and Green and Gold here one day. Yellow too, the young woman would appreciate the lovely scenery, he thought and grinned to himself, unbeknownst to him, another individual was peering at him from afar through a pair of binoculars. Red stayed at the cape till the sun sunk halfway through the ocean, painting the surface of the water into various shades of orange red. Sighing, he thrust his hand inside his pocket and brought a pokeball out.

This sphere was the cause of his insecurities.

Thrusting the capsule back in his pocket, he ambled his way back into the city. Evening had fallen and the street lamps were being lit. Red didn't take the gondolas across the channeled city; he preferred walking along the worn cobblestoned streets instead. Keeping his head low, lest anyone recognizes him, he walked past houses, shop fronts and stalls, his pace decreased considerably as he slowly made his way in front of the gym. A few meters after it, he halted and Blue, who was doing an expert job of tailing him, frowned. Her ebony haired friend backtracked and was now standing in front of the battling facility. Sitting at a cafe table, she stiffened and watched him like a hawk, a crowd of teenagers ran past, cutting her view of Red off, when they departed, he was nowhere to be seen. Blue watched as the Cerulean gym doors slid shut.

This is not going to bode well for him...What was he even doing going in there alone? She unhappily mused, Green was going to be livid, he was already wary of Red's motives and now it seems his suspicions had just come true. A soft groan of misery escaped her lips. Getting up from the cafe table, she left a tip and decided to return back to Johto.

Red stepped into the gym and halted, this place brought back fond memories of when he was an ego inflated brat. He remembered how Misty had lectured him on becoming more serious about his goals and he had simply brushed her lecture aside like it was nothing. Only after a harrowing battle did he realize that the girl before him was not joking. Since then, the interior had been changed, instead of a long walkway suspended over the water with trainers placed at strategic points, the central pool was zigzagged with a maze and in the center, a huge platform was raised, no doubt the leader's arena. Briefly craning his neck, he caught no glimpse of Misty, only the lights overhead were reflected on the dais. Tugging on the peak cap, he approached one of the trainers and asked for the gym leader.

"You need to go through all of us before meeting her~" the swim suited girl winked and tossed her hair in a flirtatious manner, he simply blinked.

"It's an emergency, I need to give her something." he insisted.

"Oh please! Half of the dudes who walk in here say the same thing; I'm not falling for your tricks."

"..."

"...Keeping silent won't change a thing tough guy." Ignoring her, he started walking away and searching for a door leading to the deeper levels of the gym, there must be one, the last time he came here...There! He sprinted across the polished white tiles to the door and the trainers all dived for him, of course since his behavior was not exemplary. A huge din rose and echoed around the space as the door he was aiming for suddenly slid open and he skidded to a stop before crashing into the person he was looking for.

"What's with all the noi...se?" her words trailed off as she looked at him, confusion morphed into fury as she grabbed him by the wrist and almost threw him into the inner chamber. "Carry on with what you are doing" the tomboyish mermaid commanded and the metallic door clicked shut.

"Hello" Red didn't know what to say; maybe coming here was a bad idea after all. He could practically see the rage evaporating from her body.

"I'm surprised you even showed your face in here Red." she managed to relay in a calm voice, "where...Is my Gyara? Return him to me NOW!"

Never mind, she wasn't the one to hold her temper in anyway. Fixing his cap, he turned towards her and tried not to flinch from the glare she was sending his way. Pulling out a pokeball, he tentatively reached for her hand, thank Arceus she didn't pull it away or worse, smack him, and placed the capsule in her palm. Misty's scrunched up face smoothed out and her eyes registered bewilderment. Nevertheless she brought the ball closer to her and peeked into it through the clear covering.

A krabby was waving it's pincers at her.

"..."

"..."

"I want my Gyara Red, now! Or I'm calling the police, don't test me."

"Thanks for not reporting me-"

"Hold your breath, I'm going to do that right if you don't give me my pokemon back!" she screamed and Pika wriggled out from behind Red and leapt on to her shoulder. It squeaked.

"He likes you." the trainer pointed out and observed how the gym leader viewed him with incensed eyes. She pulled out another pokeball and jumped several feet backwards, pikachu balanced precariously. Her stance showed that she wanted to battle with him. A sardonic grin smile graced his lips.

"Battling me won't end well for you Misty," he saw her wince. "There are very, very few people who can best me in battle and two of them are on my side."

"Seems like the cocky but likeable brat just evolved into an arrogant moron who thinks nothing of stealing other people's pokemon...Do you want Suicune as well? Go ahead, knock me out and take him. I'm sure your friends will commend you on a job well done. Go on." she taunted, holding back angry tears.

"I trained my krabby for you since I want to keep your Gyarados; it...reminds me of you." He pulled the cap lower and looked away."

"First of all, your krabby can't surf and no matter how you look at it, my gyarados is far, far better than your pathetic river crab. And don't lie, you didn't train it."

"How did you know?" he gaped comically and Misty couldn't help but throw a dry chuckle, Pika hopped on her head.

"Simple, it looks bored, see?" she released the water type and it clicked its scarlet pincers. "Look at its eyes, they are dull and listless."

"Reminds me of myself..." Red commented and squatted next to krabby, reaching a finger out, he poked one of the eyes and the crab's pincer clasped shut on the finger. Letting out an ear piercing wail, he dragged his appendage out of the teeth lined claw and inspected it. Blood dripped on to the floor and the skin hung in loose folds. The female handed him a wad of tissue and he cradled his half severed finger in the white folds.

"Ouch, that hurts." he groaned.

"Serves you right for what you are doing...Red-"

"I won't listen to anything you tell me. I'm sorry. And I..." he swallowed his words.

"If you have something to say, spit it out, or get out of the gym. I've got challengers, not to mention you being here is gnawing on my conscious." Misty crossed her arms over her chest and sighed.

"Please take care of my krabby. I promise to take good care of Gyara, I won't come here again so rest assured." He smiled bitterly, "Uh...I'll leave now."

Getting up from his squatting position, he held his arms out and Pika jumped into them, as he was leaving, Misty called out again:

"Let's meet again Red...Under better circumstances." Not replying, he simply looked back and smiled.

Night

Johto

Mahogany Town.

"Oh man, is it this late already?" muttering to himself, Red eased off Aero and recalled the grey dragon, entering the shop; he greeted the occupants and made his way downstairs. His stomach growled and it reminded him of Diamond, pushing the morbid contemplations aside, he navigated through the stark corridors and debated whether if he should go to Execution's room and cook something up, or go directly to the common kitchen and hunt in the fridge for some eatables. Deciding to do the latter, he went to the spacious kitchen and stuck his head inside the fridge. There some poffins, sandwiches and other leftovers, shrugging, he took them all out, handed the poffins to Pika and began eating. Shoving the last bits of food into his mouth he sat there like a zombie and stared at the clock hanging on the wall.

"...Not like she'll care if I told her anyway..." he pushed the ball of pessimistic feelings down. "I could do with some cheering up...Green should be awake at this hour." Licking his lips, he made his way to Strategy's room with the intention of having a nice long chat with him or Yellow, if she was around. He stepped into the dimly lit room and grinned when the spiky haired brunette turned to look at him.

"Yo!" he greeted.

"Where were you?" The commander didn't bother keeping the venom out of his voice, with any luck; his best friend would be too dumb to notice.

"I went outside for a breath of fresh air, staying cooped up in here is bad for mental health you know." the black haired adolescent quipped back.

"...Yes I understand, but, where were _you_?" Legs crossed over each other and eyes glittering viciously, Green Oak presented a foreboding sight.

"Um...I was at Cerulean cape, enjoying the sunset."

"The entire time?"

"Yeah...Is it wrong for me to breathe?" Red scowled, what's gotten into his comrade, why was he so interested in his affairs?

"Don't lie to me" the man got up from his chair and approached Red, "you were at Misty's gym."

"Whoa! How… did you..."

It took a while for the implications of the accusation to set in, the red eyed adolescent backed up against the wall as his friend bore down on him.

"You...Were spying on me?" The ugly realization of his companion's actions made is stomach turn and he found himself shouting in disbelief, "YOU WERE SPYING ON ME! HOW COULD YOU GREEN?!"

"And I had every right to!" the jade eyed trainer spat back, he gripped his co-worker's jacket collar and shoved him against the wall, "you moron, do you know how much danger you are exposing us to by going there? Most of the time when I'm looking for you, I'm informed that you are out of base, so yes...I did spy on you and your actions Red, are putting all of us in danger, including yourself."

With a little bit of difficulty, Red shoved Green off him and glared, "If you asked, I would've gladly told you where I was going you domineering dictator!" he shrieked angrily.

"Hmpf, I just did and you lied to me. I feel great Red, knowing I asked you out of concern for your safety and the first thing coming out of your mouth was a big fat lie. Must be great to be without a family right? No one to nag after you and other people's opinions don't matter to you right? From what I heard, you drifted from one family to another till you were old enough to live on your own in Pallet town. Once you left, you didn't even visit Grandpa once..." his breathing was labored all the blood was surging to his head, "if I wasn't being the dictator around here, you and your merry gang would all be rotting in jail, you irresponsible JERK!"

"Hell, that still doesn't justify why you went and spied on me!"

"What about me? Does lying to your best friend come that easily to you? Your excuses simply rolled off your tongue." The last line was too much, not caring where he hit, Red simply raised a fist and punched Green in the face, the male staggered back, shock marring his face as he clutched his throbbing cheek. Crimson eyes regarded him with disgust and he, being the better one of the two in terms of hand to hand combat, shrugged off his lab coat and smashed his palm into his friend's face. A queer sort of satisfaction surfaced when the man's nose dripped blood. Howling, he was tackled to the floor, a well-aimed kick from his part sent Red crashing into the opposite wall, one of the framed portraits swung unsteadily and fell to the floor, the glass shattering. The ebony haired male shot up from the ground and tried to hit him again. Accusations and stinging words flew from the duo as they each tried to get the upper hand. Green was violently pushed and his lower back hit the table. Agony shot up his spine and he rolled out of the way, gripped Red's head and forced it down on a closed laptop. Both of them were still fighting when Yellow entered the room and beheld them. Her mind rejected the scene presented before her.

The grip on his head slackened a bit and Red took the opportunity to deliver a sharp chop to the side of Green's neck. The trainer gave off a small noise of pain and retreated. Gathering himself, he whirled around with the intention of kicking the daylights out of his friend when he saw her.

Yellow, her large brown eyes were swinging from one to another. She looked almost ready to cry. Shaking her head she demanded in a calm voice.

"What happened? Why are you two fighting?"

"Ask him!" the duo simultaneously hollered and pointed at each other, she took note of the thick wad of tissue paper wrapped around Red's index finger. His nose was bleeding as well. Her leader on the other hand sported various bruises, one line shaped one was forming on his neck.

A thick silence permeated the room

"I'm going to bed." Red announced and left, the blonde woman reached out for him and after remembering Green, hastily retracted her hand. Strategy's commander exhaled heavily and sat down on an office chair.

"Go after him and tend to his wounds...I think I broke his nose and there's something wrong with his finger." his aide hesitated and he waved her away. She took after Red and met him right as he was swiping the keycard to his bedroom. Giving her a half smile, he invited her in and sat on a chair. Yellow began wiping his wounds and wondering what happened. The situation was awkward, the man in front of her was spacing out and heat was rising in her cheeks.

"Um...Red?"

"Yeah?" his voice seemed faraway.

She took a deep breath and took the plunge, "Why were you and Green fighting? Please tell me the truth."

"...I went to visit Misty to give her something and he went and blew his head off."

"Oh..." Why did something heavy drop into her stomach? A constricting sensation took hold of her. "Sorry about Green, he can be-"

"An arrogant prick at times," Red grinned half-heartedly "I know. If you are done with me, go treat him. Idiot is probably too busy convincing himself that nothing's wrong with him though. Thanks Yellow...I apologize for you having to see all of that." she got up and bowed. He waved and smiled in return. Retracing her steps, she went back to the common room only to find it deserted. Wasting no time, she rapped her knuckles on Green's bedroom door. He grunted something incomprehensible and told her to keep away.

"Open up the door or I'll call Blue!" she threatened and the door flew open to reveal her disgruntled superior, he was in the middle of treating himself.

"I'll be fine," he reassured her for the umpteenth time, "if anything else is wrong with me, I'll let you know tomorrow. Thanks Yellow." Instead of leaving she stood on the threshold, her visage one of conflict.

"Does...Does senior Red...Um" she squirmed and flushed. _Why else would he risk incurring Green's wrath by visiting a police officer?_ Her commander saved her the embarrassment of asking.

"Probably," he droned, "not that the moron is actually _aware_ of his feelings. Good night Yellow. I'm going to sleep." He shut the door after she walked away.

* * *

Morning of the same day

Unova

Victory Road

The sun beat down relentlessly as White soared on her vullaby. She had an impeccable aerial view of Victory Road and the pokemon league. Circling, vullaby lowered itself and the brown haired teenager locked her eyes on a figure scaling the rocky slopes. Black, harnessed with a rope around his waist and armed with a rock pick, was climbing. His hat was off, sweat slicked hair sticking to his scalp. Next to him Tula also scampered up the cliffs, Musha floated and Brav screeched, the harsh tones echoing from the rock face. At times, his tedious climb would be punctuated by gleeful shouts when he reached a ledge or entered a small cave. Most of the time, he'd scream out the usual, like he was preparing to do now.

Black inhaled deeply and threw his head back after making sure his grip on the rocky surface was secure. "Yahooo! I'm gonna be the Pokemon league champion and I'm Really, REALLY GONNA WIN!" He cocked his head to the side and listened to the echoes, satisfied with his declaration, he resumed climbing. White flew closer to him and handed him a water bottle.

"Here Black, you can stop climbing now, this cliff is very high!" she fussed, "I don't know why you are doing something as pointless as this and look, both your pokemon and you could get severely dehydrated."

"Don't worry about us Prez" he showed a grin and a thumbs up, "we are doing okay, besides senior Saph told me that an outstanding pokemon trainers train both their mind and body. And I'm busy training my body at the moment. Just keep me posted on what's up ahead, I don't want pokemon scurrying out of the crevices and accidentally falling on my face." Determined, he hammered his rock pick on the cliff face and pulled himself up. His shirt was drenched and stuck to his skin. True to his request, his partner flew upwards and surveyed the area through binoculars, like he predicted, there were lots of little holes and shelters for rock, ground and other types of pokemon to hide into, however, none of them were going towards Black. A lopsided smile tugged on her lips, with him and his team of beasts screeching like that, _anyone_ would take a detour.

Crunch. The steel headed pick buried itself into gravel and Black tried to haul himself up, however, the moment he did so, the equipment was pushed outwards and drops of brown liquid splashed on his hand. He had impaled a graveller by mistake. The hurt pokemon gave a thrust and the pick dislodged. A rock blast hit the scaling teenager and he tethered for dear life. His other hand came loose and with a horrifying screech:

He began to fall.

The world turning upside down.

* * *

 **Extra:**

Team Strategy: Deals with the planning and technicalities. Plans out heists and activities. Has the least publicity. Also carries out ground breaking research. Involved with pokemon capturing. Their calling card consists of a lime green chess piece.

Members:

Green Oak: Leader

Yellow: Acts as a secretary to Green

Crystal: Pokemon capturer and in charge of filing and handling data capture data

Emerald: Group technician

Pearl: Strategist and motivator

White: Manages information and keeps the department organized

* * *

 **A/N:** I wonder what the readers will think of this chapter? Please drop a line of your thoughts. Heartfelt gratitude to KindleBerry and Reader1019 for following the story. I hope you continue to find it a pleasant read. At Eevee: I should've given the info a long time ago, thanks for reminding me. I started with Green's department (heh). As for the junior professor thing, his Grandpa is also a professor and they share the same surname, Oak. So when referring to them solely by their surnames, they would say Senior Oak and Junior Oak...And Red was making fun of that (Green is not a new professor in this fic, he's already very well known). Did I even make sense? I love Diamond, he's one of my favorite characters. It's still raining cats and dogs, but the mangoes are almost all finished. Speaking of which, my sister got bonked by a mango the other day when she was standing underneath the tree. At Jack54311: Wasn't brilliant Red just...brilliant? At Silver: Heh, my favorite theorist is back. 'N works with Dex or becomes a Dex you hope?' hehehe, I find unown fascinating, I watched the movie when I was a a kid (sort of) and it left a deep impression on me. As for how the world is going to be made...I'm still working on that. And yes, capturing Arceus is going to be hard...does it happen? Thanks for reading


	26. Diamonds from a coal mine

**Chapter 26: Diamonds from a coal mine  
**

Morning

Unova

Victory road, one of the caves

The pieces were not lining up.

N twisted the cube several times but to no avail. His puzzle was still a mess of blocks that were refusing to line up properly. On the floor of the small cave, his pokemon scurried about; zorua was having fun teasing his archen, the two fought in the cramped space, tumbling over each other. Darmanitan stood in one corner, near a table in Zen mode, the tussling pair bumped into him and the pokemon became active. The male gave up solving the puzzle and clipped the cube back on the strap of his pants. He slumped lower in his seat and stared around in his secret base. Without telling anyone, and especially not his father, N came here to seek some refuge from the castle which was still being built. The quaint cave was decorated with a large rug, a small table and chair, several shelves which displayed pictures, ornaments and stuffed poke-dolls. A mini fridge was also hauled here and right now his klang was supplying it with electricity. He eyed the zekrom poster against the rocky wall and wondered how it would feel to soar the skies on the vast black pokemon's back.

"...I don't feel like going back to the castle zorua" he spoke when the trickster turned its attention to him, "I'm not deaf I can hear when the pokemon cry for help. What father is doing...What he is doing is not...Is not right."

It's not right, his mind echoed and he felt miserable. Something was crushing his ideals like a soda can, his beliefs folded upon itself till it resembled a distortion of the original idea. Team Plasma, the seven sages and most importantly, his father was the cause of his misery.

 _He didn't understand._

A few days ago, the team had a party in the partially constructed castle for being able to successfully sweet talk the public into releasing their beloved pokemon partners in the wild, as soon as night fell, the confounded and hurt monsters were rounded up and all brought to the castle. N had just walked in the chamber to witness his dad congratulating the lower grunts. His face was ecstatic...Did not his father understand that they want to liberate pokemon? Not capture them! The imprisoned beasts were shrieking up a cacophony, their fear and pleas of help were loud in his ears. Unable to hold back tears, he rushed to the giant cage and let them out. Gleeful growls greeted him as the freed pokemon stampeded to escape. In the aftermath, Ghetsis took him aside and tried explaining his actions. N did not listen to him, why would he when his father's own pokemon were absolutely terrified of their master? Cofagrigus longed to wrap its shadowy tentacles around the leading sage of Team Plasma and drag him to an early grave, same with bouffalant. As for his bisharp and hydreigon, he did not want to voice their intentions out aloud. It was then he realized that his father's ideals and his clashed, horribly. A verbal fight broke out and the words uttered by Ghetsis left a lasting, stinging impression on him.

"You monster," his father had said, face twisted into an ugly caricature, "I knew it was a mistake to pick a freak like you off the streets. Hmpf. And to think I tried to make you into something useful. You are hopeless even as a puppet!" With the swishing of his cloak and the tapping of the wooden cane, Ghetsis left and N, his mind broken like piece of delicate glass, sat in the gloom numbly. Around midnight he escaped from the castle and went to his secret hideout, he was running out of food and money, but the thought of going back to headquarters made his head and stomach spin.

He was at a loss for what to do. Smiling lopsidedly at his partner, he went to the fridge, asked his klang how it was faring (very good actually, the pokemon grinded its gears) and took a bottle of water out. The moment the open bottle touched his lips-

"AAAAAHHHHHHH. HELP. SOMEONE HELP ME!"

A scream assaulted his ears. The voice was definitely human, putting the bottle down, he leapt on archen's back and flew outside, the events playing out was certainly weird. There was a teenager, falling to his doom from the slopes of victory road, the boy's body was sometimes hitting the sheer rock face and N winced, he was sure this person was chafing off some skin. Tailing him desperately was a braviary with galvantula on its back and a girl who was flying on a vullaby; she was screaming and reaching out for him but to no avail. Without further ado, N commanded his archen to rescue the falling trainer. Just as the boy reached him, the avian swooped and Black crashed into N's arms. The older male immediately regretted the decision as his arms felt like they popped out of his sockets. He buckled under the weight of the male he saved and still swaying unsteadily, archen dropped him in the secret base. Without much thought, White and the rest of the beasts tumbled in and rushed towards their friend, she examined the rope around his waist and found it slashed.

* * *

The stars were swimming before his eyes and Black briefly recalled the tormenting journey to his death halted by a familiar face. Where did he see this person again, tea green hair, slate tinted eyes. His view of the cavern's rugged roof was broken by Prez, his concerned partners and _him_. Bolting upright he stared at N.

"I've been looking everywhere for you!" the teenager exclaimed exuberantly despite his injuries. The king of team plasma looked at him disturbingly, parts of the youth's clothes were shorn off, his skin underneath was grazed and oozing bloody water. N shifted his scrutiny to the pokemon and inhaled deeply. These creatures were just as insane as their master. With mild annoyance, he saw the girl was also gazing at him in an interested manner...Who were these people?

"Prez!" the trainer hollered and White stood up and dusted her shorts, "let's get our mission underway."

 _Warning, warning._

All his Pokémon were flashing the same message as the boy in front of him released an emboar, the fire pig breathed flames and stomped the ground, it charged at N with a flame cloaked paw. Zorua leapt and took the full brunt of the attack, the fox pokemon was sent smacking into a side of the cave. A snap was heard and it whimpered slightly, not deterred in the slightest, zorua changed form and roared. It now resembled the three headed hydreigon. Black whooped and commanded emboar to knock the pokemon out. Unfortunately it missed.

"My name's Black and I'm gonna be the champion of the pokemon league!" The boy shouted, "also it is my mission to find and capture you, my seniors are looking for a new wielder of the dark stone since it doesn't respond to Prez. And we got lucky when Silver found you talking to that ice-dragon, Kyurem was it? Yeah, him...so you can communicate with pokemon huh? Pretty neat, oh yeah, Bo! Flamethrower."

"Are you crazy?" N screeched as both he and zorua dove to the side, fighting in such a small space was unheard of. The column of flames hit the fridge and klang instead and a small explosion occurred. The cave shook and he heard the girl yelling at her companion to keep things under control. Instead of doing so, he simply went all out.

"Brav, Tula, get him at all costs! I refuse to fail any mission given to me by my leader!" the bird swiped for zorua whilst the large insect scurried to the Zen statue, who amidst all the chaos, remained inert on the rug. As soon as galvantula came close, the darmanitan uncurled and blazed to life, rearing back, it punched the electric spider with a flaming fist and the monster's mandibles broke into pieces, chittering, it fainted. The blazing pokemon turned his attention to a new foe, the avian trying to spread its wings in the tiny area. Brav simply gave up and bodily slammed into its opponents, his large stature and strength was too much for the Zen pokemon and with a screech, it passed out. N looked around in alarm.

"Stop this!" he cried but Black, drunk on the prospect of a victorious battle did not heed him, "STOP! Don't hurt my friends!" he gritted his teeth with an anguished expression but the boy took no notice. Turning his attention to the female, he implored one again as his transformed zorua gave a cry of distress, "please don't hurt them, I-" the words died out when his last pokemon crashed into his chest, the dark red blood staining his shirt and the grey fur of his zorua. He couldn't stop the tears that fell from his eyes. After doing his victory dance, Black stared at N who was shedding tears silently.

"...I'm sorry, I didn't think losing a pokemon battle would make you cry." he awkwardly stated and ran a hand through his unruly locks.

"You are so insensitive Black!" White hissed from behind him, she cast a worried gaze at their target, her view of N was one of a ruthless criminal, but...it seems he was actually more humane than them, the thought made her cringe.

The green haired adolescent cradled his comatose partner and looked up with shining eyes, "You use your pokemon for this?" he spat, and his eyes shifted to the party of beasts fanning the insane human, directing his words at them he added, "I don't understand how you can worship someone as violent, as narrow minded as him..." they growled in return and the human's voice rose in pitch, "he commands you to battle! He tells you to get wounded simply for the pleasure of war and you...You guys like him? This, this formula is one I can't... Won't understand!"

It reminded him of the red-headed man he met on the Ferris wheel a long, long time ago.

"Look, I'm really sorry about your pokemon...I admit I did go a bit out of hand...Our base has a pokemon healing machine and they...Your partners will be back to full health in no time!" The brown haired boy chirped.

"I don't know what you speak of." N's voice gained a frosty edge, "I'm going back to the castle and I'll treat my friends by myself, excuse me."

"No can do I'm afraid." The exit was blocked and a cruel gleam took hold of the boy's cinnamon tinted eyes, he grinned. "You are coming with us and it's a long way to Johto, so get your pokemon back into their pokeballs and the two of us will go on Brav, he's strong enough to carry us both-"

"We are NOT flying all the way back to Johto Black" White interjected in an alarmed tone, "don't be daft!"

"...Right, so we are going by train and it's still a long trip and you can't lug your fainted pokemon with you. Resistance is futile; I won't hesitate to punch you in the face if you still insist on going home!"

Great, pondered White, maybe her best friend would make a better King for Team Plasma than this green haired wimp standing before her, she took out her Pokedex to examine N's pokemon whilst the two males argued in loud voices. To her surprise, N's pokemon were very well trained, on par with Black's levels, so why did he not send his beasts to fight?

"I despise violence! Pokemon are supposed to be our friends, we cannot force them to do the things they don't want to!" the slate eyed youth screeched, he was still holding his zorua against him.

"And what if they actually like battling?" Black shouted in return, "you are refuting your own ideals if you think separating people from pokemon is right, my partners like fighting so I seek out challenges, they share my dreams! If I simply listened to you Plasma scum and set them free...I'll be undermining their feelings, don't _you_ understand that?" his voice grew soft as he watched the man before him widen his eyes. "Never mind, stay with us and you'll understand what I mean...You should check our senior Red's pokemon, he doesn't need to tell them anything, they can fight and bring down ace trainers on their own. I'll give you one last chance. Will you come with us willingly or should I forcibly drag you out of here?"

"...I-" The person in question hesitated

"We have the dark stone..."

"..."

"And the light stone" White piped up.

"Fine...Not like I can go back home anyways."

 _Then why in Kyurem's name were you hesitating so much?_ The two criminal minded Unova natives wondered.

Afternoon

Unova

Nimbasa City

The green haired adolescent watched hawkishly as the pokeballs were placed into a machine and the device lit up. Once the flashing died down, he was handed the capsules back by a friendly looking nurse. Grabbing the spheres he scrutinized them and saw his partners shifting in the itty-bitty space. Some of them looked up at him in confusion. Of course they would be surprised; this is the first time they were stuffed in a pokeball. With great difficulty, and much insistence from his new travelling companions, the pokeballs were clipped to a belt around his waist. He didn't like it at all, his friends were uncomfortable, they were used to running around, not being forced into some device which shrunk them (how did the capsule do that?) and confined them to a miniscule space.

"We hope to see you again!" the pink haired woman smiled and bowed and he scowled in return. White thanked her and Black nudged him aside so another trainer could get their pokemon treated.

"Why would that woman hope to see me again?" he queried incredulously, "does she want my friends to get hurt?" The clipped capsules were hitting each other as he walked out of the facility. The pokemon center was a large building dedicated to the care and maintenance of pokemon and their trainers. He spied several terminals and a healing machines, the second floor of the building contained computers which could be used to store or retrieve items and pokemon. People could also use the pokemon center as a one day inn during their travels. As the trio stepped into the sunlight, Black started dragging him again to another direction.

"Where are you taking me now?" he asked the over enthusiastic trainer, the teenager had gotten some much needed first aid at the center.

"Poke-mart," he replied and scanned the area for the shop, "you need to stock up on supplies right? We don't have time to go through the department stores so you will have to make do with what they have."

It was a short walk to the poke-mart and the green haired adolescent was exhausted from mental anxiety. He fervently hoped that none of the plasma grunts, or worse, the sages would spot him. If they did, he'd be hauled back into the castle and saddled with Anthea and Concordia. Not that he disliked his foster sisters; they were compassionate to him but he it was lonely with no one other than them and his pokemon to talk to. The duo in front of him were chattering endlessly and only stopped talking once they entered the mart. N stared at the rows and rows of potions, super potions, revives, pokeballs of various types and other merchandise displayed on the shelves. White grabbed a basket and started packing a few things in, Black grabbed the bottles and after throwing them a customary glance, he placed them in the basket. For his part, N reached out and took down one of the potions, when he tried to read the ingredients, he became cross-eyed.

"I'm not feeding my partners this chemical soup!" he vehemently stated and put the bottle back, "there is things in there I can't even pronounce."

"N" the female teenager sighed, "we don't feed them these things, we spray their wounds with it."

"...I still think it is bad for their health."

"Fair enough, what do you do when your pokemon get hurt?"

"Berries, food and herbal medicine. Fresh water and lemonade do wonders." he answered

"Ehhh?" the male pulled a face, "herbal medicine, ugh, my pokemon hate those, they can't stomach the bitter taste. Anyway, there is nice shop in Johto selling herbal stuff and since senior Gold knows the shop owner you will be able to get a discount."

Going up to the cashier, White paid for their purchases and the three once again stepped outside. This time they pulled N to a side street and began lecturing him.

"Okay" Black started as his companion kept a lookout for any one coming this way, "first of all, you need to hide that mane of yours, tuck it in behind your shirt." With some difficulty he managed to do so and his back itched horribly, "next pull your hat over your eyes so it's difficult to see your face and for zekrom's sake, push those bangs up in your hat, we don't want those creepy sages or worse, any one of the police officers to spot you and take you away-"

"Why are the police looking for me?"

"And when we get on the train, pretend you are asleep; in that way the conductors won't bother you...You are the King of a criminal organization, why _shouldn't_ the police be after you? As for you father, good Arceus, he almost killed me!" N's hair was now haphazardly pushed into his cap and out of sight, the adolescent was sure he resembled something ugly.

"I'm sorry about my father...He can say some pretty mean things..."

 _You monster..._

 _I knew it was a mistake to pick you off the streets..._

 _You are useless, even as a puppet._

"Hey!" Black's voice broke into his morbid contemplations, let's go, the train leaves in half an hour.

N had never ridden a train, or an airplane or even a ship for that matter. His only form of transport consisted of his beloved pokemon; zorua would frequently mimic other types of beasts so a young N could have fun riding different monsters each day. As he got older and heavier, zorua could not support his weight and eventually the riding game came to a halt. Ghetsis would sometimes carry him around and he found great comfort in gripping his adoptive father's cloaks as the older man went about the castle with him in his arms. Regret and sadness clawed his heart as he watched the flashing scenery through half lidded eyes. Black had fallen asleep and leaned heavily against him and the girl had her face glued to one of the windows and she was sighing at the running view. He himself didn't know how or what to feel. His life had taken a drastic turn since this morning, having all of his friends brutally beaten and now on the run with two people he hardly knew, his father's admonishing tone rang hollowly in his head:

" _I taught you be better than that N"_

His eyelids were growing heavy and slowly he succumbed himself to a sleep full of fantastic nightmares.

Approximately two days later, evening

Johto

Beneath the secret souvenir shop.

"So your full name is Natural Harmonia Gropius? It's a...Unique name" the spiky haired man in front of him commented.

"We'll just call him N; I don't know why you are bothering to ask him his full name when we'll never use it."

"I didn't ask for your opinion Red"

"I'm not giving any out Green." the ebony haired man scathed.

"Will you two SHUT UP?!" Blue seethed and placed herself between them, inhaling she tossed her locks and smiled kindly at him. "You said you could talk to pokemon correct?" the green haired youth nodded, "so...What is Red's Pika saying?" she pointed to a bored looking electric mouse who was sitting atop its master's head. He locked eyes with the creature and spoke to it whilst the occupants in the room, consisting of Black, White, Green, Red and Blue watched him with great interest.

"...He says his master drools in his sleep and while he can be quite disgusting and hardheaded, Pika hopes that Red will solve his problems with Green and continue to be the unbeatable trainer he usually is."

A tense silence stretched in the room...did he say anything wrong?

"Ah, I see. This is wonderful right guys?"

"..."

"RIGHT GUYS?" Blue shouted and the two grunted in agreement. "Say, how about we have to try to communicate with the legendries we have downstairs?" The posse in the room got up and herded him through a maze of corridors, as they were making their way down; more trainers slipped out from various places and joined them. Most of them gave him friendly smiles; a few just looked at him. One child in particular glared at him with undiluted hatred. The russet tinted eyes seared his flesh till another trainer, carrying a pool-cue, cuffed him on his head. Ignoring the hostile stare, he waited till the holding chamber was opened and stepped over the threshold.

A painful wave of noise reached his ears and he clasped them with his hands and dropped to the floor. The cries were unbearable. Each of the legendary pokemon was in a state of wretched euphoria. Their thoughts clashed with each other's. One group wanted to leave at all costs, another party wanted to stay here and waste their lives away. The same pokemon's thoughts all tumbled over each other in a confusing haze. The monsters didn't know what they wanted; their drugged minds were unable to comprehend between reality and fiction. One moment they agreed their confines were heaven, the next moment an uproar went up, they would rather join Giratina in his distorted world. The gentle psychic types raged, seeking vengeance whilst Groudon, not the most docile, would be contented if someone could pat him on his head. Celebi, the time traveller was trying to age itself to an untimely death whilst Ho-oh, the phoenix who was capable of being reborn from nothing, shrieked about the horrors of death. Concerned about the way he suddenly dropped to the floor; both Red and Blue crouched next to him. Black gripped his shoulders comfortingly and queried if anything was wrong.

"They are insane...the legendary pokemon are crazy, they can't talk properly and their thoughts are so loud, even I can hear them..." haltingly he brought his hands down from his ears and flinched, "...you people are not paying any attention to their needs, you are simply doing as you please. I can't speak to them, they won't respond to me. The pokemon are just spouting nonsense." He got up and pulled himself out of the holding cell and slumped in the corridor...what mess did he get himself into?

"I guess all those sedatives and drugs did some damage to them... Judging by their regenerative capabilities, they should be back to normal if we release them back into the wild..." Green mused and his eyes travelled over a few of the pokemon. He was always under the impression that the legendary monsters were quite happy, he had gone through painstaking effort in order to emulate the best conditions for them...only to find out that the artificial habitat was causing them to lose their minds. Next to him, Red also looked thoughtful; perhaps they were thinking the same thing.

"We'll have to readjust everything again," the red eyed man sighed and looked at N who was hugging himself unhappily, "This time, we'll ask N to help us with the adjustments."

"First he should be placed in a group." strategy's commander intoned and ordered everyone out. The newcomer was escorted to another small room and seated on a comfortable couch. He looked around the stark rom for signs of his companions but the Unova natives where nowhere to be seen. The three leaders sat on a couch opposite him and Red placed the dark stone on a table separating the two sofas. Instantaneously, N felt a tug coming from the stone. He reached for the dark orb and cradled it. To the astonishment of the trio, the sphere glowed and in a flash they were staring at Zekrom, the pitch black dragon stretched its wings, and emitted an earthshaking roar. N found his pompous declaration almost beautiful.

"It..." Green trailed off unable to believe his eyes.

"...Responded to him" Red finished, he too was gaping at the scene in front of him. Black had to carry the light stone for months before the vast white dragon showed itself, even now, its appearance was sporadic.

"It's settled then," the strategy department's leader recovered first, "he'll be in my group."

"Why yours?" Blue and Red countered heatedly.

"Last year, you two gained two new underlings, I need a new member."

"Pardon me Green" Blue's tone turned deceptively sweet, "I don't think N will be able to do much typing on a computer, not to mention he won't be able to process your scientific jargon. He-"

"Do you like battling?" desperate to claim him, Red asked the youth who beheld him with horror.

"No...I despise violence."

"See?" the woman pointed out, "I'll take good care of him~" the two men next to her glared.

Zekrom and N exchanged glances as the trio started bickering. It seemed like the beautiful woman in the middle was trying to stop the two males from yelling each other to death. Pika, the pikachu gave a distressed cry but it was ignored. The green haired adolescent felt a void stretch from the pit of his stomach all the way to his chest. His gift of understanding pokemon was craved for all the wrong reasons. What did Black say again, something about understanding pokemon better if he saw Red, said person was engaged in a brawling argument completely snubbing his partner who was squeaking at him to stop. Perhaps life was better at the castle...Or maybe not, at least these people's pokemon adored them, they will gladly fight for their human partners. The legendary dragon next to him snorted at the humans' antics, N could tell he was quite amused by the situation. When the shouting reached its peak, the electric mouse, temper rising because it was disregarded, let loose several thunderbolts. The paralyzing attacks missed but it had the intended effect, the quarreling duo quieted down.

"Now let's act like civilized people and sort the problem out." Constellate's commander gritted out.

"May I say something?" N spoke up and the three nodded, "I don't want to be part of whatever you three are planning, I'm happy that you gave me a new friend" he indicated Zekrom who sniffed, "therefore I'll-"

"We are not letting you out of here it that's what you are thinking" the woman spoke up with a steely look in her eye.

"I just want a place where I'm not used for something BAD!" N finally shrieked and the trio recoiled. Sensing the man's anguish Zekrom roared and stamped its hind legs. "I'll be happy if one of you could throw me on a mountain somewhere away from people like you and my father!"

"He's got daddy issues" Green commented

"Yeah" Blue shook her head in sympathy.

"Poor guy..." Red scratched Pika who was purring contentedly on his lap. "Say N, obviously we can't throw you on a mountain somewhere so out of the three of us, who would you like to stay under? My team excels in pokemon battling...Which you hate. Blue's group are spies and Green is the brain who keeps us all alive."

Who did he want to stay under? He didn't know any of them properly, it was difficult to judge when his opinion of all of them was low. The image of two brown haired teenagers surfaced in his mind and he wondered...

"I'd like to stay with White and Black..." Although not exemplary humans, they were friendly and nice. And they accepted him as one of their own. In a surge of energy, Zekrom, feeling his master's emotions had stabilized; morphed back into a stone.

"Black huh?" the red eyed trainer chuckled, "he-" the door opened violently and the teenager in question stepped in with a wide smile and Musha stuck on his head.

"You called Boss?"

"No he didn't you idiot and don't eavesdrop on important conversations! Get out!" Green growled, "and give your new friend a tour of the base. Grinning, Black beckoned N to follow him. Picking up his new treasure, the youth followed him out immediately. The three commanders watched him go.

There was a smile blooming on N's face.

* * *

Several weeks later, Night

Sinnoh

Twinleaf town.

 _Ring, ring_

 _Ring_

 _Ri-_

Diamond picked up the phone and held it to his ear. He could pick out Pearl's hasty speech on the other end of the phone. The boy was as usual, talking about the day's events that took place at Battle tower in fight arena. Since they were sent back home all three of them were forced apart and engaged in different activities. Miss Platina was touring the region and trading for information, his best friend was sharpening his battling skills with his father, Palmer. They moved ahead with renewed purpose, as for him, he was stuck at home undergoing some therapy, no one really told him that but Dia slowly understood. Sometimes his head would hurt terribly and his mother would get afraid, she was afraid because she was worried for him, he knew that. Holding the phone more securely, in case it slips out of his grasp, he responds to his friend's excited questions:

"Hmm, I'm fine. I'm helping mom with a berry grill actually. Yeah...Uh...the doctors said I'm okay now. But they still advise cau-tion when battling. I never trained ever since I came back home. Wonder what senior Red will think of me. Pearl...Will he get mad?" Dia fidgeted slightly and gripped the phone tighter

"Don't be ridiculous!" Pearl's voice was deafening through the speaker, "of course he won't be mad Dia, Red's gonna be glad that you are okay and ready to rumble."

"I can't rumble."

"That was a figurative saying."

"Oh..." Diamond exhaled.

"So...I'm glad you are finally able to speak like this to me. I missed the old Dia so much! Hey, when we get back together let's practice our comedy routines again alright? Promise me."

"Hmm, I promise. Oh...I have to go now, I forgot about the berries. I think I burnt them again. See you later Pearl and come visit me." He dropped the phone and made a mad dash to the kitchen. Throwing open the oven he groaned on seeing the berries all charred. "I hope Mom doesn't stop me from cooking again." Muttering endlessly to himself, he scraped the burnt food off and threw them in the trash. Lax stared at him with calculating eyes.

"Don't tell mom," he begged, "if she finds out...that I'm using the oven without telling her...She'll force me to stop cooking. And look" he showed his palms, "I didn't burn myself today."

* * *

 **A/N:** People...I had no power last night (the horror) and therefore this chapter came a day late. Anyway, N joins the team! Yay or Nay? Much gratitude to Helltrainn, AceTrainerLeaf and ReverdeLune for favoriting and following this story, I hope you find it an awesome read. At Jack54311: Cliffhanger? I see what you did there, Black was hanging of a cliff *Pun intended :) In the manga, they trade the exact same pokemon and I thought...why not? At Silver: I like people who tear stories apart, my siblings and I do that all the time, once we're done reading/watching something, we'll analyze it to kingdom come and back. Looks like one of your theories came true, Virtual cake to you! (Oh hey, that rhymed, somewhat). Anyway, I look forward to more predictions and questions. Keep the reviews coming, it's food for a writer's soul.


	27. Dew and flowers

**Chapter 27: Dew and flowers  
**

A few months later, afternoon

Johto

Dex criminals' hideout

"Are you listening to me?"

"Yes sir, three males mock saluted and one sighed."

"Then brief me on the mission protocols." Green ordered.

"One question commander Green" Lack-2 trilled, "why are you giving out our assignments? Our leader is Red, not _you_." Gold exhaled, his student could be such a prick at times. There was a mocking undertone to his words as the spiky haired man glared impassively at him. It was common knowledge that Green and his best friend had some sort of a falling out; unfortunately the details surrounding the event were rather sketchy. The duo hardly communicated with each other without throwing insults and more often than not, Blue would always be sitting or placing herself between them. If things needed to be done, they co-operated with frosty manners and tried to get out of each other's sight as soon as possible. Green Oak was irritated at all times and although he did a good job of covering it up whilst Red spent his days holed up in his room and only came down to eat or when someone wanted to challenge him to a battle. Lack-2, the upstart took great pleasure in riling the leader up and trying to see when the black haired male would finally explode. As of now, all his efforts were in vain, Red simply trained his crimson irises at him and Pika, sitting on his master's shoulder, would discharge electricity through its cheeks. Knowing how terrible the little rodent could be, the youngest member exercised restraint.

"We have to go to route two hundred and twenty four that is way past the pokemon league in Sinnoh and probably crawling with police officers...it's a dead end as well." Lack-2 began drawling and Green scowled in displeasure, "thereafter...Oh wait, before that, we have to find this gleaming white rock and inscribe what we are grateful for. _Thereafter_ , a new path magically opens up, this strait is called Seabreak path and it leads to the flower paradise. Shaymin, the gratitude pokemon will come up to us and lead us in the meadow where it will be frolicking around in it's personal heaving just waiting for us to catch it. Right _professor?_ " He grinned, showing a mouthful of teeth and Gold blanched, his apprentice must be spending way too much time with ambipom.

"I see your head is screwed on correctly, well done. _Child_ " the commander hissed in return. He turned his attention to the next pair, one of them was busy filing his nails and the other was listlessly scanning the room. "Ruby, Emerald, tell me about your mission."

"We are tasked with catching Latios, Latias and their hold item, called the soul dew. They are beautiful pokemon I might add. Anyway, they are located on southern island which is south-east from Slateport. We will find the eon duo there." Ruby stated and adjusted his red rimmed glasses.

"Good," Green rose up from the chair, "collect your cards from Crystal or Yellow and start your mission immediately." Lab coat swishing, he exited the room and the four boys of various ages let out a deep sighs. Gold, who was generally playful, looked contemplative, he only snapped out of his uncharacteristically deep ruminations when Lack-2 prodded him.

"You look awfully dejected."

"I guess" the trainer relented and picked up his cap, "bit stressed that's all."

"Don't worry...they are best friends right?" the boy chirped, "stuff like that happens all the time doesn't it? And considering how long they were together, their friendship will be patched up in no time."

His teacher smiled and he felt happy... _Happy?_ "Man...I wish Crystal or even Silver would comfort me like you did just now-"

"I saw the two of them sitting with you when you decided to take a sudden interest in stars a few nights back. Don't lie senior" Lack-2 grinned, "Crystal is gonna be mad at you."

"Che, I'm really going to keep Aibo far away from you. Whatever, let's get our mission underway before-"

"Green gets his spikes in a tangle" the young male finished.

Laughing, the duo made their way to strategy's common room together.

* * *

The next day, morning

Sinnoh

Route 224

The route was a combination of sand and grass. Touching down, the two trainers inspected the area. Knowing how jittery he could be in the face of police and authorities, Gold used his togekiss to give the area an aerial sweep. For now, the league was closed since there were no trainers waiting to get in. The champion was probably not even in the building. Cynthia was a super intendant of the international police and was constantly travelling around her own and other regions doing her duty. Satisfied with his scouting, he returned to the designated spot only to see the boy had disappeared again. Panic gripped his heart as he called for his student and searched desperately. His first thought was that they have been ambushed by the police. Thanks to the rise of criminals everywhere, the authorities were on high alert. He whirled around on hearing a voice coming from behind a large boulder.

"Zekrom's sake, stop screeching like an ambipom, I'm right here!"

"I'm sorry!" Gold shrieked angrily, "but with the stunts you like to pull when I'm with you on missions are worrying for me. I've had it with you disappearing whenever we land in a new place!"

"I'm just checking the area out..." Lack-2 trailed off, "I apologize for worrying you." He understood his senior was not in the best of moods and after his best friends left on assignments, his temper plunged even further.

The duo walked on in silence, keeping an eye for the white stone Green lectured them about. Gravel crunched underfoot and they had to traverse the rocky terrain on hands and foot, climbing over ledges. Sea wind whipped Lack-2's brown locks and waves hit gently against the sand bars. Gold's humor improved considerably as he his mind angled away from dark thoughts and focused on keeping the wild pokemon at bay. He rummaged in wild grass and shouted in glee when he found pearls, heart scales and some discarded merchandise. Seems like the trainers don't like spending much time here. Maybe the legend of shaymin appearing was all a sham. The boy snorted, inscribe your gratitude on a stone and poof! A wild shaymin appears? The very idea was ludicrous. Nonetheless he plodded on with his teacher. They came to the end of the route and after scrambling up over a series of ledges, he alighted on a barren plain. The flat area was devoid of grass and one could see ground types peeking out from crevices. In the middle sat a giant white rock, the surface of the boulder was scratched up and upon closer scrutiny, it contained numerous words, no doubt left behind someone trying to catch the fabled gratitude pokemon.

"So what are we going to do now?" the boy peered at the words marked on the surface of the stone and frowned, "we have to write down for what we are grateful for right?" spinning around, he walked to the edge of the plain, "you can do that," he called over his shoulder, I'm not making a fool of myself by scratching up some wonder stone..." Ignoring Gold who took out a pocket knife, he sat down on in the dirt with his legs dangling over the ledges. Extracting a bottle from his backpack, he took a gulp of water and waited for something to happen.

Gold was at work, furiously scraping the rock with his knife. He stood on tip toes and toiled away, cursing when the knife skewed to the side or grazed his skin. About half an hour later he gave a triumphant shout and called his apprentice over. The russet eyed youth appeared lazily and stared at the inscription with mild disgust, at least his senior was a creative person.

"Seriously?" the male pointed at the roughly hewn words, "you are grateful for all the pretty _gals_ in the world?" He angled his head towards the dead end. "I don't see the gratitude legendary coming up, either you are lying to yourself or Shaymin does not appreciate your thought processes. "Let's go back; I doubt a gratitude pokemon even _exists_."

The older trainer watched as Lack-2 kicked up a cloud of dust, "you seem adamant about there not being a gratitude pokemon. We have plenty to be thankful for"

"Like what?"

"The air we breathe..." the student glowered, "well, I'm thankful for everything really...Hey, get back here!"

"I'm going to sit at that spot and ignore you for an hour, if Shaymin doesn't appear; I'm leaving on my own. So make something work!" He heard Gold mutter something under his breath as the amber eyed trainer started scratching the rock again. Checking his watch he sat back down in the dirt and prepared to wait for exactly one hour before taking off, his mentor could stay here for all he cares.

 _I'm thankful for everything really..._

The words echoed around in his head. Despite not showing it, he was a bit jealous of the ties the criminals had with each other. Even Whi-2 was unrecognizable these days. The subdued girl had morphed into a strong independent trainer who was not shy of stating what she wanted. She got along very well with her eccentric group of higher ranking members. Ruby doted on her, dressing both her and her pokemon up in outlandish contest outfits. Platina would be caught giving her gifts of expensive clothes or accessories. Blue adored her like a younger sister, constantly hugging the girl whenever the situation presented itself and as for Silver, she seemed to gravitate towards the solemn man the most. Despite being best buddies, the personalities of Gold and Silver were total opposites, one was outgoing, flirtatious and the other was quiet, serious. He heard his teacher mumbling under his breath again, the man was hard at work. Why did he waste his talents away with this group of people instead of making a name for himself? Why did anyone of these Dex holders even go along with the top three's hare brained schemes? Probably for the same reason he did. The act of Gold carrying him on his back and tucking him in bed was extra-ordinary, never would Lack-2, in his wildest fantasies imagine a gambling pervert to be so thoughtful and kind.

 _What is he grateful for?_

 _Nothing much really._

 _He never had much of a life and he was perfectly happy with it._

 _Or was he?_

Suddenly the barren landscape transformed. Literally. Lack-2 stood up abruptly and watched with his mouth hanging open. Like a time lapse video, he saw grass breaking the surface of the dusty ground. Flower buds pushed from beneath the earth and bloomed, washing the area in sea of color. Further on, a series of slopes rose majestically from the ocean. Route two hundred and twenty four extended before his very eyes. The water swished away from the strait and the earth, still wet, sprouted an array of multicolored plants and foliage. Rooted to the spot, both him and his senior watched as a small pokemon came up to them. It made contact with Gold's leg before scurrying away. Jolted into action, the older male hollered at Lack-2 to give chase as he himself went after the gratitude pokemon, sneakers squelching on the still soft earth. The brown haired boy moved mechanically and after stepping on to Seabreak path he looked back. He desperately wanted to see what his mentor had inscribed on the stone to make the pokemon appear. Torn between two decisions, he shook his head and tore after Shaymin; there was plenty of time to check the rock out later.

 _I'm thankful for my family and friends. For my teacher who taught me and for my student whom I hope to make into a great trainer one day._

Flower paradise was how it appeared, a flower paradise. Unlike the man-made gardens he was accustomed to seeing at rich people's mansions, this meadow was untamed, wild and thus much more beautiful. He stood at the entranced enthralled by the scenery. Small pink blossoms clamored for attention underfoot. Yellow centered flowers bathed the meadow with a sweet, enticing scent. Walking in further, his eyes feasted on long stemmed tulips, vying for attention against dewy petaled roses. Careful not to snap any of still growing buds, he sloshed his way through to find Shaymin frolicking on an elevated field which was blooming with Gracidea flowers, the blossoms allowing Shaymin to morph into the sky forme. The hedgehog-esque creature was rolling about and uttering high pitched squeaks whilst Gold, his mouth stretched into an amiable grin, observed.

"It really exists...wow" Lack-2 breathed deeply, the sweet scent brought a rush of euphoria. It spoke of warm memories, it tickled his raw emotions.

"Yeah, little dude looks so happy." the black haired adolescent pointed out, "and did you know Gracidea flowers are presented when you want to express your gratitude? I'm gonna pick some and shower Crystal with it." Saying this, he began snapping the flowers off their delicate stems, "oh yeah, I'll task you to get the pokemon, do a good job Lack-2, make your momma proud."

 _I don't have a mother._

Summoning his dewott, the youngster got to work. Shaymin, unaware of the dangers awaiting him, gave a happy high pitched squeak and ran to the discipline pokemon. Picking up its scalchop, the water type danced in an arc, holding the deadly blade out. It cut through leaves, stems and Shaymin's body. The poor beast squealed and toppled on its uninjured side. Emerald tinted beady eyes stared first at dewott who was staring emotionlessly and then at Lack-2 who exhaled. It didn't understand why the humans were hunting it down. Getting up slowly on its stubby legs, it licked its wound clean, the chlorophyll tinged blood made healing hassle free. The pokemon made another attempt at befriending the visitors, it has been centuries till anyone was able to find this path and thus meet him. Again, on approaching the visored male, it was brutally flung to the far end, right in a clump of gracideas. Forcing itself upright, Shaymin decided it had enough.

Small teeth clamped down and gnawed through a green stalk, when the flower separated, Shaymin transformed. Flying high in the sky, it trained it's fury on Lack-2 and dewott. He could deal with the flower picker later; perhaps that human would be much friendlier. The area around Shaymin glowed white and the air burst outwards, thousands of tiny seeds pelted the surface of the human's and it's partner's body. With sorrow, the gratitude pokemon saw how the trainer ran to the fainted water type, he brushed away the numerous spiked seeds embedded in the pokemon's body and recalled it. As the grass type turned its attention to the capped trainer, who was still squatting amongst the blossoms, it got a nasty shock. A ring of flames erupted from a fire pokemon's back and engulfed him in a burning vortex. Shaymin tried to fly away from the flames but the typholsion kept on sending out more. The flower picking person did nothing to help. Exhausted from the constant running and burns, which was staining its fur black and searing the wound, shaymin fell tiredly to the ground. Only then did the amber eyed man come to him, holding a bunch of flowers. The pokemon pawed the ground desperately when Gold produced an ultra-ball; it gave a piteous cry which was cut short when the creature was encapsulated.

* * *

Mission accomplished, the duo were now making their way back to route 224, on reaching the piece of land embedded with the white rock, Seabreak path sunk beneath the waves. The white foamed water washed over it and in a few minutes it was totally gone. The plain had also gone back to its original arid state. Eyeing the rock, Lack-2 broke away from Gold and made a dash for it, he was surprised when his mentor held him back by the scruff of his clothes.

"Where are you going?"

"To see what magical words you wrote on that boulder to enable us to meet Shaymin." he replied.

"I didn't write much, anyway, we need to make our way back to Canalave city, it's evening already and we must go home, no time for detours."

"The stupid rock is a few meters in front of me! And let me go, or are you embarrassed of what you wrote?"

Instead of replying, Gold held a flower out.

"...You are giving flowers to a man? There is something wrong with your head." the boy quipped.

The older trainer smiled and forced the blossom into Lack-2's hands, "just take it. I should be thankful for you shouldn't I?" the youngster opened his mouth to protest but was cut off, "and I'm really glad I got to train and look after you, I enjoy taking care of people and pokemon even though both Crys and Silver complains I'm irresponsible. I realized that having you around is forcing me not to take things for granted. Sure you can be a royal headache but in the end it's nice to see you grow up to be a responsible trainer. Man! Was my speech cool or what?" Gold kept on chuckling as they descended the ledges. Once they got out of the rocky regions, togekiss was summoned and its trainer sat comfortably on its back. He beckoned for the child who was deep in thought. Shaking his head, he joined his mentor. The avian squawked at the added weight and eyed its master with malice. It was not getting enough poffins and poke-blocks for all the back breaking work it was doing. With an almighty heave of its wings, togekiss rose in the air and disappeared in the cloudless sky.

"Thanks" the words whispered by Lack-2 drifted unheard in the winds.

Morning of the same day

Hoenn

Southern Island

A fashionista and an under developed boy stepped down on the grass and surveyed the area. The island was scenic, ringed with waterfalls, trees and elevated cliffs. The air was humid and Ruby, unappreciative of all the wonders of nature irritably fanned himself. Emerald on the other hand was happy to be away from base, not that he had a problem with his work, but recently Green was being rather unreasonable. Flopping down to the floor, he dug his hands through grass and soil, commenting about the unique energy imbued in the earth. The red eyed male paid no attention to the blonde's ramblings, locating a pool of water; he checked his reflection in it bemoaning his sweat plastered hair. A beep issued from his pocket and he pulled his PokeNav our and stared at Sapphire's amused expression. Without as much as a greeting, the two began bickering and it only stopped when Blue pulled the device away.

"Are you getting on with your job?" she queried.

"Take a look at me first!" he shrieked, "How do you expect me to concentrate when I look this ugly?" He heard his best friend snicker in the background and he scowled. His leader consoled him and together the duo went on a tangent about the wonders of fashion, as he was warming up to the topic, Constellate's leader changed the subject and admonished him for being lazy. With a click, the screen went blank and he sighed.

"Rald," he called, "let's get going, finding the legendries will be a bit of a challenge as they can hide themselves, also, they get protective over their soul dew so we need to stay sharp...and are you collecting dirt?" he watched as the blonde teenager scooped dirt into a little jar.

"Yes, you never know when you might need it." came the reply, "so we are starting our mission already? Sound's great! Not! Geez, now I have to go back and listen to senior Green's unrelenting demands again..."

The two shouldered their backpacks, gathered some berries and filled their bottles with fresh water before setting off.

In a building situated on Southern Island:

The alarms blared and the screens went haywire in the monitor room. The guardsman flailed about as he eyed two intruders creeping about on the island. He was sure their target was the eon duo; lots of people had come to this isle hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive creatures. During peak season, the tourism industry made good money giving a tour of the place. Due to the rise of criminals seeking legendary pokemon, it was agreed by both the police and Hoenn authorities to permanently station a team at this place, so far, the decision proved to be invaluable. Each month, the police ended up busting people ranging from unauthorized visitors, thieves and criminals with an agenda. All of them had been adults or adolescents. Watching the two children, the bulky guard snorted. Not willing to go down there and actually dirty his own hands, he reached for the phone instead; police officers Norman and Brawly would make short work of these brats.

* * *

 **Extra:**

Team Constellate: Masters of spying, espionage, disguising and stealing. They procure info at any possible cost. Medium publicity, sometimes works in tandem with Execution. Their calling card picture is a cluster of stars.

Members:

Blue *flips hair and winks at the readers* : Team leader

Silver: Best in the group also known as a phantom thief. Blue's adopted brother

Ruby: Fashionista who hides his deadly battling prowess. Skilled in making disguises

Platina Berlitz: Provides funding for the group and their disguises

Whi-2: Kidnapped recruit. Still a bit of a novice when doing things.

* * *

 **A/N:** Gold and Lack-2, I had so much fun writing these two together. At Jack54311: You thought they were going to do some good deeds? Think again! No, N's character will be more in tune with his manga and game counterparts. At Silver: Aw, I'm glad I could make happy. I thought it'd be funny to put it in because normally you wouldn't want people/pokemon frequenting hospitals for whatever reason and all the nurses are like: We hope to see you again. Actually that makes a good phrase. At Sylveon: You remind me of Eevee…except that you hate Green. Thank you for reviewing, I hope you find this story pleasing to read. I'm extremely happy that my writing moved you, your reviews were a huge motiving factor. Yes, I live in a small tropical country but trust me; the climate isn't something to look forward to. It's always humid and it rains cats/dogs/mangoes and fish. And here the electricity shoots off whenever it feels like it. I used to live in a southern, dry country and I miss it very much. Well…I didn't have trouble sorting them out in groups, I just thought about the characters and where they would fit in the best. As for Diamond, he can't really battle but I put him there because he is a huge fan of Red, the same with Gold (except that Gold is a good fighter). No, the members can't change but since they work often with each other, it doesn't really matter. For your question on parents' opinions, hopefully the next chapter answers your queries. At Blue: Ahahahaha, your review made my day! I was rushing to post the chapter so I forgot. I did Blue's one on this chapter.

I hope to see all of you again! And thanks for reviewing, virtual mangoes to you all. (Silver, I'm not sure how you feel about mango flavored cake…Might taste good you know)


	28. Black sheep and Blood ties

**Chapter 28: Black sheep and Blood ties  
**

The call came early in the morning. Norman was busy reading the newspaper when his PokeNav rang. Thinking it was the gym leaders association wanting to tell him off again, he reluctantly picked up the device and answered it. The little screen was filled with the image of an incompetent guard. Amongst many dramatic gestures, the officer related how two intruders were creeping about. The description of a boy with a white furred hat and a blonde baby didn't mean much to him. He had seen worse during his years of duty. Bidding goodbye to his wife, he let out his bird pokemon and left for the island.

Fire burned in his eyes, he was going to make up for the time they made a fool out of him during the Rayquaza case.

Mid-morning

Hoenn

Southern Island

Finding Latias and Latios was proving to be more difficult than they had thought. The waterfall encircling the isle was home to many grottos and caves which Ruby was sure the eon duo _could_ be hiding in. All the foliage, water and sun were raising the temperature on the island and it was getting uncomfortably hot and humid. The thick air was making it difficult to breath. Emerald, having no qualms about scurrying up rock faces, did so, soaking himself with stray droplets of water. Balancing precariously, he squeezed his little body in hard to reach areas and called out. No such luck. At times a strong gust of wind would assault them in their faces or a tree beyond their reach would be cloaked in mist, the moment the two trainers ran to inspect the phenomenon, it would vanish. In desperation, Ruby pulled out his Pokedex in an effort to track down the pokemon. His efforts proved to be fruitless. Reaching for a pokeball, he released his mightyena and ordered the dark hound to sniff for the two legendries. The bite pokemon, fur sparkling from all the grooming his master did for him, merely turned its head the other way haughtily and sat on the ground. The fashionista huffed.

"Any sign of them?" Ruby cringed on seeing Emerald with his hair and clothes all muddy from crawling around in the caves. The blonde was trying to smooth out a dirt stain but only succeeded in spreading the muck further on his clothes.

"Nope, I think they are toying with us," he replied and sat down, "I heard they like to play especially Latias. And why did you bring out your Nana? Don't tell me you're trying to track the eon pokemon by scent" Rald chuckled, "and besides, I think your mightyena is too cool to be putting its nose to the ground and sniffing around. Like master, like pokemon." The boy clutched his stomach and laughed hysterically whilst both Ruby and Nana eyed him. The hysterics cut abruptly when the dense bushes behind them rustled. Nana sat up and perked its ears and before Ruby or anyone could stop him, it gave a joyful bark and barreled straight into Norman.

* * *

Father and son stared at each other. Norman blinked; his eyes must be playing tricks on him because certainly this was ridiculous.

No, the thought that was creeping on the edge of his mind was nonsense. There was no way his son...his beloved Ruby was capable of doing this. Mightyena was gleefully curling around his legs, the boy in front of him sported, like the fat guard had mentioned, a white furred hat and red rimmed glasses. And he was sweating profusely. Sharp eyes picked out another individual who was cowering in his son's shadow. Whoever the child was, Ruby was doing a remarkably good job of keeping him out of view. Time stilled and the stuffy air grew heavy on the lungs. A nightmare, this was all a bad dream because Ruby won't do this, his child was more interested in contests and being disgustingly fashionable, he was not standing on his island, with his black hair plastered to his forehead and glaring. With a jolt, the gym leader realized that those red tinted irises harbored intense emotions like his own.

 _Like father, like son._

It was no coincidence, no matter how much he tried to push the thought out of his conscious. He has been found out by the last person he wanted to see. His father. The situation was delicate enough without Emerald having to wrap stubby arms around his waist. They were only doing this to prevent the police from finding out their identities and he had paid the price. No matter, a sense of odd relief bloomed in his chest. He knew his dad would retaliate furiously. Dad always did. Norman was the type who didn't listen to anyone and did whatever he wanted. Funny, Ruby thought and swallowed nervously, his mouth and fauces were sandpaper dry, when he was young, he remembered his father being a kind individual who always doted on his son. Of course that time all Ruby wanted to be was a pokemon champion, but did his ideas of his future disgust his dad so much? What was wrong with being a contest participant? What was wrong with trying to find a new world where your dad didn't despise you for your chosen career?

 _What was wrong with that?_

"If your mother saw you...She would cry" Norman's voice cracked and Ruby shifted, smoothly delving into a stance which was primed for running away. The normal type gym leader let out a pokemon and worded a command. Vigoroth, claws gleaming, slashed mightyena who swiftly jumped back and growled. The dark type opened its jaws wide and crunched down on vigoroth's arm, it only let up when the limb broke and blood dripped. Seeing this, the man inhaled deeply...It has come to this.

"Slaking, swagger!"

"Ruru safeguard!" the criminal duo was saved from being confused, slaking's swagger had thrown up dust and the guard was not spared of his father's wrath. He fumbled helplessly around and spouted nonsense and whilst Norman, teeth gritted and veins on his forehead visible, dealt with him. Ruby took the opportunity to let Emerald escape. The short boy had ran a few meters ahead when two gym leaders teleported into the scene. Emitting a silent shriek, he dove behind a boulder and watched Tate and Liza scan the area, a few minutes later, Brawly, grinning mouth inching downwards, came to a halt and took everything in. It was a sight to see Norman and his son dueling with each other, the attacks were aimed to maim and hurt, no holds barred.

"Use bulk up and frustration." The lazy pokemon got up once more and stamped its feet on the ground, its muscles bulged visibly underneath tan colored fur. With a roar, it went for mightyena, the pokemon leapt to the side, dodging the flailing fists, when none of the moves struck, slaking lay back on the ground, ignoring everything around it. Nana circled the beast cautiously, emitting growls and when he saw the ape's arm shoot out and grab a tuft of grass, the hound struck.

"Hyper beam."

Ruby watched morbidly as slaking opened up its palm and let loose a stream of light which hit Nana squarely in the face. The dog reeled backwards and whimpered, the fur on its face and neck was burnt off revealing black skin. Staggering, it whirled around a few times and fainted, eyes open and glassy. Retrieving it, the teenager sent out his trump card. With a scream, Zuzu announced his presence, hitting the ground heavily and cracking it into pieces. Opening its mouth, swampert let loose a blast of mud, the normal type was caked head to toe with it. Pushing itself off the dirt, slaking screeched and lumbered to swampert, the two locked arms and were now pushing each other back and forth in a wrestling type contest. Zuzu overpowered the ape and sent it sprawling on its back, raising a finned fist, the ground type gathered a sphere of energy and promptly smacked itself in the face. The lazy pokemon reared up and bodily slammed its opponent away from him. Swampert floundered about, directing its attention to the new occupants; it called for a deluge of water.

"Disable." the twins droned and the water dissipated instantly. Zuzu crumpled to the floor like a creature drained of energy. It groaned. Its master shifted his eyes, taking mental note of the people surrounding him, at this rate, just coming out of here alive would be a feat, he briefly wondered if Emerald managed to get away. Face screwed and resembling his father, Ruby weighed the options in his head. Taking all of them on would prove to be a damning decision, not to mention fighting tooth and nail with his father is taxing him emotionally. His mother, what would she say? Shaking his head to clear it of thoughts, he grunted in pain when Spinda bowled into him. Safeguard would prevent any status ailments, he was sure of that, a physical battering however...Was a different thing.

"Norman..." the twins began speaking, "it would be in our best interest to..." Tate broke off.

"Capture the eon duo first. The accomplice is searching whilst you..." Liza added.

"Are distracted with this family feud." The two psychics finished their sentences together.

They were ignored by the man. He was more interested in finding out why his son was doing this. The whole scenario still felt surreal. Like he was phasing through a dream and seeing the events through someone else's eyes. Colors were vivid, Ruby's yells and grunts of pain were loud in his ears. And the blood in his veins pumped vigorously. He was on edge, they both were. Slaking had meandered over to the teenager and tried to drag it's claws over the boy, it was thwarted by gardevoir, the guarding monster did something inexplicable and in seconds the hulking beast was foaming at the mouth, gurgling and banging it's head on the ground till blood gushed from its nose, it was promptly recalled. Telepathically hurling spinda off him, Ruru sent the tottering beast flying into the air and splashing into a nearby pool of water. Then it trained its eyes on Norman who was assaulted by extrasensory. A flood of pain and information attacked his nerves. Clutching his head he screamed till he scared the nearby bird pokemon off.

"Ruru stop!" Ruby howled on seeing his father reduced to such a state, "STOP! You're going to kill him!"

Gardevoir's eyes stopped glowing and Norman, sweat dripping down his face dropped to one knee. He angrily watched the embrace pokemon tenderly helping it's trainer up and holding him securely. A gust of wind went through the clearing and when it stopped, the occupants all stared at the pokemon causing it. Latios had appeared. The draconic pokemon judged them with a solemn gaze. Startled into reality. Ruby shouted a command. His pokemon gathered an orb of shadows and flung it at the legendary whilst Norman observed mutely. There was no denying it any longer.

His son was a criminal

 _A criminal_

Cri...mi...nal

"Brawly, Tate, Liza...Make sure Latias is not captured by the other thief. Leave this brat to me. Its time someone instilled some discipline into him." The gym leaders protested but Norman cut them off by raising his hand, "I'd appreciate it if...This does not leak to the international police. Please, let us be." Casting another worried look over their shoulders, the group took off, preparing themselves to chase after Latias and the other boy. In the clearing, Latios dodged a shadow ball and folded it wings. In a split second, it blitzed across the island and vanished. Cursing, Ruby ignored his father and gave chase. If he got hold of the legendary, he'll be able to escape from his father's clutches. Norman too, ran after his son, the spinda who fell into the water earlier, climbed up and watched them leave. Tottering, it ambled drunkenly after its trainer.

Things weren't going well for Emerald, whilst the psychic duo and the surfer dude was busy ogling at Ruby and Norman, he took the opportunity to climb out of hiding place and creep around them. It was a miracle Tate and Liza didn't sense him, he wondered what to do next, contacting his seniors was out of the question, he was sure his best friend would be hurled back to Littleroot town. And there was his mission; the three commanders had prioritized safety before anything else. Right now he didn't feel very safe. How could he when he was climbing up the sheer cliffs of a waterfall? Solrock and lunatone were encircling the area akin to a pair of predators. If he was caught in their trap, it was all over for both of them. Biting his lip, he heaved himself higher and pressed his body against a ledge, it was just the right size to support him. Sighing, he turned his head to look and came face to face with a red haired levitating girl. If Emerald wasn't too busy fearing for his life, he might've noticed that she was rather cute.

The blonde bit down a scream and frantically motioned her to keep quiet. Tilting her head to one side, she smiled and held out a hand. Debating whether to reach for it or not (was she friend or foe?) he hesitantly reached out a small palm and then pulled his hand back in alarm. He didn't feel human skin, when he touched her; he felt claws, cold and metallic. Being a pokemon trainer, he knew exactly what those deadly appendages could do. The girl shook her head and tried to hold him again. Finally giving up, she let her ability down and Rald gasped.

It was Latias, the legendary came to him! Panic welled in his chest, what if those gym leaders traced her energy? And battling her when he was in such a precarious position would be stupid. He tried to get a pokeball out, but the capsule slipped from his sweaty hands and began to fall in the pond of water below. He watched aghast as Latias dove down and retrieved the ball for him.

"Okay, this is awkward," Rald muttered, the stress was driving him crazy, "my mission is to capture you at all costs and I will feel really bad if I ended up hurting you and forcing you to come with me...You probably don't understand me do you? Sorry, please dismiss this as the ramblings of a mad...WHOA!" the rocky ledge crumbled under his weight and hearing his anguished shout, the gym leaders whipped around. Again, Latias caught him and soared away with Emerald on her back. Both parties sported surprised expressions. The team on the ground merely gaped and Rald, shocked beyond belief, stared back as their figures grew smaller. Latias flew higher in the sky, till she broke the cloud cover. Giving a squeak of pleasure, it dropped into a steep dive and the human atop her back screaked. He complained of how his breakfast was going up the wrong way. Twirling around in circles, it came to a stop near her brother who was gazing at her sternly; the dizzy trainer leaned to the side and fell off, crashing into a tree branch. The eon pokemon was about to approach him when the blonde bent over and threw up. She recoiled and zoomed away.

Emerald gagged, the trip was definitely the best and worst experience he had ever received. His head was swimming, and he tasted bile. Yuck, sliding down the tree trunk, he located a body of water and promptly washed his face and rinsed his mouth with it. Latias had come back and deposited some herbs and berries next to him. Inclining his head as a show of thanks, he gratefully gobbled them up. All the while, Latios' red tinted irises watched him.

Studied him.

"Your brother knows I'm a criminal, you should listen to him when he tells you to stay away from me." Latias had changed back into a girl and was sitting next to him with a wide smile stretched on her face. The Dex-holder really wished she'd at least be hostile, or run away or even attack him. Yeah, attacking would be the best, he'd have a legitimate excuse to fight her and capture her. All the other mythical pokemon were hostile to some degree. He had watched through a camera how Rayquayza almost killed the capture team. Red had broken one side of the glass cage and it forced itself out, opening its mouth and firing a hyper beam in the process. Fortunately, Gold's quick reactions prevented the leader from become a skeleton. Now, he didn't know how to react when the target was actively making friends with him. What would senior Crystal do? He thought. Forcing the last berry in his mouth, he tried talking to the eon pokemon.

"You see," he began, feeling very foolish, to emphasize how serious he was, he stood up and Latias followed suit, "I'm a pokemon trainer...A thief to be precise, my seniors, juniors and I collect legendary pokemon. We don't harm them, at least not like the other people out there..." his mind advertently turned to Green and how the organization was forced to kill the corrupted mewtwo. "There are exceptions...well, the thing is, I must go back home with both you and your brother in a pokeball and I'd like to avoid a fight if possible. You two are the kindest legendries I've ever come across, trust me, we'll try to take very good care of you."

He tried not to think about the way N collapsed in the holding cell, citing that the mythical pokemon were going mad despite their best efforts to keep them happy. Or were his seniors even trying to keep them happy?

The idea was scrapped from his mind.

Immediately after his convoluted little speech, Latias pressed herself against him crooning cheerfully, her brother on the other hand let loose several orbs from the top of his head and before Rald could process what was going on, the spheres all slammed into his tiny body. He was lifted off the ground and brutally flung back into the earth. As the light faded, his body gained a searing pain, the sensation was as if someone was peeling the top layer of his skin off. It was boiling agony. With a screech, Latias stopped her brother from harming him further. She nudged him away, each successive push getting slightly more violent. At last, she fired mist ball and forced her sibling away. The blue pokemon flinched on taking the full brunt of the attack. Rald pushed himself upright and winced; he observed the eon duo in a tense standoff. If the two pokemon fought, things would take a drastic turn for the worst. Suddenly, Latias broke away from her brother and grabbed him by his clothes, hoisting him up, she took him out of sight as Norman and Ruby, panting from exertion, tumbled into the area. Both of them sported various wounds and cuts on their body. Compared to them, Emerald's wounds were superficial.

"Ruru, shadow ball aga- Gah!" Slaking, still muddy and confused, rammed into Ruby whilst the gym leader focused his attention on Latios, he was to prevent the legendary from falling into wrong hands. He sent out staraptor and the vulturine bird rounded on the psychic legendary. Latios used luster purge once more, however, the large avian dodged the deadly orbs of light and slashed the blue pokemon with steel stiffened wings. The two flying types engaged in an acrobatic combat. Swooping, diving on each other and raking their claws over feathers and fur. Unlike his sister, Latios had no qualms about being ferocious and staraptor gave out a pained shriek when one of its eyes was nearly gouged out. With a sharp cry, the bird aced across the air, trying to land a hit. The eon pokemon swerved to one side and was promptly hit by gardevoir's shadow ball. Disorientated, it was unable to dodge the next attack. Tucking its wings, the predator collided with Latios from a low altitude, the recoil damage was too much to bear and with a scream, it fainted, plummeting to the ground.

Latios was out of breath. His sister had taken a liking to a dangerous human and her attack on him had dire consequences. He was not new to this experience, all his life both him and his sister were hunted. So far he had managed to ruin anyone who tried to capture them; unfortunately these adversaries were proving to be quite a big problem. He moved to the side as another sphere of dark energy sailed past. As long as he had the soul dew, things would tip in his favor.

"Ruru, use thief! Get that soul-dew."

He didn't see that coming.

The embrace pokemon teleported to him and literally sucked the holding item away from his claws. The effects were instantaneous, when he tried to attack, it had little effect. His enemies' assails were deadly. Before long, he opted to run away, alas an ultra-ball closed over his form and suddenly he was seeing things from a different perspective. Everything was too big, the sensation of falling was making him dizzy and there was a clear dome over his head. Trying to break out didn't work and all his rebellious thoughts were being muted. Tamed.

"I did it!" Ruby scrambled up and ran as the ball fell, to his astonishment, Latias, with Rald on her back swooped out of nowhere and scooped the ball up. The two trainers exchanged worried glances. They were aware of the dangerous situation engulfing them. Making a hasty decision, Ruby threw the glowing soul-dew to Emerald and implored him to go. "And don't come after me! Tell that to Saph!" If Norman got hold of them both, it was over. After much hesitation and shouting on Ruby's part, the blonde left, clutching the item and pokeball in both fists. They had completed their mission, but at a heavy cost. Sinking to the dirt, the fashionista didn't care if his father gave him a beating. He didn't even whimper when the man grabbed him by his neck.

"We are going home!" Norman thundered and proceeded to drag Ruby through the dirt, his son offered no resistance. "You won't be setting a foot outside the house ever again!"

* * *

Evening

Johto

Dex criminal's hideout

"Feels good to be back home!" Gold exclaimed as they jumped down from togekiss, the disgruntled bird pecked Lack-2 a few times before being recalled.

"You don't say~" a torpid voice floated to their ears and Gold whipped around. Diamond was standing behind them; he was flanked by Pearl and Platina. On seeing his junior, the older male rushed over to him and gave him a once over.

"Are you well enough to be coming back here Dia? Does your head hurt?"

"Nope senior!" he gave a slight pause, "I'm all okay, although the doctors said I should be under constant su-per-vision at all times. They are worried I might have a...a...What was it called again?"

"Relapse" Pearl and Platina finished.

"Yeah that." the blue eyed teen smiled, "anyway, I have to tell Red that I haven't been practicing. He's gonna get mad at me." Fretting, he pulled out a cup cake and began eating. Gold laughed and ushered him inside. On entering Execution's common room, Dia was surprised to see a green haired individual talking to a black stone. A void opened up in his chest. He had missed a lot of things during his absence. Nevertheless, he walked to the back of the room with a bounce in his step. Sapphire came over and clapped him good naturedly on his back. Black as usual, screamed a greeting and the new person merely stared at him. Ignoring the weirdo, he searched around the room for his teacher, usually he could be found lazing around on one of the couches watching television or sparring with one member or the other...Or doing paper work, when he felt like it. Right now, the ebony haired adolescent was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's senior Red?" at his question, the atmosphere in the room grew anxious, he was aware of the tension emitted by the other members. Just as he was about to repeat his query and ask why everyone froze, the person he was searching for made an entrance.

"Welcome back Diamond" Red smiled and Pika emitted a squeak, "both you and your cooking were sorely missed!" The choked feeling in the room melted away as he bounded over to his idol. The man ruffled his hair and the Sinnoh native began to talk, wanting to catch up with all that he missed. In the meantime, Gold retrieved the Gracidea flowers from his backpack and started distributing them. The reactions he got ranged from dramatic to apathetic. Sapphire first eyed him warily and at his insistence, took the flower and crushed it into her palm. Black bowed his thanks and in turn gave the blossom to his pokemon. N outright refused. Red grinned and pocketed it, same with Diamond. Moving out of the chamber, he decided to go Strategy's room and do the same. Instead he bumped into Crystal and Silver in the corridors.

"There is something wrong with you." the red head intoned when he was presented with a flower, "never did I think you, out of all people, would give flowers to a man."

"It's for gratitude!" the gold eyed trainer stated, "can't a dude be thankful for his friends?"

"I agree with Silver," Crys stated and took the flower, "you don't normally do this Gold."

"...Yeah I don't..." he sighed and slumped to the floor, his cheerful facade all broken into pieces, "it's just that...after the whole fight or whatever with Senior Red and Green...I kinda...Got scared the same thing might...Happen to us. When I went to bother Red the day after the fight...You know how the top three never tell us anything...I didn't know he had a physical brawl with Green. Man when he opened the door, I almost dropped to the floor. He looked dead, his face was bruised in several places and he absolutely refused to tell me what's going on."

"Don't worry about it." Crystal soothed and squatted down next to him. "They'll sort their differences out, you focus on training Lack-2 and your missions...And don't lean on me, I'll kick you."

Even though she threatened to do as such, she didn't push him away when he supported his entire body weight on her. Something was fluttering in his chest, it wasn't apprehension, rather it was something pleasant. A warm sensation. He wondered what it was.

Silver eyed the duo, "I'm leaving, I got some work to do." he announced and was about to walk away when his best friend grabbed him. "Gold," he sighed, "like I mentioned, I have work to d-"

"Sit with me." It was a forceful request and as much as he wanted to get away, he resigned himself and sat down next to his friend. The male had his eyes closed and head leaning on Crystal's shoulder. In his hands were a bunch of pink petaled flowers. It was an odd sight, seeing three adolescents seating themselves against the wall in a passageway.

"Oh yeah..." Gold's voice was growing heavy, "Silver, if I fall asleep, carry me to bed."

"Hell NO!" the red head denied, alas, his words fell on deaf ears.

* * *

 **Extra:**

Team Execution: Is at the forefront, deals mostly with pokemon capturing and battling. They are the fighters and deal well with violence. Being the group with the most exposure, the represent the public image of the Organizations. Their calling card picture consists of two maroon swords crossed over each other.

Members:

Red: Team Leader and former champion of Kanto. He is the actual founder of the organization and the true leader. Not Green. (Despite him doing most of the commanding and work)

Gold: Former apprentice of Red. A battler whose skills are on par with his mentor's

Sapphire: Adept in precision attacking and marital arts. Understands pokemon habitats better than anyone.

Diamond: Worships Red and is the current student of the leader. A very good cook. Dia is extremely slow

Black: Hyperactive fighter who is mostly found screaming his goals to anyone and everyone.

Lack-2: Dispirited student of Gold. He stays away from everyone except Whi-2 who was his classmate and Gold.

N (?): Only there because of Black.

* * *

 **A/N:** Norman is quite harsh, poor Ruby though, what's going to happen to him? At Sylveon: Lol, I actually enjoy reading your reviews why would I ban you? As for the reviewing thing, I'm grateful that you three are reviewing, in my previous fanfic, one reader PM'd me to say that my plots are hard to follow…maybe that's the reason? Idk, more reviews would be nice. As for wanting to see Green roasted, I'm already done typing the second arc, so you will have to wait till the third one. Hopefully I'll live up to your expectations. And yes, we are a little family At Jack54311: Did I present the conflict between father and son right? The first chapter of the third arc will clear everything up….I hope. At Silver: You like chocolate? Let's be best buds. I already figured out how the new world will be created. Hehehe, let's see if your theory stands *evil grin* As for Lack-2 having no mother, it reminded me of your clone theory thing. At AceTrainerLeaf: Thanks so much for the amazing review! It's always encouraging to find that the readers like my story...well, I don't ship Blue with anyone, her interactions with Green and Red range from flirty to platonic (in canon) and I don't see any romantic advances towards anyone. And I'm missing Eevee, hope the vacation is going well. (If you are reading this!)

Much thanks to WAHHHH and selard for following the story. What did you guys thing of this chapter? Read and review so I can see your thoughts.


	29. Crises

**Chapter 29: Crises**

Night

Hoenn

Littleroot Town

Ruby's mother eyed her son and husband. She had just finished making dinner and was considering calling her husband to see if he was done with work. In that instant, the door opened with a bang and the bedraggled duo walked in. The pair looked like they had dragged themselves through an apocalypse. Both of them had slash marks on their body, their clothes were muddy and their faces were set into fierce scowls.

"Arceus, what happened to the two of you?" she exclaimed and started unbuttoning Ruby's tattered jacket. "Norman, I thought you went to apprehend some criminals trying to steal the eon duo so wh-"

"Your _son_ was at the site." The man spat vehemently and the mother turned to Ruby who was staring at his shoes.

"Oh Ruby! How many times have I told you not to put yourself in danger like that?" she admonished, "your father was in the area and he is capable enough to bring a pair of thieves to justice. You stay out of his way!"

Norman's heart plunged into his stomach and disappeared. His subtle way of trying to inform his wife about their son's real doings had just received a severe setback. How could he face her and spill the secret? She was still rebuking Ruby for his supposed tangle with the criminals. He no doubt was mumbling a bunch of excuses, or even outright _lying_ to her. Suddenly, the gym leader's body felt heavy. Uncaring of his dirty clothes, he drifted further in the house and sat down on a couch. Once his wife was done fretting over their child, she came over and sat down on the edge. Norman knew that she was stressed, it wasn't uncommon for him and Ruby to fight over what his son wanted to do in the future. There had been more than once instance when the boy simply hightailed from home without informing anybody. A thorough search through his room would reveal farewell and apology letters and they would all be addressed to his mom.

"Did you and Ruby have a fight again honey?" she queried and he grunted, preferring to stare at the television rather than her anguished expression. When she persisted with her questions, he faced her.

"Yes, the stupid brat was getting himself in danger. Make sure he doesn't step outside this house or I'll wring his neck."

She sighed once more and got up, taking the opportunity, he bolted for his son's room. One would never know when the upstart vanished again, best to try and set his head right while the opportunity still presented itself. Standing before the door he knocked and became surprised when the door opened. Ruby must have thought his mother came to fetch him or else there was no way he'd ever open for his father. On seeing his dad's stern face, the teenager huffed and slammed the door shut. It took Norman several threats of breaking down the door for Ruby to finally respond to him again. Forcing himself in the room, he grabbed a chair and sat down. His child was busy sewing something; the brat didn't bother to change out of his dirty clothes. Ignoring each other, the pair sat in strained silence with only the ticking of the clock to break the monotony. The father didn't know how to approach the subject. Deep down he knew...He knew there must be a good reason for Ruby to side with the criminals. He wanted to find out...But how?

"Is Sapphire also part of this?" he received no response.

"How big is this organization? From the way their heists are carried out, they must be highly organized, the police theorized that it must be made up of a few rouge Dex-holders, the ones who mysteriously disappeared...Is it true? Who are your leaders and for Kyogre's sake answer me BOY!"

The teenager still didn't utter anything.

"Why are you doing this Ruby?" giving up, Norman's voice finally softened, "I know you don't care much about me...But your mother? She firmly believes that you are a good son. Don't do this to her."

"Maybe if you weren't as scornful of me, I'd turn out different." the child spoke, his voice low and hard, "I live in your shadow, everywhere I go I'm gym leader Norman's son, they expect me to be an outstanding trainer like you. I dislike battling and you, my father who should've at least encouraged me, grinded my dreams into dust." Ruby put his sewing down and stared at his father in the eye, "you know dad...I do care about you. I care a lot about what you think of me. You don't. You only care about what you think is right, you force me to follow your path instead of allowing me to choose my own. Birds of a feather flock together dad...Our organization are mostly made up of people wanting a better life for themselves. I am a prime example. And as soon as I get an opening...I'm running away again, your iron clad determination of wanting to keep me here is weaker than mine."

Around the same time

Johto

Mahogany Town

When Emerald rushed into the base atop Latias it no doubt created a scene. Other members of the group dashed out of their room to witness the screeching miniscule blonde waving his arms about. The eon pokemon came to a brusque halt in the corridors and the teenager hurled from Latias' back and on to the ground. He was a sight to behold with his hair and clothes which were damp and dirty. Shooting up, he orientated himself and before Green could demand what the commotion was about, he ran off to Execution's room. Emerald found Sapphire sitting on the carpeted floor holding a conversation with Diamond, Black and Lack-2. The four of them were engrossed in some sort of a game but Rald didn't care. This was important, very important and he needed to tell her. Saph had to know that Ruby was captured by Norman.

"WHAT?!" she let out an ear piercing shriek and jumped up from the ground. "Ruby...He got captured by his dad?" both Black and the youngster sported horrified looks, this was a crisis.

"Yeah...He let me escape though...I managed to get Latios, Latias and the soul-dew-"

"Who cares about that?!" In a fit, she grabbed him by the collar and screamed, he could see tears appearing at the corner of her eyes. Sapphire cared very much about the flamboyant fashionista, that was true. Muttering to herself, she grabbed her backpack from a corner of the room and began packing things inside it. She was going to save Ruby no matter what! Not even Norman, his dad will be able to stop her. The other members watched her in alarm; Black's effort to calm his senior down was rewarded by a punch to his face. Sniffing, she threw items in the bag with vigor.

"Saph please listen to me!" Emerald implored, the wild trainer brushed him aside and almost made it to the entrance when her leader's shadow fell over her.

"Senior Red please move aside." she curtly requested, "Ruby is in trouble and I'm gonna go save him."

"Ruby is in trouble? What happened?" Red's eyes grew wide with concern.

"I don't have time to explain! Please move aside!" Saph tried to go past him but he was blocking the exit

"No." the girl blinked at his words, "if he is a life threatening condition, Blue and I will go, if not, I want an explanation. Emerald, tell us what's going on."

The entirety of the base was gathered together and they squeezed in Constellate's room. Trainers were hanging off sofas, sitting on the floor and some even parked themselves at the edge of the holograph projecting coffee table, it was a surprise Blue didn't threaten any of them. Once everyone had found a place to sit, Emerald, the center of attention for once, began speaking. The three leaders were hovering over him like spearows and the experience was discomforting. Blue looked like she was going to faint, Green looked irritated and Red pulled off a masterful poker face.

"We didn't know the island was under surveillance, the information we have in our databases didn't indicate as such." The underdeveloped teen explained, "Ruby and I landed there and we were scouting for the two legendries, I heard they could turn themselves invisible by refracting light so we scoured the area pretty thoroughly. The air was humid, and there were some pokemon flying about but we didn't give them much thought. After some time we sat down and Ruby let his mightyena out, a few minutes later the pokemon gave a bark and ran into Norman. We both got up and he hid me behind him. He let me escape. Even though Ruby was fighting with his dad, he still managed to capture Latios and get the soul dew, he flung those to me just as Latias and I flew from the island. By the way, Latias came willingly...I don't get it myself." Rald's mumblings came to a halt and he was acutely aware of Sapphire shifting uneasily near him, she wanted to rush out, unfortunately the presence of everyone else was forcing her to act civil.

"So he basically let himself get caught so everything could work out in the end. Idiot, I told him to come back here if there was trouble. He could've contacted me, he-"

"Shouting about what-if's won't get us anywhere Blue." Green cut in and the female brunette sighed, her shoulder slumped and her face morphed into sorrow. It was an expression the others were not accustomed to seeing. Constellate's commander was cheerful, pleasant and understanding. Although she could be devious when she wanted to. "From what Emerald told me...He let himself get caught. Thus we are not going to save him."

The group around the spiky haired brunette eyed him like a mad man, he could feel Red's stare drilling a hole in his skull.

"Green...Ruby is under my team! Don't you dare forget! I don't care what you think, obviously you don't understand how I feel do you?"

Strategy's team leader ignored her and turned to Emerald, "Ruby, did he say anything else? There is a reason why _you_ didn't go after him did you? And don't give me excuses, tell the truth."

 _And don't come after me! Tell that to Saph!_

"Yeah. He said...He said we shouldn't go after him. Especially Saph. I think, he wants to sort some stuff out with his dad or...I don't know, he told me to keep away."

"Then there is nothing we can do Blue, you should respect his wishes. Meeting dismissed. And Sapphire..." the girl, wiping away furious tears flinched on hearing her name, "be patient, you know Ruby the best. Believe in him." Nodding, she ran out of the room, shoving past the other trainers roughly, in seconds, the chamber was clear of people save for Red, Green and Blue. The three sat apart on separate couches and none of them were looking at each other.

"If anyone of you wants to tell me how much of a heartless imbecile I am, now is your chance." Green declared, "I still have work to complete. My team and I are leaving for Unova in a week."

Red faced him, "you are total moron" the male mocked, "but both of us agree you handled the situation rather well. If it were me, I'd definitely bust him out. Fortunately we are two different people. See you later and I hope your mission goes well." Getting up, the red eyed trainer briskly walked out without sparing his two friends a glance. Green Oak stilled, he was expecting an angry outburst from his friend, not encouragement. Not wanting to put off the confrontation any longer he spoke to Blue.

"I understand" she bitterly accepted the fact that his decision was best for both parties. "I get what you are saying; he wants to do things his way. Ruby has always been like that. I'm just a bit shocked that he-" she let out a deep exhale, "sorry, I'm still having a difficult time believing this. Poor Saph, the girl must be devastated. I'll go cheer her up I guess. Thanks Green, I know sometimes your actions don't always agree with us, we complain and argue, however, it's because of you we are still functioning this efficiently. Red...Thinks the same as well. Give him some time, things will get better. I promise."

"Don't talk about Red..." the man looked away, "now days I don't even know what he's thinking about anymore. I appreciate you trying to console me. Thanks."

"Whoa! Did you just-" Blue stopped quipping when she noticed her friend next to her wasn't in the best of moods.

* * *

One week later, afternoon

Unova

The train was crammed full of people and Green hissed in annoyance. His team was sitting in various spots throughout the compartment and his faded reflection stared back from a window. He winced at his appearance. Once again, Blue had grabbed him and dyed his hair black citing that it was best to go disguised since the police were on high alert. Smoldering irises locked on to a green haired male who was sitting next to White and chatting with her rather animatedly. If anyone needed disguising, it would be N. The guy stood out like alien. Like Black, he carried around the dark stone in his arms. Green desperately wished he'd at least stow the sphere away in a bag when they were in public. No such luck. During their train ride to Unova, he observed the youth talking to the stone. Some passengers looked at him warily and shifted away from him. When they arrived at Mistraltron and changed trains to get to Floccesy Town, he sat down next to White, the only other person apart from Black he was comfortable around. Now he had a wide smile and it did not ease Green's foul mood. Lots of the commuters were discreetly observing the slate eyed man. The shifting glimpses might not mean much, but to the criminal, it presented a watchful eye. They were still far away from their destination and the next stop would be Driftveil city. The leader wondered if he should stop there and use another means to reach the rural town.

"Attention all passengers," the intercom buzzed to life with a cackle, "it has come to our attention that there are some suspicious individuals on board, for the safety of everyone, we will conduct an investigation, co-operation is highly recommended. Thank you for your patience."

Green swore under his breath, what a time to be alive! His underlings were trained enough to appear nonchalant. N however sported a bewildered expression. Not even five minutes passed after the announcement when the train's twin conductors entered the compartment. As soon as they did so, the car burst to life.

Several travellers all got up in unison, they shrugged off jackets and outer clothing to reveal Plasma uniforms underneath. Strategy's leader looked up in alarm. He wasn't expecting this to happen, it seemed N's movements were somehow being tracked and the racked his head trying to figure out when all this happened, was the king of team Plasma followed from Mistraltron? Or was he being tailed from Anville already? Annoyed, he watched how the crowd formed a barrier around N and the two conductors, some of them even knelt down before N, hailing him and imploring him to come back to their castle. Green let out a relieved huff; at least the limelight of suspicion was being focused on someone else. The way things were proceeding, the ending will not bode well for anyone.

"How did you find me?" N shrieked, his question was directed to both the people groveling at his feet and the twin conductors. One of them had a wide smile and the other sported a deep frown. Their faces looked painted on, artificial.

"We wired the local pokemon with spy cameras" Emmet excitedly replied and Ingo hit him on the head.

"You were not supposed to tell him that!" The older twin hissed.

 _So they fixed cameras on pokemon huh_...Green mused, _Ruby and Rald might've been caught the same way._

The subway bosses strode further into the car, bodily shoving everyone else out of the way. They came to a stop before a line of plasma grunts who were guarding N. The king in question was cradling the dark stone to his chest and pressing himself into the train seats, he wanted to melt away. White eyed the group surrounding her with mild distress, she had drawn her legs up because the crowd was desperately pushing and shoving and trying to get closer to their beloved king. Green kept his head low and prayed that the twins would be proficient enough not to suspect him. Ingo's eyes were roaming over the others and they settled on his head.

"You...look strong; I take it you are an accomplice as well?" The question made the brunette's head spin, him working for a wimp of a king? The very idea was ludicrous.

"We are in no way affiliated with hi-"

"Let's battle him to find out big brother!" Emmet, bored of ogling at N, bounced over and if possible, his grin inched wider. The Kanto native glowered at the duo. He was not going to battle them, doing so in such a cramped space would cause a lot of damage, not to mention he might be detained or hauled in for questioning...and he would like to avoid such unnecessary risks. Looking at them firmly, he told them that he was not affiliated with team Plasma; he simply wanted to go to Floccesy Town. And he had absolutely no idea of N's true identity. The twins nodded sympathetically and were actually starting to believe him when a random lackey let loose a pokemon. As Ingo turned around to march away, the liepard swiped a poisoned claw across his face. His cheek dripped blood and the acid was eating away at the wound, exposing it, widening it. Several others let loose their pokemon and within the span of a few moments, an all-out brawl ensured. Ingo and Emmet teamed up together and sent their pokemon out, a durant and klingklang. Durant scurried rapidly after the offending liepard, seizing the feline's tail in its steel coated mandibles, it chopped the appendage right off, the cat let out a yowl and scratched the surface of the ant with little success. A command from its trainer had the insect bashing its head against the mammal's body, with a cry and several broken bones, it fainted.

The car was shaking. With relative ease, the twin conductors were dispatching the grunts. Their faces remained frozen with the expressions they walked in with. Emmet was still smiling and Ingo was still frowning, their pokemon were well trained and executed deadly attacks. Klingklang's gears were slick with blood and the smell of body fluids were suffocating. Yellow backed up against the side of the car and watched with mute disgust at the battles taking place. The fight on the conductors' part was merciless; they had no qualms of maiming the opposition's untrained pokemon. Some of the sorry beasts were clearly reluctant to fight; even they were treated without leniency. Getting uncomfortable, she tried to open up a window. At the same time, one of the grunts let out a gigalith the heavy pokemon fell on the floor with a thump and executed an earthquake, with a series of metallic crashes and explosions the train screeched and nearly toppled over. Yellow, fell to the floor, her head hitting the ground with a sickening pain. People and pokemon rushed to the door in panic and she threw her arms up. Forcing them aside, Crystal helped her off the floor and pushed her to a safe corner, whilst the rest of the crowd screamed and demanded to be let out. The train had stilled and the twins, ever the epitome of calm, fished out an Xtransciever and spoke into it.

"Well," the two drawled, "it seems all the commotion happening in this car managed to derail the train...I mean who in their right mind uses earthquake whilst on a commuting vehicle? You are pathetic." The cutting words uttered by Ingo managed to rile the offended grunt, he commanded his gigalith to attack, alas, klingklang, gears whirring at high speed grinded the rock pokemon's head right off, the lolling head came to a stop before N's feet.

"You killed a pokemon..." the green haired youth simply stated with disbelieving eyes. Green snorted. What a child. N kept on staring; the rock pokemon's body and head were turning into sand. Slowly, the king raised his face and with a defiant look, he elevated the black stone he was carrying. The watching Dex-criminals all wore looks of horror. A glow pulsated from the dragon stone and in seconds Zekrom burst into being, the compartment's roof tore off with a screech of metal and the dragon took to the air. It rained down blue lightning and Emmet, elated, screamed in delight at the carnage. Ingo, gripped his cap and gave his younger twin another well-earned smack. Both their pokemon had fainted and new ones were sent out. The conductors turned to Green.

"We were informed that the dark dragon stone has been stolen from Steven almost seventeen months ago. The group who stole them was the infamous shadow criminals, who are, quoting from you, in no way affiliated with team Plasma. Earlier this year, we got intelligence that the King of Team Plasma, a puppet by the name of Natural Harmonia Gropious had fled the safety of his base to go missing in action. Putting two and two together-"

"Makes four!" Emmet did a fist pump and Ingo curbed the urge to kick his brother out of the window.

"...From the looks of things, you are part of them...not sure if you are in the top tier or merely a grunt, but the smell of death lingers over you. You are a strong individual. Emmet's instincts never lie." Green lethargically got up. Thank goodness Blue had disguised him; the grateful thought brought an indiscernible smile to his face. These people were good; the police in Unova were rather thorough. The contemplation was quite amusing. Calling forth his charizard, he leapt to the dragon's back, soared to the air and surveyed his surroundings. The train had derailed near Driftveil, at least he and his team could fly over to Heart cave, their original destination. He observed his team mates all looking up at him expectantly. The situation was also disadvantageous to them, if he fought, his pokemon would be revealed and his partners could be cross referenced with others to find his identity. Red would scoff at him for letting his underlings fight, but it couldn't be helped.

"Get rid of the conductors," he commanded and saw Pearl swing into action immediately. Chimhiko punched Emmet in the face with a fire cloaked paw, the conductor's hat flew off and he screamed in pain, clutching a singed cheek. The twins were not expecting pokemon to target the trainers themselves.

"Chimhiko!" Pearl thundered, "use close combat." The monkey swung over to the opposition's galvantula and landed hard on the giant spider's back. Expertly balancing on it, infernape executed a series of accurate chops and punches which left the insectoid a twitching, bleeding mess. It was upended and thrown to the floor. Now the electric spider lay in a pool of yellow blood with its pincers twitching up in the air. Gritting his teeth, Ingo recalled it and grabbed Emmet by his arm, the younger twin refused to budge from his position. He and Crystal were locked into a battle and he was not passing up the chance to defeat her. Mega was whipping garbodor with vines; unfortunately the attacks were doing little damage. The acid pokemon threw up a pool of sludge and Mega used protect to deflect it. A solar beam tore a hole through the trash heap but in a few seconds it regenerated. Garbodor sunk a poisoned tentacle and the herb pokemon thrashed in agony, its side turning an ominous purple. Natee was sent out and the avian executed a confusion. The sludge pokemon burst, rivulets of acrid liquid escaping and corroding the floor. Emmet, disbelief etched on his mask-esque face recalled his partner solemnly. From the sky, Green issued a retreat, as soon as his sensible subordinates scrambled out; charizard ignited the compartment in a fireball. The other screaming grunts and conductors rushed from the burning wreck. Strategy's members all let their flying types out and took to the air. In a few minutes, both they and N were gone whilst the police and team plasma grunts beheld the burning partition issuing a thick column of choking smoke which was steadily drifting to the sky.

* * *

A few hours later

Castelia Town

Precinct

The twin conductors dusted their jackets off and stood awkwardly before Looker who had come to Unova to investigate Team Plasma. Emmet still had the plastic smile on and he rubbed his burned cheek, the wound was bandaged but that didn't stop the officer to scratch it irritably. His older brother had a scowl decorating his face. Ingo was probably trying to stare Looker into submission. Unfortunately, the scruffy officer took no note; he was furiously scribbling down a report and based on the twins' experiences today.

"So you are saying that Team Plasma's King was on board the train with a couple of other plasma grunts and members of the Dex-criminals?" The inspector looked at them expectantly.

"We are absolutely sure of Team Plasma's King and grunts were aboard the train, as for the identity of the others...we are not too sure, they left no calling cards this time."

"Two and two makes four" Emmet pointed out, "big brother Ingo used that logic to pin them down."

Looker ignored the younger twin. "How did these new intruders look? Do they have any defining features? If you can give me an accurate description, we can put up posters and start searching for them already...Did you see them before? Are they from Unova or other regions?" The questions came thick and fast and the two conductors frowned in deep thought, finally they responded:

"Plasma's King had tea green hair, a girl was sitting next to him, she had brown hair...Umm, I think she might be a Unova native...Her features pointed out as such. As for the others..." Emmet concentrated hard before speaking, "three were blonde, two boys and a young woman, there was another woman with indigo tinted hair and possibly their leader or an administrator. The dude had black hair that was slicked down his forehead. Oh yeah...He had a charizard to. And he refused to fight me, what a bore!" the officer complained bitterly whilst Ingo gritted his teeth. Looker was staring at them both and the expression on the man's face infuriated Ingo. Clearly he thought that they were incompetent.

"Anything else? How did they look, give me features."

"...We weren't paying attention Looker" this time, the older one spoke up, "the car was cramped and both Emmet and I were physically assaulted. I can tell you one thing though, the executive...Or whatever his position is, had green eyes. We spoke to him personally; he must be a formidable trainer as well. The ones he commands were able to single handedly defeat both my brother and I. These people are not to be trifled with. I apologize for not being able to provide any information, but we need to take our leave, the train is a burning hunk of metal off the side of route six and I need to clean it up before the leading authorities fires me for negligence." he tipped his hat, "I'll be going now."

With a swish of their trench coats, the two exited the brightly lit room. The incident was already being covered by the media. Several policemen rushed around, herding over eager news crews away from the departing conductors. Cameras flashed, mikes were thrust into their faces and Ingo briefly wanted to wrench a few of the devices out and grind them underfoot. Emmet on the other hand waved and smiled like a celebrity. After much screaming and shoving, the twins were finally able to leave the place. Like flies, the media now turned their attention to Looker who had stepped out, the moment he saw the crowds running for him, he re-entered the building again. An almighty roar of a dragon sent the inquisitive crowd dispersing and when the police peeked to see if the coast was clear, he was surprised to see Cynthia, with garchomp by her side, regally striding in. Behind her Steven waved at the terrified news crews and followed her.

"Cynthia ma'am," he addressed the super intendant, "what brings you here?"

She tossed her shock of platinum blonde hair before replying:

"Heart cave near Floccesy Town, Steven and I are chasing myths," she put a hand to her chin in contemplation, "well not the myths themselves, we have picked up sinister presences in Celestic cave and now I want to visit the Heart cave to see if the group or person we are tailing is also reading up on the creation legends. The foe is powerful. And what about you?" she turned to him, "why are you in Unova?"

"Ingo and Emmet created a scene," he pointed to the television which was broadcasting news, the image of a burning wreck was shown, "they fought against the cronies of Team Plasma and the Dex-criminals."

"What?"

"Most probably..." Looker was quick to add when both champions sported astonished faces. "They couldn't give me a lick of accurate information...Not even a proper description."

"Then it can't be helped" The Sinnoh champion added, "if we had a lead, I'd chase them myself, but it's unwise to think that they are still in the area after what they caused. Anyway, Steven and I will depart for Floccesy Town now, I just came to deposit some papers, take care." Looker watched the duo leave; a small pang of loneliness embedded itself in his chest. His superior had started working alone ever since two years ago, the video calls and messages were sporadic...And he really missed working with someone.

* * *

 **A/N:** Much thanks to nightmareeater532 for following the story, hope it's an intriguing read. Ingo and Emmet are funny characters though especially in the manga. At Jack54311: Well I don't think the pokeballs actually brainwashes them...more in the sense that the ball tames their rebellious desires and forces them to somewhat obey the person who captured them. Latias is a big fan of Emerald (in Canon). At Silver: You basically summarized the previous and half of this chapter in a short dialogue...next time I need a summary, I'm asking you to make one (Lol). The light stone is in Black's possession, he commands Reshiram (or the other way around). As for the dark stone, N wants an idealistic world, therefore the legendary representing ideals (Zekrom) responds to him. Also he's pretty special since he understands pokemon language.


	30. Unrelenting pressure

**Chapter 30: Unrelenting pressure**

Morning

Floccesy Town

Heart cave

Green stared at the mural and tried to ignore the babble of curious voices issuing behind him. His team mates were milling about in the little cave, their tones echoing against the ancient rock. He furrowed his eyes and traced the lines with a forefinger. N had a surprisingly contemplative look marring his otherwise vacant face. Strategy's leader mused that the incident on the train must have shocked him; the data on N showed that he had been brought up isolated from the rest of the world. The only things he knew were information and ideals passed down from his adoptive father. Due to this, the adolescent was naive to a fault. He hardly communicated with anyone besides Black and White, even now, he walked alone whilst cradling the black sphere like this life depended on it. The spiky haired brunette turned his attention back to the mural depicted on the wall. According to Blue, there was another very similar depiction situated in Celestic cave in Sinnoh. Both caves depicted three pokemon with a ball of light in the center. The cave art in Sinnoh ended there, here in heart cave the original art had an appendix, underneath the creation trio three other pokemon were illustrated and in the middle was a roughly hewn picture of what appeared to be a serpentine creature with frayed wings. No doubt this must be Giratina.

"Do you understand those weird scratches Green?" Emerald stood next to him and piped up, the commander merely grunted, the three pokemon surrounding Giratina were important. His instincts told him so. Unfortunately, the ancient people who created the cave art were lacking in details. No matter how much he scrutinized the images, they appeared all the same.

"They aren't weird scratches..." he finally added, "those three monsters surrounding Giratina...I think I saw them somewhere...But where?"

"Maybe if the oldies had better art sense, you wouldn't need to rack your brain so hard!" Rald chuckled and left. Green frowned at the quip, here he was trying his best to decipher some ancient image and his ungrateful team mates were treating it as a vacation. Crystal had gone off somewhere, trying to capture new pokemon no doubt. Yellow and White were scouring the caves, admiring the other rock paintings. Pearl on the other hand was trying to get N to talk to him. The King of team Plasma merely neglected the hyperactive blonde and stared at the boulders and rocks. Zorua was out and the fox pokemon sniffed every nook and cranny of the grotto. It gave a high pitched squeal and bounded into Green, when the Kanto native turned around, he saw himself.

"What the?!" With another scream Zorua reverted back to its animalistic form and went back to its trainer with mischievous smile decorating its face. The offended human growled a threat and was about to go back to studying the art when N spoke up.

"There was someone else here...An individual with a very strong pokemon. The trainer and his pokemon are at odds with each other but for some reason the monster won't leave its master. I can pick up strong signals, its littered all over the rocks. Something electromagnetic..." he paused in his soliloquy when the others stopped what they were doing in order to stare at him. The green haired youth felt sheepish. He directed his next words at White: "You believe me don't you? There was someone here not so long ago. I can feel his pokemon's presence on the rocks."

"So if I leave my mark on one of these boulders, the next person to visit will be able to feel my presence!" Emerald shouted, "great, let's get started!" At the same moment, Crystal walked in and whacked the teenager on his head, Rald had begun fumbling with his pants and at the sight of the morally upright woman, he stopped what he was doing. His leader too, was boring a hole in his skull. Maybe that's why Green's monsters listen to no one. Like their trainer, they think too highly of themselves.

At the same time:

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but why does your metagross get so excited when we enter a cave?" Cynthia blew a strand of hair and marched forward with her trusty land-shark by her side. Garchomp growled in agreement, that hunk of metal really needed a chomp to its face.

"I'm not sure," Steven tried to rein his normally docile companion, the steel and psychic type floundered about in an unsightly manner, the moment they entered the cave, metagross had acted up, throwing up its metallic arms, shooting psybeams randomly and whizzing around. Given its size, this was highly inconvenient, not to mention it was repeatedly bumping against the tunnels and shaving off rock. Heart cave had a narrow opening leading to a wider interior. He wished the pathway would end already, metagross was picking up odd signals again, if he explained this to his superior, he'd be hailed as a madman. If he recalled properly, the last time he tried to tell Cynthia why his pokemon was acting this way, he was met with skepticism and harsh words. Ploughing on, the conduit opened up and the two champions came face to face with another group of people who were standing about in the cave. Steel grey eyes picked up a black haired individual near the mural...Maybe this was the person his partner was warning him about? The others were a mixture of teenagers of various ages. His sight locked on to a youth with tea green hair and before he could reach a decision, Cynthia had already struck.

"Garchomp use dragon claw!" The landshark folded its scythe-esque wings and blitzed forward to N who had a horrified visage. Terrified, the youth clutched the black stone closer to his chest and Zorua intercepted the attack with a protect. The barrier shattered but it stopped the ground beast's momentum. Rearing back, garchomp prepared to slash the tricky fox into ribbons, a burst of light erupted from its left and the monster leapt backwards in order to avoid it. Cynthia and Steven entered the cavern and Green, the silent observer lingering at the back, lost strength in his limbs. Two champions, he didn't want to tangle with them, his subordinates made a loose semi-circle around the newcomers. A sigh escaped his lips, seems like they were running from one trouble and straight into another one. N, his confidence boosted because the others stood protectively in front of him, let loose his monsters, darmanitan and archen growled at the humans who dared to attack their master.

"N" Cynthia's stormy irises took in the people surrounding the runaway king. "I suppose these are your new underlings?" Deep in the shadows of the cave, Green's eye twitched, what was with these people mistaking them as part of team Plasma? They don't even wear the same uniforms! The thought was humiliating! If Red heard this...

He dismissed the line of thought. Thinking of his best friend made him depressed.

"We aren't his underlings" Pearl and Emerald shouted together. Steven blinked; metagross had not stopped flailing about. None of the pokemon present gave off strong electromagnetic signals, he pondered, perhaps the pokemon in question was a steel type as well. In that case it all made sense...So was there another party at work here? Slowly, his steel grey eyes drifted across the group and settled on N. Specifically the dark dragon stone the adolescent was clutching to his chest. A thought began unraveling in his mind and he tried to grasp it with both hands. The stone was stolen from him by the Dex-criminals, he was dead sure of that. Steven still kept the star sprinkled calling card as a reminder of his failure. Looker had mentioned that Ingo and Emmett had a run in with Team Plasma and the Dex-criminals. He stared at the bunch alighted before him. The possibility of them working together...Wasn't that low if he thought about it. N was well known for being able to communicate with Pokemon, dragons, famous for their cruelty were reported butting their heads affectionately against him, so why not? The reappearance of the dark stone created a whole mess of theories which Steven was trying to figure out in his head. Sinnoh's champion was more of an action lady.

Not that he minded.

"Dragon rush!" putting its head low to the ground, garchomp rammed into darmanitan, the fire type was lifted off its spot and it arced through the air, landing somewhere near Green's head. The leader clenched his teeth and took out a camera. He snapped several pictures of the cave's art and turned back to the fight that was escalating. Arceus help them all! Neither Cynthia, nor her beast knew the meaning of restraint.

"We aren't his lackeys!" Pearl shouted again and commanded his floatzel to use ice beam. The land shark dodged the freezing beam expertly. Next it was locked into combat with Emerald's sceptile. Leaf-blade cut into the monster's sandpaper skin and he bled. Earth colored blood dripping on to the cave's sandy floor. The forest pokemon swiped its bushy tail and smacked the dragon, shifting it few meters. Thick vines, courtesy of serperior held the ground type in place. Another point blank ice beam from Zelhiko reduced garchomp to a third of its health. The dragon was visibly strained, its wings drooped low and the moves missed. Without further ado it was recalled. Cynthia now focused on the battle and she dragged Steven with her. Green was still in turmoil, he saw Crystal look back at him once before facing forward. The air in the cave became tense. Anymore friction and sparks would fly.

"You people are mistaken" Crystal had enough; she strode forward and stood before the two fearlessly. "We are not part of team Plasma. And N over here ran away from his home."

 _N over here ran away from home._

The gears worked over time in Steven's head. N didn't run away...most likely he was _kidnapped_.

"I concur that you aren't part of team plasma, sorry for the misunderstanding, however" he pulled a faded card out, "I didn't think the members of the famed Dex-criminals would be children." His eyes locked on to the diminutive Rald and before the teenager could utter a few rude words in return, an audible mumble was heard form the back of the cave. In the next instant, the two parties had to step away when a column of fire erupted between them. A second after that, Zekrom flashed into being, the legendary announced its presence with a clamorous roar. Large wings beat against the roof of the grotto and White moaned, it was raining rocks in the cavern.

"Why does Zekrom keep doing that?" she voiced her complaint plaintively, at least Reshiram came when Black was really in a pinch. Its counterpart it seemed, made an appearance simply to intimidate...Or show off. The turbo on its tail whizzed to life and electric sparks cackled. Yellow shifted away from the deafening dragonoid. The heat from the fire, which was no doubt caused by her superior and electricity from Zekrom, was drying the cave out. Suddenly the row of flames froze and crumbled to dust, a shaft of ice was fired at the black dragon and it growled in response. Without waiting for instructions, the electric dragon descended on its foe with fury, a spiritomb. Claws flashing with lightning, the rest watched as the tiny keystone was grasped and promptly crushed. Cynthia watched the crumbling pieces fall with mute shock. Whilst she dealt with the blow of her deceased pokemon, Steven stepped up. Metagross was allowed to go all out, the iron leg pokemon assaulted everyone with a psychic, once Crystal recovered, she commanded her cubone to attack. Cubone clutched its weapon, leapt up in the air and threw the bone; it hit the psychic pokemon accurately on its face. Metagross gave out a metallic screech and the ground type quailed. Seizing cubone with its four arms, the beast fired a flash canon at close range and the lonely pokemon fainted. Thereafter it proceeded to smash the skull on its head open.

"Stop that!" Crys screamed but the pokemon took no notice of the orders Steven was giving it. Bonee was eventually flung away, after it was maimed horribly, the creature was missing a limb and the head was clean of any white skull fragments. When the indigo haired trainer tried to pick cubone up, she found no pulse.

It was dead.

She bit her lip to prevent herself from crying out. Earlier she witnessed the same pain on the Sinnoh Champion's face. The woman had encysted the ache and was now backing into the thick of battle. She could cry later, Crys decided, right now, the priority was getting out of here alive and making sure Green doesn't get dragged into the fray. He was still cautiously keeping in the shadows. This was the safest option for all. Getting Mega out, she positioned herself next to Yellow, the blonde adolescent's eyes were shining defiantly as her pikachu weaved in and out, dodging milotic's attacks. The tender pokemon didn't look so beautiful with a vicious expression. It coiled around hissing and striking out like a rocket. Milotic alone was responsible for putting several of the team's pokemon out of commission, Crys heard White utter another groan as her solosis fainted, the cell pokemon gushed out green fluid.

"I guess they aren't champions for nothing" Yellow panted next to her, the heat and battling in the cave was wearing them all out. The blonde's hair was plastered to her head, "I wish our leader could help us...Unfortunately he needs to keep out of the public eye...Blue disguised him for a reason!" Crys pointed out that his pokemon could be cross referenced, "I know! I'm just...Feeling helpless...Bonee...Is...Has passed away right?"

A fresh wave of pain welled up in Crystal's heart, she knew her senior meant well, however she didn't need a reminder, her eyes locked on to the metagross, the younger champion was having a hard time with his partner, not to mention that the pair was now tussling with Zekrom. N had become angry; no doubt the battle was affecting him the most. Two pokemon had died and several more were in semi-comatose states. The anguished wails and growls must be searing his nerves and Zekrom was acting according to its tamer's wishes. Wings spread wide, the black dragon let loose several blue bolts of thunder, all of them honed on the steel type, even after the death inducing pillars of lightning, metagross still remained intact. It was smoking and charred in several places, yet it still levitated. With an almighty crash, the two beasts bodily slammed into one another, this time the legendary gained the upper hand as the metal pokemon folded. It was recalled before permanent damage occurred.

The attention now turned to Cynthia and her milotic, several grass types, notably Rald's sceptile and meganium were glaring at the water type. Mega's side was encased in frost; the serpent's ability to fire ice was a hindrance. The two beasts circled milotic slowly, once the water creature's attention was diverted, they struck. Sceptile got up close and personal, the projections on the forest pokemon's arms gleamed, it stiffened and slashed across milotic, opening a wide gash on the pokemon side. Before the wound could be treated, mega fired several seeds; the kernels grew tendrils and ensnared the thrashing water type. Chuchu finished it off with thunder and with a melodic growl, milotic became still.

Zekrom roared. His lightning based attacks were not effective against aggron. The steel and rock beast's armor plates protected him from harsh attacks. Right now, it was lumbering about, swishing his tail against the boulders and sending shrapnel everywhere, the sharp rocks pelted both trainers and monsters. Infuriated, the dark dragon touched down and the two had an intense staring contest.

Both groups stilled.

Time ticked.

The air grew heavy, the members on both sides were afraid to take a deep breath. Cynthia remained frozen with a pokeball in her hand.

A growl ripped the space and the two gargantuan beasts collided. Several pokemon threw up protect on instinct as flashes of light, rocks and lightning flew. For the first time since he was born, N looked forward to the outcome of the battle. His Zekrom was thrashing aggron good; the plated monster was thrown to the side of the cave. Not done, the black dragon cloaked itself with electricity and bashed into it. Steel armor cracked and pieces of it shot outwards like bullets. One of them buried itself in White's leg and the teenager screamed in pain. Yellow rushed to her and started spraying the wounded area with an anti-septic. On the other hand, N was enraptured. Zekrom had forced aggron to the floor and was trying to gnaw through the rest of the pokemon's plates. Green who was watching the entire scene grew irritated. Again, the thought of working under a king who let his pokemon run rampant was not a pleasant one at all.

"Golduck, use hydro pump," he droned, "make sure the aggron faints." The duck pokemon went forth alone; it stood next to Pearl and pumped out a pressurized torrent of water. Aggron, weakened by Zekrom's hits, fainted on the spot. Cynthia twitched; she gripped her pokeball and sent out another pokemon. Out popped the fatigued garchomp. It was given a few berries and it regained a bit of energy. To those watching, it was agreed that the land shark would stand scant chance against them.

But the platinum blonde woman did not care. She had to use her ultimate move. It was do or die. She turned her attention to the Mach pokemon and worded out a command.

"Garchomp...Use Draco meteor."

* * *

For several moments, nothing happened. Then, a whistling noise rang in their ears.

The sound of boulders raining down from the heavens.

Steven's whole body shook, the cavern was trembling akin to an earthquake. Steaming rocks broke through the roof of the cave and pelted down. Pandemonium reigned as he grabbed his superior officer by the arm and began dragging her out. Her grey irises were smoldering with anger, she glared at N and Zekrom, the dragon had reverted back into an inert stone. More heated rocks came down and the two champions left. If casting her trump card was supposed to make her happy, it didn't, she knew for a fact that those crafty thieves would be able to fully survive this predicament. Cynthia simply went where Steven took her; she was too preoccupied with her thoughts to consider her derelict surroundings. Why had these people surfaced again? Who was the man standing in the shadows? And most importantly, teenagers and children...Of all the criminals she fought with, this group were the strangest. How could a bunch of children pull off such elaborate schemes? And the police, it was laughable to think they were unable to capture a few brats. Suddenly she pulled out of Steven's grasp and laughed. Her underling eyed her in concern.

"Cynthia ma'am...Are you okay?"

She stubbornly wiped away a few tears which spilled down her face.

"I find it funny to think we were chasing a bunch of teenagers all along. They have the legendary pokemon in their grasp; they swayed the lynchpin of another criminal organization to join them. These trainers command the likes of Zekrom and Reshiram to battle. When you put it that way, doesn't the work we do seem insignificant?" Cynthia sat down heavily on a projecting rock. "My spiritomb was an integral part of my team...It only took a mythical dragon's claw to make sure I will never see him again. I have acted rashly, but I wanted vengeance for what they did to my partner. Hmpf...Grandmother, will surely scold me again." She angled her head away from her subordinate and he too, out of courtesy looked away. They both pretended not to notice the tears cascading down the woman's pale cheeks.

The situation inside the cave was not any better. As soon as the two champions rushed out, Green commanded a retreat, the trainers rushed to the narrow part of the cave with the exception of Crystal. The indigo haired adolescent went back and was stopped by Pearl.

"What are you doing?" he voiced exasperatedly, "senior commanded a retreat order, the cave is done for." They moved to the side as another steaming rock embedded in the ground, "see? We have to get out of here and quickly!"

"My Bonee!" Crys cried, "I have to give him a proper burial or else he won't be able to rest on peace." Wrenching out of Pearl's grasp, the woman leapt over a rock and continued further inside.

"Oh my Arceus someone stop her!" the blonde shrieked, he was flailing his arms helplessly. Emerald, who viewed Crystal as an older sister pushed Pearl aside and went after her. Seeing two of his seniors outright ignore orders and rush headlong to their doom, the Sinnoh native stood rooted to his spot. When an individual grabbed him by the shoulder, he involuntarily spun around and smacked the person in the face. Said person turned out to be Green whose glare turned Pearl to stone. Amidst many stammerings and apologies, the teenager pointed to crevices where Crystal and Emerald went in. Another earthshaking tremor forced the cave to split. Sunlight filtered down on the duo and the two looked up in awe. The evening sky was decorated with flaming boulders that were crashing down to the earth. Each of the rocks left a white trail in their wake. Green briefly wondered if this is how the end of the world would look. The scene was so apocalyptic, it was almost beautiful.

Breathe taking.

"Get moving, get the rest and move to Floccesy Town's Pokemon center, I'll get those two out. Understand Pearl?" The petrified teenager gulped and nodded, "don't let your brain run ahead of itself and take a detour. Floccesy Town, Pokemon center, gather there." The young trainer shot off with Chimhiko by his side, the moment he left, a flaming rock buried the entrance. Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding, Green summoned his rhyperior and after pushing a few meteorites out of the way, the duo ventured further into the cave.

Crystal was frantically searching for all of Bonee's missing remains. The sight of the horribly mutilated pokemon made Emerald gag. Seriously, besides being bashed by Steven's metagross, the lifeless beast was crushed by Draco meteor. The Johto trainer was scouring through the dirt, getting down on her hands and knees and retrieving bloodied skull fragments and splintered bones. She outright ignored the precarious position they were currently in. Rald yelled as the cave shook again and burst apart. With tears and dirt smudging her pretty face, the girl crawled out of a corner and held up another piece of bone. It was evident to anyone who glimpsed at her that she was trying her best not to cry. Her lip was bleeding where she bit down to prevent herself from breaking down and wailing.

"If you are done, let's get outta here, I'm sure senior Green is having a heart attack somewhere. Please Crys, I understand Bonee was precious to you...but look at the state we're in...The entrance..." the underdeveloped teenager slowly rotated to see that they were barricaded in the space, the hole they came through, was now shut thanks to a mountain of rubble. "...We're TRAPPED!" he screamed, panic overtaking him. Emerald hated small spaces, he was claustrophobic.

The older trainer ignored him. She carefully placed her dead partner's severed limbs in a bag. Taking good note of them, she concluded that she had missed a piece. Her eyes roamed the tiny space and she began her search anew, opposite her, the sheer rock was drilled through and Green emerged. His forehead was bleeding and rhyperior looked exhausted. The two trainers stopped in their tracks like a deerling caught in headlights. Strategy's leader had death stamped on his face. He took note of Crystal's hurt and disbelieving expression and his own mien softened. He motioned them to go outside, Emerald took the opportunity and bolted, however Crystal stubbornly stood on her spot.

"If you stay here any longer, Gold and Silver will have to start mourning for you." He harshly declared, "Members who are part of my group are rational, we don't allow emotions to control us...You are doing that right now and putting the people close to you in danger. Your pokemon...I'm sorry that cubone couldn't be saved. You were a great trainer, I'm sure Cubone won't hold it against you if you are unable to give it a proper burial. Be responsible Crystal...What would your best friends say if they saw you doing this?"

"Gold...Would tear this place apart trying to find Bonee's skeleton...Silver...Will probably call me an idiot for acting this way." Her head drooped lower, "I...I'd listen to Silver. I'm sorry, let's leave, I'm being very unreasonable." Stiff faced, she marched past both her leader and Emerald.

A stifled sob escaped her lips.

Far away from the cave and levitating on a steel type, a blue eyed man watched the commotion. His shrunken irises took in the rocks pouring down from the sky. The man seemed to be enthralled by the scene of destruction, his cobalt pigmented irises taking in the wonderful carnage. Hands behind his back, he muttered a command to his pokemon and the two soared away.

* * *

Night

Hoenn

Littleroot Town, Ruby's house.

The fashionista stared at his reflection and grimaced, no matter how much he psyched himself, he couldn't stand that scar on his forehead. It was ugly, a mar to his perfection. Eyeing his bag, he sat down on his bed, the mattress creaked under his weight and he scowled. Everything around him irritated him for no particular reason. His father had imprisoned him and interrogated him daily and Ruby, being the stubborn, hard headed beast he was, absolutely refused to answer. For some inexplicable reason, his father hadn't told his mother about his misdeeds. He often wondered why and the pondering was driving him crazy. Sapphire and Emerald, even Blue had called him and he ignored them all. For both their safety. The ceaseless beeping of his PokeNav eventually got to him and he turned the device off. Right now he stared at a map of Hoenn that was pasted on his wall. Several routes were marked or highlighted; these would be the ideal pathways to use in case of a runaway. This time, Ruby planned his escape thoroughly. Tomorrow his dad would be saddled with meetings. His mother would be busy with domestic chores...And his presence would not be missed. Forcing himself off his gaudily decorated bed, he took a notepad and pen out and sat near his desk.

He was going to write a farewell letter, he always did and as usual, it will be addressed to his darling mother. Father could get lost in the distortion world for all he cared.

 _Dear Mom:_

 _I'm sorry for doing this again, but you know very well I hate being cooped up in the same space as Dad. Anyway, I'm running away again, please don't miss me too much, I promise to call periodically. I'll win all the contests across all the regions and become someone both you and Dad can be proud of...Actually I'm not sure about Dad though._

Ruby stared at the too short letter and scratched his head...Should he tell her of his real doings? The image of his heartbroken mother surfaced his head and he shook his head. No, that is something he won't, can't tell his mother.

 _I'll be travelling throughout the different regions, don't worry, I can take good care of myself. I've survived alone before and my pokemon partners are there for me should anything go wrong. Don't worry about me mom, I'll periodically drop by after I make sure Dad is not home. Oh yeah, if I find Sapphire, I'll travel with her also, I have good friends whom I bump into from time to time and if I run into trouble, I'll go to them._

 _So please...Don't worry about me. I'm old enough to do the things I want to do._

He wanted to scrunch up the letter and throw it away. Lies, all of them...well not every word was a lie...technically. The fact remained true that having an overbearing father hovering over his shoulder makes life generally unpleasant. But still...A father is a father right? Huffing, he folded the note and placed it in between his bed sheets. Going to his overstuffed backpack, he did a last minute check and confirmed that he indeed have everything he needed. Opening the windows, he stared back once more at his room and jumped out. The PokeNav in his palm beeped to life and he pulled a map up of Hoenn. Peering into the tiny screen, he enlarged part of it and murmured to himself:

"Route one hundred and nineteen...I'll go there, if Dad does get wind of me running away from home, the place has plenty of jungle to hide into and escape. Not to mention it rains most of the time there and the visibility is low, there are rivers to surf across and trees to hide in...Kyogre, I sound like Saph!" Shaking his head, he continued down the path alone, sneakers thudding against the dry ground. His parents slept fitfully, it will still be some time before his disappearance will be accounted for. Ruby felt scant remorse; he was so used to doing this that no painful emotion emerged from his chest. To him, it was part of life, constantly trying to escape his father's authoritative clutches. In half an hour, he was already in Oldale Town. Puffing and huffing, he dragged himself to the nearest shuttle service and flopped tiredly on the platform. It was dark at this hour; he wondered when the next vehicle was going to come in. Sitting silently on the bench, he decided to give Saph and his superior a call. As he flipped the screen to dial their numbers, another person wilted down next to him. Shifting up, he took note of the woman; she was wearing a maroon hood with two horn like projections. Ruby simply stared, her fashion sense was appalling! Grunting, he resumed his original task but stopped cold when the woman spoke.

"Ruby~" her voice trilled, "we've been looking everywhere for you!"

And before he could process what was going on, a sharp needle pricked the back of his neck.

* * *

 **A/N:** And Ruby got kidnapped. Anyone want to guess who was the mysterious figure outside Heart cave? The winner gets a virtual *drum roll* MANGO! Yay! In fact our trees don't have mangoes anymore...At Silver: Silver, the theorizing summarizer...is my naming sense great or what? As for the lake trio, they are already captured by the Dex criminals. Reading your summaries makes me laugh, you manage to make it as bland as possible and it's still funny. As for the Dark stone, it doesn't respond to White, therefore they had to kidnap N in order to have him wield it. At nightmareeater532: Why don't you join the guess club? Lol, thanks for reviewing by the way. I hope to see you again! At: Jack54311: I don't really know either, but the manga states that he was isolated from humans and Ghetsis reared him up with pokemon (who were often abused) so he sort of understands them like that? Like how I get what my pet cat is saying when she starts meowing in my face when I'm eating. At Sylveon: So you think you figured out Lack-2? Let me know if your predictions come true (that rhymed) I guess it is going a bit fast, but if the pacing is the same throughout the story, won't it get boring? Emo Blue huh? Keep your fingers crossed! I'm doing okay...except for the rain and constant blackouts. Well virtual Devil's food cake to everyone (thank Sylveon for the reminder). Hope the chocolatey goodness inspires readers to leave more reviews! And constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.


	31. Knights and Pirates

**Chapter 31: Knights and Pirates**

The tension in the air could be cut apart with a knife. To make it difficult for the police to chase or tail them, Green had his team split up and fly to Driftveil city via two routes. One group first went to Virbank and flew from there; the other members went directly from Floccesy Town. The leader was aware of the strained atmosphere circulating his own people and his wounds were still not treated. Crystal had clammed up ever since she came out of the cave. N had tears running down his cheeks in a non-stop manner. The green haired youth had wrapped the dark stone in a covering and stowed away in White's back pack. As of now, the entire team was huddled in one of the hotel rooms in Driftveil city, they were sitting in stiff silence and the opulent decor of the room was lost to everyone. Pearl and Crystal were stationed at the window, the heavy, tan colored curtains were pushed aside and the teenager kept a hawkish watch on the proceedings outside. Crys was still brooding; her eyes were looking, but not seeing. Further inside, the king of Team Plasma sat on the floor, twisting his puzzle cube and muttering. Emerald joined him on the lush carpet, the short blonde was laying spread eagled and brushing the rug with stubby fingers. Yellow had her arms wrapped around Chuchu and was sitting on the bed, rocking back and forth. A polished oak table was strewn with papers and hotel pamphlets, this was where White was stationed, she flipped through the glossy brochures and hummed to herself. Green was the only one who was pacing in the room. With one hand on his chin, he walked back and forth with a deep frown scarring his face.

A ticking sound added to the choking sensation in the room. The clock's second hand moved in a rhythmic manner.

Tick tock

 _Tick tock_

Tick tock

 _Tick-_

"What's going on outside Pearl? Crystal?" Green smashed the deafening silence. The rest of the members breathed uneasy sighs. Only N didn't look up, he was still preoccupied with trying to line the puzzle pieces up.

"Eh...Let me see," the hyperactive teen glued a pair of binoculars over his orange tinted eyes, "...the drawbridge is still crawling with those Plasma grunts, the local police has arrived on the scene and two gym leaders. Some of the people have those knight outfits on, others are wearing pirate hat thingies and masks over their faces...Oh, and there is this one old dude with a tall hat, he is just standing there with a placard saying that the King has returned." Hearing this, Green glared at N, it was a colossal mistake to bring that brat with him. Huffing, he ran a hand through his hair and resumed his fast paced walk. Stopping once again, he pulled his shirt and unbuttoned the collar, glancing at the air conditioner; he picked up the remote and twiddled with the settings.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't turn it to its highest setting; I'm allergic to air conditioners." Emerald ended his words with a sneeze and Green growled under his breath. No wonder the room back in base was always over heated.

Another spell of silence descended. Fatigued with the constant walking and worrying, Green crashed at the foot of the bed and slumped. It was a sight to behold. Rald and Pearl briefly considered taking pictures of their burnt out superior but with all the stress surrounding them, it would have been a callous move. The man had opened his shirt up till his chest and now sat hunched over. Yellow, ever the considerate one, pulled one of their cards out and began fanning him, the brunette remained motionless on the floor.

How many times had Green felt this helpless? He wondered...Quite a few times actually, the first sting came when both he and Red competed for the title of league champion...and he was fabulously defeated with the whole world watching. The second time was he was cloning mewtwo with a ditto, at that time; the organization only consisted of him, Blue, Red and the Johto natives. His grandfather had walked in on him when he was taking mewtwo's stats. The old timer had blown a gasket, ranting, raving and screaming about how his parents would be turning in their graves. Oak had eventually calmed down, but was admitted to hospital for severe hypertension. For months after that, his beloved grandpa had refused to even look at him. The pain he had to endure during these times was unbearable, none of his friends understood, Red cared naught, the adolescent typically shrugged off what others thought of him...And Blue, was understanding but still, they couldn't provide the comfort his Grandfather did. With time, the relationship started mending and whilst Green still gets earfuls of lectures, at least Oak tolerates, even welcomes his presence. The third time would be when his dark mewtwo had gone rouge...the creature could speak. _Speak_. And it wanted to kill him; Strategy's leader had never known such fear. He could still taste the apprehension and bile on his lips. Recently, the feeling of being helpless and useless has been increasing. He and Red had an all-out brawl...He still couldn't believe it; the reason seemed so stupid, so superficial. And now...

And now he and his underlings were squashed in a hotel room, in a city crawling with hostile forces. Route six had been cordoned off. Driftveil was awash with blue uniformed officers and the only way out of the city, Charizard Bridge, was blockaded by those blasted Plasma grunts. Those people were chanting about their King and Green wanted to go out and toss the leaf haired adolescent to them. Unfortunately, N didn't want to return to them, he had begun weeping when it was suggested that he go talk to the sage and his people. So now the current situation was like this.

Helpless and suffocating.

"Green" Yellow's voice floated to his ears and he twitched, "why don't you try calling Blue and...Red, I'm sure they will advise a solution for you. Uh...senior Red might even come to get us all out of here."

"Don't be daft Yellow" he admonished and she looked down, her face twisting into sorrow, "not that I have anything against Red rescuing me...Oh no wait, I actually do, my pride won't be able to handle it..." his cutting remark made the others shift in their positions, "...My priority is the safety of those under me, sure he'll be able to come, I can picture him and his merry gang flying into Driftveil like a bunch of idiotic knights." At this, Yellow's cheeks tinted pink, "what I'm trying to say is that we'll end up in much more trouble. The authorities are searching for him and just waltzing in here without thinking is going to get us all rounded up and thrown into jail. We will be accused of being that useless moron's underlings," he jerked a thumb at N, "and this whole situation will be blown out of proportion. We can't...I can't let that happen. Our best bet is to wait this whole thing out. I'm sure things are going to escalate and then cool down."

"I understand" she fidgeted with her dress, "it's just that I… none of us had ever seen you like this."

 _Oh...Understanding dawned on him._

 _They were worried about their leader._

"I'm fine," he waved and lapsed into a brooding silence. Patting his pockets, he reluctantly got his Poke-gear out. With a heavy heart he dialed two contacts and waited for them to pick up.

"Hey" two simultaneous faces popped up on the little screen. A bright eyed woman who looked too chirpy for his tastes and a black haired man who appeared as if he dragged himself out of the shower. Red's hair was dripping water and a few droplets landed on the camera distorting his image.

"Eww Green" Blue chirped, "you look so tired and sweaty it's almost nauseous."

"Is there something wrong?" Red wiped the camera a few times and his concerned visage dominated half of the screen, "if not, I'm going to train Dia, you could've said hi later."

His two friends looked at him expectantly and Green let out an exhale. The moment he opened his mouth to explain the situation, the noise of jet engines' roaring filled their ears. Pearl and Crystal both jumped up and glued themselves to the window. The pane of glass was lifted and the blonde pushed his head out to get a better look, his view was obscured by the hull of a gigantic ship flying in the sky. The flying ship released white sails and blue projections; slowly it began descending, its roaring engines dimming in intensity.

"Whoa, what's that sound?" Blue enquired frantically.

"Oi speak!" Red scowled, "you are in some trouble aren't you? Tell us what's going on!" By now, Green's hand was slack on the device, the flying watercraft was descending and its humungous size was shadowing the city. From his position at the foot of the bed, Green glimpsed part of the ship. His whole body was frozen. His instincts screamed at him to scram from the place.

"It's a flying ship..." his jade irises drifted to the screen and he weakly relayed his observations. The words sounded ridiculous, even to himself.

 _A flying ship_

Mid-morning

Hoenn

Gym leader's association, Ever Grande City

The solemn meeting was punctuated by a clamorous tone. Norman, pokerfaced, reached deep into his pockets and brought out the PokeNav, his first instinct was to disregard the call however he saw it was from his wife. Thus, brushing off the mutterings and disgusted looks thrown his way, he received the call and winced at the high pitched, frantic tone coming from the speakers.

"Honey! He's gone...Ruby…he's gone!" A sense of cold dread washed over him, no matter how many times he had heard the above words, the shock of hearing this particular piece of news still did not dampen. Gritting his teeth and with a thunderous look on his face, he flipped the device shut and got up wearily from his chair. The other gym leaders already knew something or the other had happened. In pin drop silence, the incensed man proceeded to leave, as he stepped on the threshold, the short chairman mustered up courage to speak to him:

"And where do you think you are going Norman? We are busy with a very important meeting; your conduct thus far has not been exemplary. Continue acting like this and you will be suspended until further notice. Remember this gathering has to do with the international police as well!" The afro haired man stroked his mustache, discreetly commending himself on a job well done. If the normal type gym leader's position is threatened, there is no way he will walk out of the chamber easily, his pride and social status was at stake. For Norman's part, he simply stared at the chairman and after holding his head high; he vacated the room without another word. In his intricately designed chair, the executive gaped, eyes bulging out comically.

"H-He left!" the chairman sputtered, unable to believe someone could be so disrespectful. The man outright ignored an order and a threat!

"Don't mind him" Wallace's light voice broke through the agape man's mutterings, "Norman has been like that ever since we could remember, he does things his own way."

"Own way?" a sadistic gleam crossed the chairman's eyes, "we'll see how far his stubbornness takes him..."

* * *

Around the same time

Hoenn

Route 110 and surrounding areas

His head throbbed and blearily he pushed himself up to see several more of those strangely dressed people. There was that woman who ambushed him last night, she had her hood down and he could clearly see her lilac hair. The female was sitting around a campfire and talking to another male. Shifting slightly, Ruby looked up to see the cycling road above...So they were in the jungles of route one hundred and ten. On trying to get up, he found himself bound and tied, his wrists had rope burns and he briefly wondered if the marks would remain permanently etched on his skin. The fashionista's eyes were still groggy; he was stripped of his pokemon and his hat...Hat.

"Where is my hat?!" he abruptly pulled himself into a sitting position and shut his eyes tightly. The world was swimming, turning around him and making him sick. When the sensation subsided, he cracked his eyelids open again and glared at the posse who turned to look at him. Most of them were busy with breakfast; mouth stuffed with various types food, the sole exception seemed to be a hooded man who was tending to the fire.

"Of all the things to worry about..." the female smirked, "you are fretting over a hat." She got up and came closer to Ruby, crouching down near him, she added, "I must say you look much more dashing without that furry thing on your head." She reached up and parted his hair, her nails scratching at his scar, "I guess guys like you who are overly conscious of their image must keep these hidden away huh? She pressed the scar and he snarled in pain. "Ahahahahaaaa! I'm sorry, did that hurt?" Drawing away, she dissolved into a fit of hysterics and Ruby recoiled in disgust. He needed to get out of here as soon as possible, unfortunately he was tied, his partners were nowhere to be seen and he was missing his hat.

It was very important.

"What do you guys want with me?" The trainer finally stopped squirming against his bonds and relented, he will eventually have to devise a means of escape but first it would be wise to wheedle out as much information from these people as possible. Ruby thought the maroon uniformed personnel looked familiar...Where did he see them? On television? It was highly probably, of all the regions, Hoenn was the most crime ridden, a few years ago; there were rumors of two different criminal organizations operating together. People hardly used to come out due to safety reasons. When the attention turned to the Dex-criminals' legendary pokemon stealing deeds, these two groups were forgotten. The citizen's now shook their heads every time a new crime was unearthed. It was small comfort to know the new felons was a multi-region group and operated as such instead of targeting one region only. Ironically the police started working together as well and for a while Hoenn could enjoy peace. Seems like ripples were again being created in a still pond. Ruby's question went unanswered and with a huff he laid back down on the ground again. His clothes were getting filthy.

Several hours passed. The sun climbed higher in the sky and fashionista conveniently rolled himself to a place of shade. A bunch of the maroon clothed grunts still kept a watchful eye on him. Ruby observed the kindler and mauve haired woman leave quite some time ago, they still hadn't returned. Feeling slightly hopeful of his situation, he decided to act...Besides, his disappearance from home was already discovered, the thought of having Norman breathe down his neck was much more terrifying than being caught by a bunch of pseudo villains. Forcing his wrists, he felt the rope slacken, good, Silver had taught him that when binding with rope, most people make the mistake of using too much to make elaborate knots, if one wriggled their hands enough, the bindings become slightly loose, from there they can be forced apart, cut, or the hands could be slipped out of the coils.. With his back facing the grunts, Ruby curled up and took a deep breath, thereafter:

"Owwww!" he hollered at the top of his voice. His scream was so loud that it sounded girlish to anyone who listened. Alarmed and fearful that the cyclists on cycling road might hear, _yes it was that loud_. Some of them approached him cautiously. Ruby lay limp on the ground, for extra flair, he'd started drooling. The steam of saliva running down his cheek had him inwardly flinching in abhorrence; this was the most disgusting he'd ever done in his young life. Briefly, he prayed to Kyogre that a situation like this never occurs again. Eyes still shut, he felt a young man hold him up at arm's length. The moment Ruby was held upright, his eyes snapped open and he lurched forward, his head colliding with the man's chin. With a howl, the man let him go and the trainer moved a few paces back, twisting his wrists frantically. With great effort he managed to drag one hand out, irritably he pulled the rest of the lariat off and inspected his hands. They were raw and oozing blood where the cords cut into his flesh. Wiping his hands (and drool) he glared at his kidnappers.

"Where is my pokemon?" he snarled, red pigmented irises scanning the environment thoroughly. Spying a few pitched tents near the undergrowth, he took a few steps and broke into a run. Surprisingly no one chased him. Diving into one, he found it empty except for a few beddings; the other tents were the same.

"Poor brat...Looking for these?" a blonde haired man jeered when Ruby exited the tent. It was the person tending to the fire, the sneering adolescent held Ruby's pokeball studded belt just out of reach, from the clear domes, the owner could see the anguished expressions of his partners. They were confused and had no idea of the state they were currently in. The Hoenn native swallowed audibly, who knew his attempt to leave his father's clutches would wind up with him being held by people who were potentially worse than his dad?

"Yeah...return my pokemon to me or else..." Ruby threatened.

"Else what? You going to cry to Papa to come rescue you?"

 _Rescue?_

Images of his father beating him and dragging him back home floated into Ruby's mind. Norman rescuing him? The very idea was so alien that he was sure Rayquaza would be feeling uncomfortable. Shaking his head and snorting, he dropped to a crouch and without warning, tackled the blonde man to the floor. The two rolled around and Ruby felt out of breath, this was Sapphire's work, not his. Feeling himself loose the fight, he decided to play dirty. Seizing a rock, he forced the man on his back and scrambled on his chest. Raising the fist sized boulder, he smashed it down on the offender's head. Instead of being hit squarely on the forehead, the man moved his face and the stone clipped him on the side of his head. Part of the skin scraped off and blood flowed. Whilst the man was dazed, Ruby took the opportunity to snatch his belt away and get off. At the same moment, the other female walked in and took in the events.

"Blaise! What happened to you?" she shrieked.

"You told me this boy couldn't run to save his life; he just clipped me on the head!" Blaise pushed himself into a sitting position and wiped the blood trickling down his brow, "tell me Courtney, whose fault was it that we were shoved to the sidelines by boss?" he asked rhetorically, "oh yes, yours."

"But boss Maxie told me to find gym leader Norman's son" the woman pouted.

"He only did that to keep you out! According to him, you can't do anything right!" Blaise huffed, "you were stationed at Mossdeep last year and you fell for some red headed dude and ended up giving him the slip, then you were supposed to tail some shady Dex holders and you got up ended by a kid! Maybe if you stop daydreaming about Boss so much and actually put thought to your work...we could still be sitting with Tabitha back in the Gnar-"

"Shut up!" she hissed, "talk about incompetent, you were about to give our location away to the brat."

Instead of running away, Ruby merely stood there and listened to their conversation with rapt attention. When the two commanders' were alerted to his presence, he took a few steps back and bolted. Courtney's laughter rang in his ears as he shoved past the magma grunts. Suddenly a plume of fire encircled him and he stilled. In a swift move he called out Zuzu and had the water type douse the flames. Sneakers squelching in the muddy water, he turned around he watched the executive stroke her camerupt fondly.

"I heard you like contests and you frequently run away from home," she stated in a sing song voice, "and you take great care of your appearance. I've also heard that you do not participate in pokemon battles. Hahaha, this will be an easy victory!" She cackled again and Ruby's irises narrowed as the grunts surrounded him from all sides. He let out an apathetic breath and smoothed the front of his stained shirt. Once he gets back to base, he will have to sew himself a new hat and wash the muck out of the outfit he was wearing. Wiping a bloodied hand across his face, he smirked. Sure it will be an easy victory.

For him that is.

Mid-afternoon

Unova

Driftveil city

"Arceus hates us" Pearl spoke over the noise of chopped air

"So does Dialga and Palkia" Emerald piped up from the floor.

N paused with the cube and looked at the ceiling instead of out of the window like everyone else, "and so does every other legendary pokemon you have locked up in cells in the basement of our hideout..."

The air was torn asunder.

Following the giant flying ship were a multitude of helicopters. They came like giant bugs and as soon as the watercraft landed into the ocean area near Driftveil drawbridge, the copters also moved into action. Rope ladders were thrown out and several polices officers rappelled down expertly. Green, his poke gear powered off, scrambled up from his position on the floor and went to inspect the outside area. Civilians were being ushered back in their homes. He saw armed guards patrolling the place and his eyes nearly popped out. They were using guns...And he tasted metal in his mouth. Rudely grabbing the binoculars from Pearl, he set it over his eyes and held his breath. Near the edge of the city he could pick out two individuals with shocks of blonde hair. The leading male, wearing a an olive green tank top and camouflage pants had two fire arms strapped on a belt along with pokeballs. Behind him, another individual walked with a drooping gait. Panning, Green also saw two females coming from another angle and joining the two. One was extremely pretty with a visage akin to a model and the other was donned in an aviator's outfit. Looking further, the brunette watched a fleet of ships materializing near the bridge. Peeling the magnification device off his eyes, the leader went back to his slouching on the floor. His team mates looked at him inquisitively.

"We're doomed." he hoarsely replied.

* * *

Lt. Surge took a deep lungful of air and stared at the Plasma grunts in distaste. Next to him his raichu's tail was flicking about and throwing off small sparks of electricity. Pulling off his sunglasses he glared at the officer next to him. Looker flinched on seeing the man's scarred face. Maybe calling him for the job was a bad idea. Unfortunately, Cynthia was still recovering from the shock of losing her pokemon, his superior was...Actually he had no idea where his superior was. And so, the only other superintendent happened to be the foul mouthed man who was glaring at everything in sight. The urgent message they received from Skyla mentioned that Driftveil had been overrun with a fanatic criminal group. Knowing how zealous Team Plasma could be, Looker informed Surge and the man had organized an entire _army_ and proceeded to come all the way from Kanto. Now the city resembled a war zone. Helmeted guards carrying rifles patrolled the streets with their loyal arcanines and stoutlands. If the sun wasn't shining so bright and the buildings so intact, the Sinnoh investigator would've thought that he stepped into a war zone. Clearly Surge knew how to plan for an all-out brawl.

"He looks like a freaking pansy and what's with the long hat? Some kinda top brass or something?" Surge leered, "and their King...Where is the brat anyway? I've heard from the twin train conductors that he's with the Dex-criminals now?" Craning his neck backwards, he watched how Volkner tapped frantically on his Poketch...the adolescent was probably playing a game.

"We can't confirm unless we see it ourselves. They had a tangle in Heart cave and it was confirmed N being with them. As for where they are now, I assume they left Unova already. A thorough search near the...Ruins of the cave revealed no dead bodies, we found fragments of a keystone and shattered remains of what appears to be a cubone's skeleton."

"Hmpf, the lady goes and hurls space rocks again is it? So that means I can go all out. Electric type pokemon are the best don't you agree?" Looker stammered in agreement and the soldier licked his lips in anticipation, "you can paralyze them, burn them and fry their brains! Ha! There's nothing you can with electricity." Snatching the mike from a random lackey's hands, he turned the device on and roared into it:

"HEY!" The people surrounding him shifted a few good sized paces away and raichu flattened itself on the cobblestoned floor, "scram outta this city and get off the bridge...Or I'll pepper the lot of you with holes and electric burns."

"How disgusting." Volkner muttered underneath his breath whilst his superior still screeched into the microphone. Lazily, he reached up and scratched his ear; this was going to take a while.

Half an hour later, Surge was still not out of breath as he kept on snarling. Standing on the bridge, Ryoku was getting tired of holding up the placard. He was so confident that N would come to their cause but it seems all his effort was for naught. Sighing, he pulled a handkerchief out and patted his forehead free of sweat. If he simply stood here, Ghetsis will get angry. Finally he dumped the placard to a passing grunt and decided to do things seriously. Striding forward to the edge of the bridge he and Lt. Surge stood head to head, to anyone who beheld them it was agreed that the electric type gym leader was more formidable.

"We are not going down without a fight" Ryoku intoned, "our king has returned."

"Heh? I don't see your king anywhere amongst your ranks, where has the brat gone? Ran away from home?

The two men eyed each other and in the background Volkner yawned. This was getting boring, not to mention tedious.

"I'm giving you one final warning" Surge boomed, "get off the bridge or face the-"

BOOM

Being the manly man that he is, the soldier didn't flinch when the earsplitting shot ran out. He lowered the mike slowly and watched the events unfold with wide eyes. Ryoku had a sadistic smile on his face. On the ocean, the Plasma ship had fired a colossal beam. Half of Driftveil city was covered in glittering frost. Moments later, another BOOM rang out and the ships bobbing in the waves were frozen solid. The water beneath the hull had thin sheets of ice. Head turning slowly, the gym leaders watched as frost crept over the city and a heavy chill descended in the air, shrouding the city with fog. The pokemon shrieked up a cacophony and several citizens tried to get out in order to see what the noise was about, they were requested to stay inside till further notice. Surge grinded his teeth furiously. He took a deep breath and commanded the artillery to fire. Within seconds, the choppers angled themselves in strategic points and let loose a storm of bullets on the ship, most of the shots ricocheted off and Ryoku laughed. Not one to take an insult lying down, the Kanto gym leader joined the battle. Growling fiercely, raichu leaped over the barricade placed by team plasma and used the edge of its tail to strike a sneering Ryoku in the face; the stiffened edge cut a diagonal scar. Sputtering, the man leapt back and touched the wound, it was sizzling.

Parkouring over the barrier, Surge roared commands. Raichu was a ball of electricity whizzing and smashing anything that came close. Standing still, the rodent roared and let loose a discharge. Several grunts and their pokemon fell where they stood twitching uncontrollably before becoming still. The sage himself retreated backwards, however the throngs of people were no match. Laughing maniacally, the gym leader advanced akin to a one man army. He let loose his electrodes and the spherical monsters used self-destruct and were constantly revived. Volkner watched his superior with a curled lip. Next to him, Elesa flipped her hair and watched calmly.

"Shouldn't we go help him?" her silky voice rose above the din of death.

"You serious?" he faced her with a look of sheer apathy, "Look at him, he doesn't need any help at all! I bet he's enjoying him-"

"VOLKNER!" The awaiting gym leaders and Looker all grimaced, "get in the thick of battle you useless subordinate! I'll...electrode, use self-destruct!" Surge's silhouette was rendered sharp by the orange flames of the explosion. Sighing, the listless blonde kicked the barricade aside and joined in. Elesa too, mounted her zebrastika and went forth. Crossing the bridge littered with comatose bodies of people and pokemon, electrivire used thunder punch on anyone who as much as groaned. Basically, the two, with Skyla who was providing aerial cover, mopped up after Surge. There was no need for them to step in the first place, Volkner contemplated, if the going gets tough, his superior always had a legendary beast to rely on. Terakkion, one of the four swords of Unova, caught and delivered to the superintendents so they could be aided with keeping the regions safe. The soldier rarely used the mythical beast; one of the reasons was because it was a ground type. When he was handed the stocky monster, Surge threw a tantrum and broke several monitors in the process.

"They are retreating!" Skyla's shout could be heard from above, "I repeat, they are retreating, the plasma frigate is rising in the air!"

"Well, clobber it with the guns!" Lt. Surge roared a command.

"Sir...that doesn't work, well just be wasting ammunition and not to mention our budget will be slashed if we splurge our resources." the flying woman replied.

Ryoku dived into the safety of the floating ship. The cannon was still malfunctioning or else he'd freeze the blonde soldier where he stood. Standing on the deck, the humungous ship whirred and rose higher in the air. The sage stared the gym leader down haughtily. His eyes swept across the red bridge and he let out an irritated breath, half of the forces he brought with him were out of commission. They'd have to recruit new grunts to make up for the loss. Casting one final look at his wrathful opponent, he tried to regally retreat into his private room, however, a thunderbolt struck him squarely on his head and he clonked to the ground with white foam coating his mouth. Way down below, Surge smirked.

"Well done Raichu." he praised and scratched the electric rodent behind its ears. "Let's go home, we're done for today."

The monster emitted a satisfied squeak before being recalled into a capsule.

* * *

 **A/N** : I have to admit, Surge was fun to write. His non caring attitude was a refreshing twist. As for who gets the prized tropical mango...no one...Come on people, do you hate mangoes that much? Eh, anyway, read and review please. And leave a note if you are feeling confused. At Jack54311: I think pokemon are pretty lethal...some of the pokedex entries are quite...disturbing. At Silver: You got it partially right, Shadow figure X is a leader. And Congrats once again, the giant ball of light is Arceus...I'm starting to convince myself that you might be able to read minds. JK. Virtual chocolates for everyone (can't go wrong with chocolates, its a proven theory)


	32. Spotlight shines on one

**Chapter 32: Spotlight shines on one  
**

Mid-afternoon

Johto

Dex-criminal's base

The poke gear buzzed off and the connection was cut. Sitting in a comfortable chair, Blue stared at the tiny screen and wondered what happened. Her friend's face looked deathly pale and what was that awful noise? It was so loud she could clearly hear it through the speakers of their gears. As usual Green refused to divulge any details; the only thing he mentioned was a flying ship...the tone of his voice sounded disbelieving. Biting her bottom lip, she set the device down on the table and stared at it for a few more minutes, waiting for it to ring again, alas nothing happened. Finally, she turned her attention to her laptop and tried to work, but the immense worry gnawing on her mind prevented her from absorbing anything. Briefly, she wondered about Ruby and how he might be doing. According to Red, Sapphire drifted listlessly in and out of the execution's room these days. Due to the rise in crime, where were all these new groups popping up from? The police and gym leaders where on high alert. Hands poised over the keyboard, she welcomed the new distractions in the quaint room, Silver and Whi-2 had just walked in, the youngster was chatting in an animated manner and the red head was nodding to her words.

"Anything good happen recently?" she asked, desperate to get her mind off morbid thoughts.

"Oh yes!" Whi-2 almost bounced on the couch "Foongy evolved! I can't wait to have another match with Lack-2" she exclaimed with her eyes glittering. For his part, Silver merely let a lopsided grin show.

"That's wonderful news," Blue praised warmly and flipped her hair back, "...So you like it here now Whi-2?"

The glimmer died down from the girl's eyes and the leader immediately regretted her line of questioning.

"I...Yes I do, I like here very much, it's better than school." The trainer hesitatingly replied, "But...But I still miss my parents and everyone." she looked at Silver, "senior, don't you have any family you miss? And what about you Ms. Blue?"

"I don't have any other family except for Blue, so to answer your question, no I don't miss anyone. Currently, my dad is rotting in jail. In fact, I don't even consider him as a father...He ruined our lives." Silver watched as Whi-2's azure irises showed profound sympathy, she looked down and fidgeted with the ruffles on her skirt. Feeling slightly awkward, he grabbed the remote and was about to switch on the screen when Blue spoke up:

"I have parents whom I visit from time to time, Silver is my adopted brother so I sometimes have to drag him along" she cast the adolescent a good natured glare, "As for Silver's real dad, he was the founder and leader of Team Rocket..." here, the Unovian's eyes widened in understanding, "so you can understand why he feels so negatively towards his father. Don't worry though, we don't let those things get us down, I mean, I have a little family to look after now!" saying this, the woman puffed her chest out and her two subordinates smiled happily. Wanting to know more, the youngest trainer queried about the other leaders and Blue kept on speaking. "Red...Has no parents, he never talks about his childhood...From what I heard from Green, Red's parent's died when he was very young...Probably in the war that took place around twenty years ago...It was a civil war and the records are all wiped so I can't get more information on how it started or why...Anyway, Green's parents have also passed away, he lives with his grandpa, Professor Oak, who is famous for inventing the Pokedex."

"Wow! Senior Green's grandfather invented the Pokedex?" Whi-2 took her digital encyclopedia out and stared at it in wonder, her respect for the normally stoic brunette rose exponentially, "and Green is also famous isn't he...Err, for what is he known for?" her tone turned sheepish.

"Well, he is, or rather was, the forerunner to the champion. Being related to professor Oak already makes one famous, however, Green is also well known for his investigations on pokemon evolution...My lectures all came from his notes. He is also well versed in cloning pokemon and other forms of research. Whenever something odd happens in Kanto, he is generally called, so it is a pretty big deal that we have a super brain amongst us. Red and I don't give him enough credit for his work actually." The realization sunk in and the gloominess returned. Suddenly, Blue's poke gear rang once again, whipping around she grabbed the gear and went out of the common room to answer it.

Around the same time

Driftveil City

Hotel room

"So… let me get this straight," Red's voice issued through the gear, the black haired adolescent had his cap off and the background din could be heard, from the noise, it seems Lack-2 and Gold where having a pokemon brawl and were enjoying themselves. "You got assaulted on the train, had a fight with Cynthia in Heart cave and now you and your team are huddled in in a hotel room, in a half frozen city whilst the police and a local gym leader are crawling around? Does that about sum it up or is it worse?" Green watched his friends' faces scrunch up in concern, it was obvious the red eyed male was busy training his underling, yet, all those and other work were shoved aside to listen to his complaints. Now that he had relayed all the woes plaguing him for the past few days, the strategy commander felt much better, the gears in his brain worked over time as he recalled the series of unfortunate events following him and his team mates. A plan began to unfold in his mind and slowly he divulged all the information. If he rationalized, this mess was caused by Team Plasma, a rival criminal group. A smirk formed on his tired face, it was time to get rid of...Unneeded distractions and weak players. Like he had learnt in his studies, only the strongest survive.

"I'm surprised your puny brain could actually keep up with what I've said," hearing this Red frowned, "yes, more often than not, we were accused of being N's underlings. N himself was tracked by cameras wired to pokemon, when we boarded the train; the twin conductors lumped us together and attacked. Later, they made the connection that we are indeed the Dex-criminals. Let's see, the list of people who saw us include Steven and Cynthia..." His friends had gone mute with shock, their mouths falling open comically, gulping, Blue implored him to continue, "In the cave, I confirmed what we already know, the red chain comes from three pokemon, most likely those legendary psychics. Unfortunately, nowhere was it written or drawn how the chain is made." The duo in the screen inclined their heads sympathetically, "Heart cave is in smithereens thanks to Draco Meteor. Due to this, we won't be able to go back and investigate."

"I appreciate your lengthy report Green but get to the point already, tell us what happened today." Red drawled and the two exchanged a glower.

"Team Plasma, a criminal group operating in Unova, got wind that their kidnapped King was sighted in the vicinity. The media reported that he was last sighted in Heart cave, with a new set of underlings." hearing this, the two others giggled and Green growled in displeasure, "so the group decided to barricade the drawbridge...A wise move on their part since it is a major route. They took over Driftveil city also and once the flying ship was sighted, the situation was deemed critical. Surge was summoned and-"

"Wait, what?! Surge?" The ebony haired man sputtered in disbelief, "why him out of all people?" Arceus that's bad!"

"I don't know my guess is the others were not available. Lt. Surge brought in an entire army; the place resembled a war zone. The Plasma frigate fired two beams and encased the ships and half the city with ice, from there, Surge and his underlings had a skirmish with the Plasma people, despite their huge ship and cannon, they suffered a defeat and had to return. The frigate had long retreated and the city is currently under restoration. They are having the fire type pokemon defrost it. Lots of people are a bit afraid to come out of their homes; I just hope we can survive if they decide to check on the civilians..."

A short silence befell the conversation. Done with his work, Pearl flopped to the floor and started reading a magazine. Crystal parked herself on the other side of the bed and her robotic gaze was fixed on the cream colored wall.

"So...What are you going to do know?" Blue asked.

"Hmm...First, it will be to our advantage if we get rid of the rival groups."

Green's statement elicited different responses from the other two. Red's muted visage lighted up whilst Constellate's leader groaned audibly.

Ignoring their excitement, or lack of, the spiky haired brunette ploughed on: "From the snippets of intelligence we've procured..."

"Simple terms please, Professor Oak" the ruby eyed man harshly interjected.

"...From the itty bitty pieces of information I've gathered from all of our heists, it seems there is at least one organized criminal group operating in any given region. We've taken care of Team Rocket, so they are out of commission. Blue?" the woman hummed, "do you remember the people who assaulted you when you went to Sinnoh? I guess those...Galactic was it?" she replied in affirmative, "they are probably the ring leaders in Sinnoh, here in Unova it'd be Team Plasma in Hoenn I think there is a Team Magma in operation. I'm a bit obscure on the details; we can question Ruby or Sapphire more on that. We need more information on each of the groups and once we have them in our palms...Smash them and get rid of them permanently. Easy as that. I'm sick of playing dodge with the police."

"So now our course of action would be too find information on these other groups and get rid of them..." Blue had a sly smile on her face, "Oh Green, I didn't know you where such and attention hogger!" she laughed.

"Pesky woman, keep your comments to yourself, why don't we switch positions and let's see if _you_ fare any better!"

The blue eyed adolescent twirled a strand of chocolate brown hair and winked, "It'd be a cinch for me~" she suavely added, "I'd ask the guards nicely and they will gladly help a damsel in distress." At her bold statement, Red chuckled and Green wore a deadpan expression on his face. Of course whatever Blue had said was all true, she could silkily worm her way out of tough situations. In the top three, Green was the worst when cornered, he always feared that one day he'd be found out and his reputation and career as a researcher would be ruined.

"Not everyone is a trickster like you," he snidely commented, "anyway, I'll return to Johto tomorrow, I expect you two to start preparing teams and dispatching them already. The sooner the other players are eliminated, the more advantageous it is for us." Ending the call, he ordered the rest to return to their own rooms and to keep calm should the police come knocking and asking. Picking himself up, he commanded N to come to his room later. As he exited from the gathering, Yellow noticed a derisive smile tugging at his lips.

And his emerald irises held a savage gleam of pleasure.

* * *

Evening

Driftveil City

Hotel, Green's room

The moment N stood before the hotel room door, it felt like the inside of his stomach dropped down somewhere to his legs and disappeared. Holding the dark dragon stone protectively over his chest, he cautiously rapped his knuckles on the wooden doors. Back when he was still the King of Team Plasma, he was given everything he wanted; there wasn't the apprehension of answering for what he did. Here, he was often admonished and forced to do things against his will. Green scared him the most, the individual's rationality was a force to be reckoned with. True to his words, Strategy's leader and he personally adjusted the living conditions of the encaged legendries. They seemed to return back to normal; however a few days later, the situation returned to its former self. Once again, they had become intoxicated, mad. When he suggested to the commander that they be released, he received a scowl in return.

Like the one he was getting now. Green stood patiently on the threshold and waited for N to return to the realm of reality.

"Sorry, I was thinking" came the flat apology.

"Come in, I have a few questions to ask."

N meekly shuffled in the identically decorated room and seated himself on the plush couch. It appears Green had already started working. The laptop was whirring at a desk and a few papers were strewn about. Shutting the door, he seated himself with Green grabbing a chair and facing him. Another tense silence stretched before them; finally the brunette asked a question. One that caught N off guard:

"Why didn't you escape from us?" the green haired youth mumbled something incomprehensible, "I'm not only talking about today...When you first joined us, we handed the dark dragon stone to you, Zekrom is formidable, I'm sure it would have been easy for you to use him and break out." Jade tinted irises pinned the younger male with a questioning gaze. N shifted slightly and the leather couch made a squeaky noise.

"I don't have a home to return to," he lethargically responded, "besides my father...no Ghetsis said I was useless even as a puppet. Team Plasma hails me as a king but I know they don't view me that way. I'm merely a figurehead..." he trailed off and hung his head, a moment later he looked up, "after staying with you people for a few months, I've learnt a lot of things. Before, I was always under the impression that humans and pokemon should be treated as equals, the beasts are to be set free and allowed to do the things they please. Here, despite how you guys command your pokemon to battle, they do not dislike you. Your partners are well prepared to die for you...And it got me thinking, perhaps people and pokemon can perfectly co-exist. The trained monsters usually emulate the dreams of their trainer. I think Black is a very good example...Uh, so is everyone else in the base. Sometimes all this confuses me, however it all makes sense. We grow to care for each other and if suddenly our long time companions are set free, it impacts both the human and the pokemon." Swallowing, N hugged the stone, "Oh, I noticed something weird with Red's pokemon..." he wasn't sure if he should continue with his sentence or not.

"...What did you notice?"

"They all adore him" Green rolled his eyes and snorted, "except his Gyarados; the pseudo dragon hates his guts. The stuff it spouts out when commander Red asks it to battle would put a swearing sailor to shame. It's quite ill tempered."

"Generally, gyarados' have nasty tempers, don't let it bother you." _Besides, the thing is stolen_ , Green added in his mind. "It's getting late; I'll start with the questions. Answer them as truthfully and accurately as possible. I'll _punish_ you if you lie."

N gulped and nodded. The way the older male worded punish, it sounded like he was going to kill someone.

"Okay, first...What was that giant ship in the sky? And how could it fire ice beams of such power? If you don't know the answer to a question simply tell me, be warned though, I'll be able to tell if you are lying."

Beads of sweat dotted N's forehead, nevertheless he continued: "The ship is known as the Plasma frigate. It is the brainchild of a scientist named Colress who is sort of the vice leader of Team Plasma. He mainly stays at the ship and conducts experiments on how to bring out a pokemon's fighting strength to its optimum level. The Plasma frigate is a mobile base of sorts; it harnesses solar power and thus is able to fly. As for the cannons..." he grew quiet.

"I don't care if its confidential information, spit it out. You are no longer affiliated with them anyway."

"Yes, I understand" a heartbeat later N continued, "the cannons are utilizing Kyurem's powe-"

"HOW?!" Green sat bolt upright at the statement, one hundred and fifty one possibilities whizzed through his head. It took one of those blindingly white elemental beams to freeze half of the city and another one to reduce an entire fleet of ships to nothing. If only he could understand the process...the opportunities were endless. As the scenarios floated through his mind, Red's displeased face popped up and the theories deflated like a punctured drifloon. His friend would severely disprove of using pokemon in such a manner. Why, the crimson eyed man didn't even give his partners any stat boosting items. The fissure between them would widen further. And besides, he was done doing such experiments with pokemon. His memory of Mewtwo will be following him till his grave, even if he became senile and forgot everything else, he'll never forget mewtwo.

Never

"...Carry on, I was just overly curious" Green mumbled and the former Plasma King dipped his head.

"Last year, Ghetsis brought Kyurem home; he refused to tell me how he got the stone and simply instructed me to coax the dragonoid out. After I did so, he was taken away; father cited that having such a dangerous beast close to our incomplete castle might be dangerous. The dragon may have a mood swing and decide to crush us all. From there, I've heard that Colress managed to create a machine capable of artificially stimulating a pokemon's power and spiking them to dangerous levels. I suppose they are doing it with Kyurem and using its extra energy to power the cannons. It was a novel concept which came true. They want to coat Unova with ice and force everyone to go with their ideals." N's eyes turned glassy.

"Hmm, I see. Pfft, Foolish idiots, such elaborate schemes will eventually end in failure. If not, we'll just blot them out. So, you have another partially completed base? Where is it situated?"

"Underground" the youth replied and Green's eyebrows joined his hairline, he was beginning to have a grudging respect for these group of felons, "it surrounds the Pokemon league. Ghetsis and the sages agree the Pokemon league is the pinnacle of pokemon slavery."

A spell of silence descended, the brunette scribbled something on a loose sheet of paper and N stared at his shoes.

"One last question" Green held N's gaze, "if we fight with Ghetsis...Will you betray us?"

 _Will you betray us?_

Will you-

Betray us?

" _This is the ideal world N, where pokemon are free from the selfish and unreasonable demands of their owners. Yes owners' child, they claim to be trainers but look at their actions and tell me...cannot you not see the brutal glee on their faces when they win a battle? Do you think the sorry monsters, scarred both mentally and physically are happy with what they did? You think they deserve their wounds? No N, they don't. These beasts don't have a voice, it is up to you and to us to give them one and liberate them from slavery...they do not deserve to be handled with such cruelty..."_

Lies.

"I won't" the slate tinted irises sharpened, "I'll fight for myself, to find out what is right. I will not betray you." The words fell from N's lips as the sun sunk lower. The room, the city was bathed in muted light and shadows.

* * *

Mid-night

Unova

Driftveil city Hotel room

Crystal understood why Gold watched the stars at night. She and Yellow shared a room and the blonde was fast asleep. The indigo haired female sat in a nightgown near the windows and threw the curtains aside to let the silver moonlight through. Despite the metropolis' light pollution, she could clearly see the stars in the sky, shining faintly like diamonds. And the moon, a huge argent disk hanging against a raven tinted sky. Gripping herself she let out a huge sigh and laid her head against her folded arms. It has been a few days since Bonee's death, she wanted to bury him as soon as possible and unfortunately they have been tumbling from one unpleasant situation to another. Hopefully, tomorrow team Strategy will be able to board a plane back to Johto, from there she'll have to ask Green for a vacation in order for her to go to Kanto and lay cubone in peace. It's been a long time since she went to Lavender tower...

A soft sniff punctuated the serene silence in the room. Crystal was now laying on the carpet, on her side and letting the tears fall from her eyes. No matter how much she reasoned with herself, the overwhelming feeling of having lost something very precious overtook her. It came from the abyss in her chest and tried to force itself out with an indignant cry. It wasn't fair for her loyal partner to die. It wasn't fair. Curling up she let the pale white light wash over thinly clad form. The moonbeams, although surreally beautiful, was cold. She didn't want comfort; Crys was an independent girl and thrived as such. Now she felt all broken and jagged like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Confused. Someone should start putting the individual pieces together and make the picture whole again. She's got better things to do then wallow in self-pity.

But everyone needs a bit of self-pity.

Countless times, she thought of a new partner to replace Bonee, it was a logical decision and one she ought to seriously think about, yet, every time the idea popped in her mind, she felt like she was betraying the deceased pokemon. Bonee was a gift from her mother; she nurtured him, grew with him and fought battles with him. And now:

He was gone.

And preferably in a better place.

Yellow tried not to flinch when she heard her junior emit a pained sob. Being sensitive to both people and pokemon's emotions, she lied still and pretended to be asleep. A very demanding part of her wanted to get up and comfort the poor girl, the rational part told her to allow Crys some time. Torn in indecision, the blonde merely lay exhausted on the bed and listened to the anguished, muffled cries of her team mate.

 _It's going to be okay_ , the brown eyed girl soothed, alas; the words uttered were not a decibel louder than a subdued whisper.

* * *

 **A/N:** It's okay people...I'm alive. I went to a family reunion and spent a few days at that place...then I came back home to no internet for another few days. Life was going great...somewhat. Anyway I'm back with a new chapter which will hopefully get the ball rolling once again. Thanks to all those who keep on reading. Virtual roast beef to you all (man, I love roast beef). At Silver: I chuckled at your rendition of Lt Surge using his electricity puns, good one! I have a habit of reading the dex entries of the pokemon I write about and honestly some of them surprised me. At Jack54311: Yep, they are creepy and the anime doesn't give them enough creepy credit (does that make sense?) So I prefer the manga, I used to watch the anime though, when I was five. At Eevee: Your review was a pleasant surprise! (And I hope to see more of them) I couldn't update for reasons stated above, but now I'm back! If you have any questions, feel free to shoot (and that includes anyone). Once again, please read and enjoy, constructive criticism and reviews are highly appreciated.


	33. Splintered affections

**Chapter 33: Splintered affections  
**

Dawn

Johto

Dex-criminal's hideout

When Sapphire heard of Ruby's return, she didn't care for the fact that she was dressed in pajamas. Hurtling off her hammock-esque bed, she landed with a bodily thump on the carpeted floor of her bedroom. Scrambling up, she launched herself past her leader, who had been the messenger and tore down the hallways with bare feet. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute and since the surroundings were a blur, she smacked into Emerald. The diminutive teen was wearing boxers which were half sliding down; irritably he hitched the article of clothing back up and heaved a sigh. Both of them looked at each other and ran down the passageway with renewed vigor. Rald came to a stumbling stop before a small room whilst Saph, not reserved in the slightest, kicked the door open violently and tumbled in. Next to Blue sat Ruby, without a hat and wearing clothes so filthy it should've been a cardinal sin in his books. He must have washed his head and face because water droplets were cascading down his locks and running small rivulets down his neck. And there was a towel draped over his head. When the other Hoenn natives rushed in, Ruby had looked up and offered a weak smile. His eyes however, remained hard and lifeless. Saph shivered inwardly, she'd never seen Ruby look so...Despondent.

Stalking to the couch, she squeezed herself next to him and fidgeted with her hands. Red came in a few minutes later and after much deliberating, (the space he was sitting on was now occupied with Saph and Emerald) he reluctantly sat himself by Green's side. The moment he did so, the brown haired man spoke up:

"You look awful Ruby, tell us what happened."

"First!" Blue huffed and threw him a complacent look, "Ruby needs to get some rest, you can't expect him to spout information right off the bat. Look at him; he might be reliving the nightmare he went through!"

"All the more reason why he should get it off his chest pesky woman! I don't understand you, when I'm feeling down, you pick my brains apart!"

The bickering duo stopped their childish quarrels when Ruby squirmed. A short while later the boy spoke, his voice cracked at first but the words flowed smoothly thereafter. Spellbound, the occupants in the room listened to his story with rapt attention

* * *

A few days ago, afternoon

Hoenn

Route 119

Ruby stared at himself in a puddle of water and grimaced. The blood smears on his face had dried to a maroon color and looked like tribal war paint. Did he look like this when he fought those two Magma admins? Yuck, he briefly wondered what the passing trainers and other people who saw him might've thought. He appeared like an ancient spear hefting warrior, the only comforting thought he could manage was that Sapphire would probably approve of the way he looked. _It's natural_ , she would've quipped. Crouching down to the stream, he began washing himself vigorously. Letting out all of his partners, he first treated them accordingly. It was lamentable about Nana's fur, he'll just have to cut the rest down and hope the glorious mane regrows...Guess he'll need extra Protein for that. With fashionable thoughts to keep him company, he scrubbed his pokemon clean and sprayed them down. A few hours later they were napping peacefully on the grass. Satisfied, tired and hungry, according to the growls his stomach emitted, he roused his companions and recalled them. Securing them to his belt, he set off again, this time he resolved to align his path with the stream running through the route, fresh water will always save a life. Mentally thanking Saph for her tips for surviving in the wild, he glimpsed part of the stream and eagerly pushed forward. Some half an hour later, he collapsed at the bank. Digging out a stale stolen sandwich, he gulped it down without tasting it and went to the stream to drink some water. As he peered over to dip his cupped hands into the clear water, he froze. Looming over him was another reflection...

His dad's.

All the energy drained from his limbs, how could his father find him so quickly? It was ridiculous! Muscles spasming, he got up slowly and turned around to face the gym leader.

"How did you f-"

"I placed a tracker in your bag Ruby" Norman cut his query off, "now be a good son and come with me. When I was driving over cycling road, I heard a shrill scream which sounded like it came from you. By the time I went down to investigate, there were signs of a pokemon battle and I got hold of a few magma grunts. For leading me to them, I thank you. So now, let's stop this foolish business and return home. Your mother is worried and I...Had to cut a meeting short after hearing the worry in her voice. I'm sure it is of no concern to you how much hot water I'll be in once I return." Hoping his son would follow, Norman turned around and began striding through the dense bushes and back to his motorbike, which he parked a long way back. Instead, a sharp pain assaulted the small of his back, quick reflexes kicking in, he swerved around and swiped a hand at Ruby, who had just tackled him. The act of his son trying to bodily harm him...Was quite farfetched. Nevertheless, he did not expect his offspring to simply bow his head and return. If the child did so, he wouldn't be Ruby.

"I'm not coming home" he hissed.

"Good, I'll simply track you and find the rest of your friends. I'm sure they'll be happy knowing that you lead me right to them."

The teenager gritted his teeth in frustration, as soon as he got his father off his back; a thorough search through his backpack is required because he had to get rid of the damn tracker. Deciding to rile his father up, he said: "I didn't know you'd stoop so low as to track me, rather unbecoming of you, dad."

"I'll do anything to uphold my duties and values the way I see fit. Your pathetic attempt of a jibe does not stir my conscious." The words had a damaging effect on Ruby, inhaling sharply, the teenager eyed his bag with distaste...maybe if it suffered a thorough electrocution, the device would short circuit...along with the other technical machines in his bag. No matter, his wages were enough for him to buy new ones and if he was desperate, he could always rely on Rald, the short boy was a walking bank. Pulling out his castform he commanded it to use thunderbolt, slightly amused, Norman watched his son fry the bag. Seconds later, his PokeNav confirmed a lost signal. Whatever, the boy was right in front of him.

In one smooth move, Ruby encapsulated his Popo and grabbed his bag. Activating his running shoes, the boy zipped out of sight so fast; he kicked up dust and small debris. Waving his hand in front of his face, Norman let out a sigh and an expression of deep misery seized his face. Letting out his avian beast, he climbed on it and took to the skies. This proved to be a futile decision because the route was dotted with a canopy of trees; the only thing he could see from this height was a forest of different colors of green. Squinting, his eyes picked out an individual running at high speed. Nudging staraptor forward, he trailed the figure and came closer to the ground. Doing an expert job of dodging branches and foliage, the predatory bird gave a frightened squawk when the sky thundered; minutes later it began to rain. The wet droplets had no effect on slowing the boy down, he chugged up mud instead. Same with the father, regretting what he was about to do, he held steadily on and once he came within range, staraptor dove down on the boy and hit him squarely on his back. Ruby toppled face first in the dirt. Norman got off and waited for his son to get up and regain his bearings.

He got up, pushing himself off the murk and cursing. Moments later, the rain washed some of the mire coating his face. Heavy droplets drummed on the earth and the duo stared at each other. Ruby's forehead was lined; his scowl was fierce and ugly.

"Had enough? You must be tired. Let's go HOME" Although his voice was level, his rage wasn't, the more he spent time trying to coax his son back, like his wife told him too, the more he was getting angrier. Why was his son so adamant on joining a bunch of thieves? He wouldn't know. As of now, every time he pondered about his son's doings, it felt like he was going to get a heart attack or a stroke. So, to keep himself from going insane, he simply pushed it to the back of his mind. At least not thinking about it provided a solace of comfort. Watching his son fumble with the capsules hanging from his belt, he continued: "Another fight? You like getting beaten don't you?"

"This time the outcome will be different, I'll...Defeat you so thoroughly, you won't come after me any further. This is it! Zuzu, come out." The creature landed with a loud thump and splashed mud everywhere, surprisingly; Ruby didn't flinch when he got soaked. Norman sent out his Spinda and another harrowing battle commenced. Or would if the teenager hadn't turned tail and ran. Zuzu, its face set into mildly confused, threw up a surf and lumbered after its trainer. The bizarre events must have been a strategy because far away, the boy and his reptilian partner actually paused in their escape to high five. The blood mounted to Norman's head and he gave chase. Branches whipped his face and the bottom of his pants was caked with mud. At times he almost slipped; the wet ground was treacherous to tread on. The rain was coming down like a waterfall now. Ruby probably took this route because of its terrain and low visibility. Standing still in a clearing of trees, he cocked his head to the side and tried to listen for rustles in the undergrowth. He had lost sight of his son and the fact was driving him mad. A sudden flash of lightning lit up his surroundings, throwing it into sharp relief. In that instant, he saw a boy and a hulking beast, without further ado, he went after them, wiping his brow free of water.

As soon as he burst out, a torrent of mud had him crashing into a nearby tree. Ducking sharply, the thick trunk splintered beneath swampert's massive fist. Sliding out of the way, he ordered his pokemon to use teeter dance. Spinda merely started wobbling before it suffered a skull crushing dynamic punch. The spot panda pokemon twirled once and fainted, blood leaked out of its ears and washed away. Without breaking stride, the normal type leader sent out his trump card. Slaking came out beating its tan chest, the sounds echoed thunderously throughout the forest.

"Swagger and hit hard, get rid of that water type." Unable to articulate due to a mixture of worry, fatigue and anger, Norman sent out inconspicuous commands, however, the beast was well trained and did not need babying. Soon, Zuzu was happily wrapping muscle laden arms around its owner and giving Ruby a rib crushing hug. When the trainer screamed, he was promptly let go. Plopping down, the human fished for a persim berry and watched with horror as his partner opened his mouth. Gurgling sounds issued from the gaping maw and a pressurized stream of water was threatening to issue forth. Desperate, Ruby grabbed the peach colored berry and thrust his hand deep inside swampert's mouth. The monster gagged and swallowed and returned to normal. Victory was short lived as slaking body slammed Zuzu into a tree. The two gargantuan beasts rolled around in the newly created swamp, since the environment was advantageous to Ruby's pokemon, Zuzu went all out. Slaking was slapped; a heavy punch threw him into the trees. As the ape tried to detangle its self from branches, swampert leapt up and bowled into it. A shrieking grunt was heard before another bone breaking crunch. Norman's irises narrowed as the water monster twisted his partner's neck with a satisfying snap.

"I defeated Slaking, now let me go, I don't have anything else to prove." His Ruby looked almost grotesque with blood and mud stained clothes. It also did not help when Zuzu towered behind its master. With the rain distorting the image, the teenager and his beast represented something dangerous.

Something treacherous.

Evil.

Securing his normal type back into a sphere. The gym leader stood squarely before his wayward son. Ruby didn't flinch, nor did he give the slightest indication that he was afraid.

Nothing.

"Fine." Norman relented and Ruby's eye's lighted up however..."You are no son of mine" the next few words killed the hope in his eyes. The red tinted irises registered an array of emotions: disbelief, grief and eventually the swirling expressions stopped dead cold in their tracks. His child simply stared glassily like a stone statue issuing neither warmth nor life. "From this day on, you won't need to come back home. You are your own person and you do what you want to do. Do not answer to me. I hope you have a good life. Just...Call your mother from time to time. I don't want to see your rotten, thieving face before me ever again. Groudon please make it as such. You are a disgrace to me." Wringing the bottom part of his striped shirt free of water, the father turned around and returned. Ruby opened his mouth and closed it, akin to a confounded magikarp. He stood rooted to his spot, blinking only when water cascaded into his eyes.

"Dad...dad please no. Don't do this to me...Please don't do this to me!" His knees, unable to support his body weight, sank down in the mud. The water touching his lips tasted salty and warm. Was he crying? For his dad? Why? He always wished to be free of the domineering man's clutches. So why was he clawing in the mud and wailing like an abandoned boy? Why did his father do this to him?

Why?

 _Why?_

He lied in the mud till the rain stopped pouring. By that time, his head was throbbing and evening had set in. When he tried to open his parched mouth, it hurt. Scrambling to his bag, he retrieved a mirror and checked his reflection. Swollen, puffy eyes complete with an apathetic expression frozen on his face. Panicking, Ruby feigned a smile and was highly unsatisfied with the results. It was creepy and devoid of any mirth. Exhaling he got up and shouldered his bag...It was time to return to the base.

To his only remaining home.

Evening

Hoenn

Littleroot town, Ruby's house.

The moment the door to the quaint house opened, Ruby's mother flew over to Norman and barraged him with questions. Tired, soaking wet and on the verge of a mental break down...What did he just do? Disown his son? Morbid contemplations swirled around his head and his wife's high pitched rapid fire queries were adding to the insufferable atmosphere plaguing him. Without warning, he grabbed her and enveloped her petite form with his own. Burying his face in her hair, he clenched his eyes shut while she squeaked adorably in surprise. He was trying hard to suppress the tears threatening to leak out of his shut lids. When last did he cry? Oh yes, a few tears might've escaped him the first time he held his squirming bundle of a son in his arms. The boy was minute, pink and bawling at the top of his lungs whilst waving tiny fists in the air. Sniffing, he noted how his wife had gone strangely quiet. Norman wanted to tell her everything. _Everything_. He wanted to inform her that their son was a criminal and was not coming back because he was exiled from the house. But when she held him firmly against her, patting his head and whispering words of comfort. It all vanished. He couldn't. Her happiness revolved around her flamboyant son and he has no right to go and crush her dreams mercilessly. After all, his happiness was also their boy, their rogue treasure. A tiny part of him wished, hoped that Ruby will come back...the hope was a fickle flame, at times it burned intensely and in other times, it flickered and went off. Now all he could see was a black void stretching out endlessly before him.

"Care to tell me what's the matter honey? I suppose you didn't find Ruby." She tried to step out from the embrace; unfortunately her husband still had a vise grip on her.

"Our son, isn't coming home...He is..." he trailed off and inhaled deeply. This was painful.

"He is?" she prompted softly.

Breaking the embrace, he gave a diluted smile, "Oh that brat and I fought in a rainy area and he screamed some rude stuff and went off screeching about proving himself. I told him...that I didn't want to see his face ever again. And so we parted. Typical encounter really."

"Oh dear! Again?" the worry in her voice melted away and she shook her head, "from the way you came in, I thought something very bad hand occurred. You gave me a scare!" countenance returning to normal, she started fussing over him and removing his wet clothes.

"Can't a man hug his wife?" he saw her cheeks flush pink. Alas, the stone rooted firmly in his stomach did not lighten in weight.

Present time:

The room was eerily quiet when Ruby finished speaking, somewhere along the line, while he related the events, his voice had cracked again. Saph held his hands tightly and he was aware of how Blue was half hugging him. A few stray tears slid down his face and thankfully no one commented.

"Who...Needs him anyway?" the black haired teenager bitterly added, "I'm going to put in extra work from now on. A new world where Dad...Won't scorn me for what I want to do" Abruptly getting up, he crossed the room and left without uttering another word. The stiff silence in the room shattered when Green spoke up. He ran a hand through his hair:

"I gave Crystal a much needed vacation; she is currently in Lavender town, Kanto. We have much work to do-"

"It's surprising how you can think of work in this state" Red interjected and Blue moaned.

"Quiet! Both of you!" she snapped, her mellow tone gained a sharp edge, "Red, assemble a team and send them to Sinnoh to find those Galactic people" the former champion made a disgusted face, "if you don't want to do that, then go for the legendary titan. I found information citing the leader of the titans resides in Snowpoint temple. Send whoever you like." The male nodded and vacated the room. The woman then turned her attention to Saph who was gaping at the wall with a vacant look. "Saph, tell me, how many criminal organizations are there in Hoenn? This is important, I'd ask Ruby but..." her words died on her lips. Shifting, the girl started divulging information. The remaining two leaders, along with Emerald listened to her attentively.

Execution's room was empty, save for Black who preferred sleeping on the second floor of the chamber. Red grabbed a random chair and sat down. The situation he'd just heard about seemed surreal. Of course he'd never understand the delicate relationship between parents and children, his own died when he was a baby. He briefly tried to recall their appearances and ended up with nothing. Professor Oak's face popped up along with Green's and he inwardly snorted. Perhaps Green was feeling the same way as Ruby, his grandfather was not pleased in the slightest with what his grandson was doing. Nevertheless the adolescent persisted in his goals all because he, Red, asked him to. A hand went up and touched the bridge of his nose. The pain was long gone but the humiliation and betrayed feelings remained. He didn't know what to do; he was never in a situation where he outright wanted to run away from the organization he birthed. It was a peculiar feeling. Sometimes Red would find himself glued to the television when gym battles were being broadcasted. He watched them zealously hoping to catch a glimpse of a certain water type master. Female, with reddish-orange hair. When he did see her, a fluttery feeling would emerge from the pit of his stomach right up to his chest and he'd quash it down violently. If Green found out...

If Green ever caught wind of his deep seated ruminations, his friend would feel double-crossed. Gripping his peak cap, he tugged it off his head and threw it in a random direction. It was time to put his mind at work and aim for higher goals. No more distractions.

But she didn't feel like a distraction. Thinking of her made him happy.

"Wow senior, you're up early..." Diamond, wearing a lazy grin, walked in the room and paused by the door, he took in his superior who was busy tugging the upright bangs on his head. The man gave off a troubled aura.

"Hey Dia" the commander managed to pipe cheerfully. "I got a new mission for you...Oh man, seems like your training will have to go on a halt again. Although, now days, I hardly have anything left to teach you!" The younger male reddened at the warm praise and Red ruffled his hair fondly. "You, Platina and Pearl will have to go to Snowpoint temple to try and catch the legendary leader of the titans and while you at it, keep a look out for freakishly looking people wearing space suits. They are part of...Uh...What was it now again?" The ruby eyed male scratched the back of his head helplessly and Diamond laughed.

"Don't worry senior" his torpid voice floated, "I'll just ask Missy and Pearl. Miss Platina would know everything, she always does!" Light hearted laughter echoed down the corridors as the boy left. A few minutes later, a disgruntled Lack-2 made an entry; his stomping footsteps were muffled by the dusty carpet on the floor.

"Che" the child grumbled, "my mentor went after senior Crystal along with Silver...Now I don't have anyone to play with." Russet eyes watched his leader listlessly. Red simply smiled and offered to train him. "No thanks," the boy sniffed, "I'm gonna find Whi-2 to spend some time with." Saying this, he floundered away and once again Red was all alone in the room.

Apart for Black and his snores.

* * *

Mid-afternoon

Kanto

Lavender Town

"If you are so concerned Gold, I would advise you to go talk to her." The red head observed his friend languidly; the two were hiding themselves behind gravestones as they watched Crystal dusting the little tombstone of her cubone. Lavender tower was filled with the musky scent of burnt incense. Several saffron clothed monks chanted religiously and their bassy hums floated eerily. Ringed staffs in hand, they posted themselves before the entrance of each level. The atmosphere was somber, grounded. Silver's ears had picked up muffled moans and cries when he and Gold stepped foot in the tower. His normally cheerful friend had also quieted down. The duo discreetly trailed Crystal since she came to Lavender town a few days ago. Her Bonee had passed away after a well fought battle and she wanted to bury the lonely pokemon as soon as possible. They both offered to come but she denied them politely. Not one to simply let his friends off when they were suffering. Gold dragged Silver and went after her. For the past few days, her ritual was the same. The first day, amidst many tears she laid her pokemon to rest. An old couple had consoled her and the only thing the two of them could do was watch from the sidelines. Since then, her emotions had stabilized considerably, now she came every day to simply pray and clean the already spotless headstone. Thereafter she sat at the foot of the grave and meditated.

The circular tower was filled with ghost pokemon. Death and sadness lingered in the air. Silver wasn't particularly fond of the building and he wondered why level headed Crystal would want to spend her time in this dreary place. He ducked as a haunter tried phasing through him. The floors were decorated with candles and ornate chandeliers glowing with azure flames. A thick mist also permeated the chambers and partially obscured the rows of gravestones. Flowers, both fresh and decaying saturated the air with their smells. During his short visit, he had already seen a hysteric man being possessed. The man had recently lost a long time partner and was rendered mad with grief. He came in wailing and before anyone knew what was happening, a ghastly had taken hold of him. The possessed man struck a monk on the head, he started cursing loudly, singing morbid songs and swearing at deity monsters. Female exorcists seized him and sprinkled water, waved their exorcising whisks around and forcing him to one of the cleansing areas. From the sparkling wells of light which were dotted throughout the tower, the Johto native concluded that possession was not an uncommon experience. Even though he thought such acts were ludicrous, a shiver ran down his spine.

"You crazy?" Gold whispered and crouched lower, "if she sees us, she'll kick us back to Johto." The red head took another glance at this friend and curbed the desire to roll his eyes.

"I'm not crazy...Besides; you look absolutely pathetic in your getup." Gold had tried to disguise himself. Keyword being tried. The adolescent had dressed up in a knee length black trench coat, black jeans and combat boots. The sleeves were rolled up till mid-elbow and he had a pair of sunglasses on his face. "Who wears sunglasses indoors?" came the indifferent question "and this is a graveyard for Giratina's sake, you look like a morbid clown!"

"Well...you still look the same!" Gold shot back in a fiery whisper, "...and you are wearing all black as well. Your hair" behind the darkened glasses, gold irises moved towards Silver's head, "your hair...is brown. Eh, you kinda look good." Hearing this, the thief gagged.

Even with her eyes closed, Crystal had a difficult time concentrating. The disturbance was a few rows of graves away. Two people, their muted voices echoing in the melancholic space. Most of the people let them be, they were too drained of energy to go and investigate. Others simply cast them disgusted looks; the two males were defiling a holy area by bickering. As another visitor complained about their conduct she opened her eyes and sighed. Her mind told her that the two idiots were her best friends. She appreciated the gesture, but she wanted to spend some time alone to mourn. Getting up, she quietly made her way over to the offending duo and stopped dead in her tracks. All of a sudden, she was not sure of their identities.

"Gold?" she hesitantly asked and the male turned towards her, "you...you look utterly ridiculous! Who in their right mind wears sunglasses indoors? You look like a shady thief!"

"Told you so" Silver quipped.

"Whoa super serious gal, it's the first time you see me in ages and this is what you have to say? How about: Oh Gold, I'm so glad you came for me..." he stopped talking when the female raised her leg threateningly. "Okay sorry, my bad" he took the glasses off "I came dressed for a funeral," he indicated his clothes "and to drag you out of here!" he exclaimed. "I mean, all this purple haze must be messing with your brains Crys, the only thing you do is sit in here all day, breath some fresh air for a while."

"Look Gold" Cry's voice took a dangerous edge, "I came here for a reason and your stupid comments won't stop me from what I'm doing...You don't understand how it feels to lose a long time partner do you?" she gritted her teeth, "just leave me alone. I'll be fine and return to base without-"

"YOU THREE!" A bald monk shouted and struck his staff on the stone floor, "GET OUT! NOW!" Mortified, Crystal cast a harsh glare at her two friends and followed them meekly out of the tower, the moment they touched down on the grass, she exploded.

"I told you to leave me alone, but do you listen? You like getting embroiled in everything, always wanting to be the center of attention don't you?" she panted and screamed, "My pokemon was horribly mutilated and it died right in front of me Gold! Do you know what that means? I failed to save Bonee, I let him die!" she wiped away angry tears and continued ranting, "and you two waltzed in here like it was no big deal! I'm fine, I don't need cheering up and I certainly don't needed a meddling idiot like you to tell me what to DO!" Crystal ended her sentence with a sharp jab at Gold's chest and broke down crying. She slid to the grassy floor and wailed. For his part, Gold stood rooted at his spot, his lips curved into a frown. Not knowing what to do, Silver awkwardly huddled down to her. His hand clasped her shoulder comfortingly.

A single thought flashed in the amber eyed trainer's mind:

 _It's happening with us as well._

 _A fall-out between us._

 _Between the three of us._

Silver had begun to sooth their female friend, his low tones washed over her. Unfortunately she kept on crying and wailing about her dead partner and its significance to her. Feeling hollow, Gold dropped to the floor and stared straight ahead.

Time passed, the sun reached the crest and started its descent. The three of them had shifted to the side of the imposing tower instead of blocking the way. Crystal stopped crying and occasionally sniffed. Silver's arms were around her and she clutched the red head with all her might. The two of them appeared to be embracing. For some reason, this didn't sit well with Gold. Every time his eyes veered to them, which were often, he felt a pang of white hot something bursting in his chest. They were his best friends! So what was this negative emotion waiting to spill out in the form of harsh words? Forcibly directing his gaze to the horizon, he heard Silver murmur softly. Resolving to shut their hushed conversation out, he was mildly surprised when Crystal hugged him from behind.

"I'm sorry Gold" her face was squashed against his back, "I'm really sorry for saying all those things, I know you meant well, you always do. It's just that the past few days were very stressful for me and I wanted to do this alone. I didn't want the two of you to see me like this." Her grip slackened. "Please forgive me for what I said."

"Then go on a date with me" the words tumbled out involuntarily and he mentally berated himself, she was going to get angry at him again. "I mean...Yeah cool. I'm sorry for saying such insensitive stuff." He casted his gaze downwards and absent mindedly began tearing at the grass. His cheeks were burning up, was he getting a fever? "I'll forgive you if you go on a date with Silver and I"

"And why are you dragging me into this? I don't have a death wish!"

"Chill dude!" Gold calmed his friend, "not like she's ever gonna-"

"Yes." The female interjected.

"?" the two males stared at her.

"I'll go, but first..." she got up and dusted her shorts, "I need to get over Bonee's death. Please return without me." Bowing slightly, she smiled and marched back to the tower.

"Hey Silver...I just scored a jackpot..." Gold's voice was soft; the silver eyed trainer wanted to scoff at him but swallowed his words when he saw his comrade's face.

It was set in an expression he had never seen before.

* * *

 **A/N:** People I need help, I didn't know it was possible for it to rain so much! (And take the power with it). Much thanks to Silver Saxophone (another Silver!) for following my story. At Eevee: My favorite character is Diamond, I love the depth of his character, his emotions and the way he struggles to achieve what he wants, plus he's quiet. Thanks for worrying about me! I started writing fanfic to keep myself from stressing to much and so it's no pressure to update (since I'm waaayy ahead with the writing. And congratulations! The figure was Cyrus and since we don't have any mangoes anymore, virtual coconut to you. Our coconuts are ripening on our trees and the are quite delicious. At Jack54311: Crys is tough, she'll be up and rolling in no time! Once again, please enjoy the story and leave a review to tell me what you think!


	34. Criminal sleuths

**Chapter 34: Criminal sleuths**

Morning

Sinnoh

Snowpoint City, Temple

The trio stared up at the temple with wonder. Their breaths formed a small cloud in front of them. Platina's ink blue eyes took in the ancient structure; it was worn and cracked in places. Unlike other temples, which were often grandiose and built high, Snowpoint temple was a single story, the building was constructed out of grey stone. Thick pillars held up a flat roof and several arches gave the sanctuary a sacrosanct look. With a trained eye, she scrutinized the architecture and nodded knowingly to herself. Despite its looks, the temple was not abandoned, there were no moss forming between the slate stones and the roof was relatively snow free. The team was dressed warmly, she wore a pink fur lined jacket and Diamond had put on so much clothing, he appeared fat, right now, the boy was adjusting a scarf around his neck. As for Pearl, he simply threw a green muffler and pulled the sleeves of his shirt down. It was a good day to infiltrate the temple, the heiress thought. Today, Snowpoint was blessed with diamond dust, a particular type of snow which glittered like gems. Thanks to the stunning snowfall, the rest of the city were celebrating, the guards near the temple were simply put to sleep via a hypnosis and the three trudged up to the building, their foot prints were slowly being covered by snow.

"Dia, now is really not the time to eat!" Pearl admonished. His best friend simply let go of his muffin and it fell at his feet. The other two grimaced at his actions, no matter how much they tried to convince themselves that he was back to normal, it was evident that Diamond next to them won't ever be the same.

"This is a sacred place Dia, please do not litter." Platinum's firm request had him picking up the discarded pastry; he put it into a disposable bag and stuffed it in his backpack.

"Sorry, I won't do it again" he apologized and grinned. The three of them shared looks and turned towards the structure looming before them. "Guess we have to go in and investigate huh? And try to capture the leader of the titans. We'll do it! All three of us!" Nodding, the trio entered the building together, darkness swallowing up their forms.

Close by, a figure sat on a bird pokemon and watched the criminals enter the temple, a smirk formed on his face as he watched the proceedings with interest through a pair of binoculars. A slowking levitated near him.

"Can't believe they told me to tail the Berlitz heiress and those brats..." he murmured to himself, "Boss wants them alive, apparently they are part of something big? Really? Those scrawny kids? Oh well, if they can't get out of a tiny avalanche...Then they are not worthy." Peeling the magnification device off his eyes, he eyed the slowking with distaste. "Eh, this thing is as dopey as its old man of a master, anyway, Slowking, use blizzard." Instantaneously a gale brewed. It spurred on the ice covering the mountains behind the temple and with an almighty groan; an avalanche of snow began descending. Cackling mirthfully and casting a nonchalant gaze at the jubilant citizens, the individual soared away. What happened to this city was none of his concern.

Inside the temple, Pearl and Diamond took great pleasure in skating on the icy floors; Platina's warnings fell on deaf ears. The interior walls of the temple depicted beautiful rock paintings. Leaving the playful duo to their devices, the noble stood before the carvings and studied them zealously. Enraptured, she moved slowly and took in the history. The titans which where four altogether, were responsible for breaking the giant landmass created by Groudon. A golem esque figure was depicted standing on a gigantic continent. This continent was split and the other, smaller titans attached mystical chains to the jagged masses and pulled them apart, scattering them across the face of the Poke-verse. Their toiling work done, the titans weakened, shrunk and went to sleep. Now she saw them periodically in specially made holding cages back at their base, the only one which hadn't been captured was the leader of the titans. From what her leader told her, it should be found in the lowest level of Snowpoint temple. As another thump and muffled laughter issued from behind her, she regally turned to give her two friends a piece of her mind, however, before anything could be said, the temple trembled and her ears could pick out a distant rumbling.

"Earthquake?" Diamond asked and indolently picked himself off the ice, he was the only one who was not panicking.

"No, it's an avalanche." the blonde of the group corrected, "...Great, we'll be buried under snow...I'm done with these missions where my life is constantly in danger!" he screeched and sat down on the floor. The grimness of their predicament slowly dawned on them. Soon, the mountain of snow will bury them and no one would know of three teenagers who illegally entered the building. They could die and their frozen, preserved corpses would take weeks to find.

"Pearl..." Diamond gently shook the depressed boy, "we'll make it out of here" he enunciated each world clearly, "once we capture Regigigas, we'll bust our way outta here." The orange eyed boy imparted a tired smile.

"Yeah," his usually loud tone was subdued, "I'm just tired...Of being cooped up and scared." Inhaling deeply, he abruptly stood up and gave a shout. Slapping both of his cheeks, he psyched himself and led the charge downstairs. Dia giggled and marched after him whilst Platina shook her head and wiped the worried look off her face. Her head buzzed. It was time for an adventure.

* * *

Afternoon

Hoenn

Slateport

Instead of focusing on the map laid out before her, Whi-2 cast longing glances at her senior. The adolescent was wearing a long haired black wig, the ebony strands were pulled into a ponytail. Silver pigmented eyes stared intently at a few maps and after consulting another newspaper clipping, he took a marker and made another circle. Casting her cobalt gaze around the library and noting that there were the only ones in the quite building, she bravely whispered out the question which was gnawing on her mind for the past few days. Yes, their assignment of penetrating the two organized crime syndicates was important, but her queries were urgent.

"Senior Silver?" he hummed a response, "so...how did your date go?" She smiled innocently as smoldering eyes locked on to her. Closing his eyes briefly in irritation, he replied:

"You've been dying to ask me that weren't you?" His junior nodded unashamedly and a defeated sigh parted from his lips. "Fine, I'll keep it short and afterwards you focus on your work, this is your first solo mission and you need all the advice you can get. Understand?" her head bobbed and she eagerly pitched forward in her chair as Silver related from memory.

 _The two adolescents stood on the cobblestoned street in front a fancy cafe in Goldenrod city. Silver had never seen Gold look this nervous, the man was fidgeting and running his hands through his hair several times a minute. Crystal was running late, which was odd. Finally, unable to bear the silence between them, the flirtatious trainer took a look at his best friend and blurted out:_

" _Why is it that you always look better than me?" Gold irises swung up and down and took in his companion dressed in a purple sleeveless tunic and jeans, "did you dress up?"_

" _Arceus no Gold, why would I? It's just Crystal" He curbed the urge to walk away from this arrangement._

" _Yeah," the trainer agreed, "it's just...Oh hey, there's super serious gal!" When the indigo haired female came before them, the two once again gaped at her. Never did Silver see his comrade wearing a dress. But here she was, wearing a floral printed one which fell just above her knees. Mechanically, he looked at her feet and was surprised by the shoes she wore, the heels were so thin and long, she could stab someone with it. Crystal's hair was loose, thick dark blue strands falling neatly over her shoulders. Inwardly, he admitted to himself that she looked nice._

" _Whoa, looking good there strict gal!" Gold winked appreciatively and Crystal grinned. The three of them stood there and chatted awkwardly, a while later they seated themselves at a table inside the well decorated cafe. Crys was squirming; she preferred more casual places and this shop looked like it would cost a fortune to eat in. Ordering coffee and the most expensive cakes she could muster, the three of them ate to their fill. She looked at Gold who cheerfully (and suavely) paid for all their bills...His gambling funds were probably taking a dip. No matter, he owed both of them money anyway. On exiting the classy restaurant, Gold asked where she wanted to go._

" _The safari park," she gleefully added and the mischievous glimmer faded from his eyes._

" _Seriously? You wanna go to the zoo? Why not the amusement park, we can ride the roller coaster together and if you get scared, I'll be-"_

" _Silver, let's go, we can take the train to Cianwood city." she interjected into his nonsensical ramblings and the duo left. Gold followed forlornly, Aibo popped out of his pokeball and messed his hair up further. As he trailed behind, a few other females smiled and waved to him, his original purpose forgotten, he dropped out to have a cordial chat only stopping when he saw his friends boarding the train. When Crystal and Silver was about to take a seat together, he shoved himself between them. The red head snorted and moved to a different seat whilst he and Crystal sat together. She paid no attention to him; her eyes were glued to the scenery outside. Gold took another good look at her and his eyes trailed down her well-dressed form and halted at her hand. Her slim wrist was encircled by a bejeweled cuff and slowly, very slowly he reached out and tried to hold her hand. For some inexplicable reason, she had to grab her purse and fish her poke-gear out. Yellow was calling._

" _No senior, it's rather boring and I'm feeling uncomfortable in the shoes senior Blue forced me in. On the other hand, they make good weapons. I can stab Gold if he gets too annoying." she cast a sly look at him and smiled Taking no offence he showed a mouthful of teeth in return. Unfortunately, the gossip between the two girls continued for a good part of the short train ride and by the time she and Yellow were finished talking, they were stepping into the safari park. Here, Crystal lighted up and wasted no time dragging her two friends through the different zones and launching on a lecture on how to effectively capture them. At one time, her heels, not suitable for rough terrain caused her to trip over a rock and she went crashing into Gold. Seeing the two all flustered, Silver elected to bolt from there. When he turned, a hand shot out and grabbed on his clothes. It was Gold._

" _You are not leaving" the black haired man gritted firmly, "stay with me and Crys." Mentally giving up, he tagged along. When the sun started setting, the indigo haired adolescent finally left the park. By now they were all tired and Gold complained clamorously:_

" _This was the worst date ever! Clearly you haven't been to one" he lightly admonished Crystal who rolled her eyes, "Listen up, when a guy and a gal goes on a date, the gal has to act all shy and sweet and let the guy handle the things. And you go to amusement parks, movies or the musicals, not the freaking zoo!" he stopped ranting when she started laughing._

" _Yes, it was a bad date. I was feeling all awkward and formal, next time, let's just hangout okay? We can go to the theater or wherever. Wheew," she fanned herself and looked upwards, the other two followed suit and beheld the evening sky dotted with glittering stars. Some of them were so big; they were the size of fists. A white streak of light arced past the blue black heaven and she shouted "Quick, make a wish, Jirachi's awake, it's a shooting star!" Clasping their eyes shut, each of them prayed for a different thing. Gold voiced his one loudly:_

" _I wish the three of us can stay like this forever." Saying this, he engulfed the other two in a hug. Silver relented and threw his arms around him and Crystal huddled in the middle._

 _They stood there, underneath the stars._

"...That's it?" Whi-2's face was scrunched up in disbelief.

"Not really, Gold and Crystal were bickering throughout the day. And I fell asleep on the train."

"Your date was really unromantic." Her senior's gaze sharpened.

"And you have work to do" he quipped, "besides; the three of us are best friends, so obviously it would end up as a disaster, what did you expect? Fluff and rainbows?" Saying this he got up, the chair squeaked on the linoleum floor and he gathered his all his loose sheets, data and maps. "Whi-2" his tone was grave, "from here on out, you are on your own. We constellate members specialize in individual work, of course you can call me if you are in trouble and I'll try to help to the best of my abilities. Your mission is to find this team Aqua wherever they maybe. It may take days, it may take weeks, but you have to find them. Also, it will be in your best interest to remember to disguise yourself and be flexible in your task. One last thing," the more he talked, the more worried Whi-2 became, nonetheless she put up a brave front, "if you are in danger, abort the mission or call me. Do not attempt to carry your assignment out when you know you can't...Understand?" the girl wondered if she should salute, this sounded like a military drill.

"Yes sir" her eyes narrowed and Silver handed her several calling cards.

"Use them wisely; we do not want to leave unnecessary trails." Shouldering a bag, the adolescent threw her a comforting lopsided grin and walked out of the library, Whi-2 listened to the squeaking of his sneakers as it faded away and suddenly felt very alone.

Outside, the red headed male looked back at the entrance to the library and briefly contemplated if his junior would be okay. The realization amused him somewhat, he was worried about Whi-2 and the youngster had grown on him since she joined their ranks. Unlike Lack-2, who only opened up to his perverted mentor, this girl had made good friends with most of the Dex-holders in the base. Her personality morphed from overly shy to outgoing. Focusing his mind on the present, Silver let out his honchkrow and ordered the avian to take him to Mauville, his search would start at the hub city. The newspaper clippings he used to mark key points on the map were a few years old and news of the two criminal groups' actions were rather sporadic, however, the phantom thief knew the two were still operational. Some months earlier, they hijacked a rocket, their activities may seem bizarre but it was only a prelude of what was to come. Soaring through the cloudless skies of Hoenn, he touched down in the middle of the bustling city. Not disorientated in the least, his gaze was drawn to the Game Corner. It reminded him of Gold. Deciding to check the casino as a last resort, he went to the food court, hopefully he will be able to pick up some rumors and cross reference them with the information he gathered, it will aid him greatly. Once in the court, he eyed the advertised food hungrily and after an internal debate he relented and ordered a course. The moment he sat down at a table, a drove of people surged towards him and demanded a battle.

"NO" his frigid response chilled the demanding crowd, most of the children and school kids bolted after taking a look at him, unfortunately a brutish man stood his ground and leered.

"What's up dude? Scared you gonna get beat down? Is it bad for the tough guy image?" he slung a beefy, hairy arm around Silver's stiff shoulders and pushed his face in, "the Mauville Food court ain't for wimps like you." Steaming with controlled rage, the trainer looked at the thug squarely in the eye and challenged.

"If I beat you, you tell me what I want to know, deal?"

The man guffawed and called his cronies to join in the fun, the gang failed to see how a cruel gleam took hold of their opponent's eyes. Silver suppressed a cold smirk which was threatening to break out on his face. The situation was hilarious, alas, he must exercise restraint, there were people watching. Flanking the combating duo, the other ruffians jeered at him. The two battlers sent out their pokemon, out popped a lickilicky and kingdra. Silver licked his lips, this was too easy. Without missing a heartbeat, the red head commanded first:

"Kingdra, use dragon dance and hydro pump." The opposing thug decided to attack from the get go, as kingdra swiveled around and bulked up, a long pink tongue lashed out and struck the water dragon, it wrapped around and soon kingdra slowed in its dance. Lickilicky, akin to its master who was cheering exuberantly, gained a victorious sparkle in its beady eyes. Grounding itself, it jerked backwards and hauled kingdra in, the moment the two monsters were a few feet apart, the blue dragonoid let hydro pump rip, the normal type squealed, let go of the water type and tottered backwards. The tiles in the complex were slick water, as the beast tried to put some distance, it slipped and fell. Mercilessly, an ice beam froze it into place. Mouth falling open, the gang watched as their boss' prized pokemon fainted helplessly in a block of translucent ice. The tension broke when kingdra was recalled and the waiter brought Silver's order over.

"Please enjoy and come again." he bowed respectfully.

The chaos returned to normal. Sitting opposite Silver, the man watched as the thief slurped his noodles loudly. True to their deal, he divulged all the information he knew about team magma.

"Heard they have a base of operations in the jagged pass near mount Chimney. Those people are bad news, you don't wanna mess with them buddy." Shifting closer, the rough tone dropped to a whisper, "I used to tangle with them back in the days but not anymore, at first they were like us normal thugs, doing low time things but then, they grew and things got more hectic. Apparently they want to expand the land mass to accommodate more people or somthin' like that. Their actions are very organized and ever since the rocket fuel stealing fiasco, they've hidden themselves...you wanna hear something good?" Silver, still busy with his noodles nodded and the man leaned so close that the red head could smell his breath...it smelt of stale smoke and was rather unpleasant, "there are rumors in the underground that Team Aqua and Magma joined forces, although they are rivals, they teamed up to complete their goals together. Dunno how much credibility a rumor has but that's all I got for you mate," he paused and then asked, "Hey...Are you like undercover or something? I mean you are interested bout these two criminal organizations right? What are you?"

Done with his noodles (finally) he set the bowl down with a heavy thump and stared into it, the food was good. "I'm part of the international police" he lied unblinkingly and watched as the informant's mouth fell open with awe, "Currently, my accomplice and I trying to find these two groups so thanks for the information, I should be going now." Silver got up and handed the man a card, thereafter he bolted. Alone, the person sighed and looked down at the paper in his hands, the smile he was wearing morphed into mild terror as he inspected the card critically, on one half there was a cluster of dark blue stars, on the other, a mug-shot of kingdra. Turning it over, he saw a single letter in a fancy script. The letter C. Looking around to see if anyone noticed him breaking out in a cold sweat, he crumpled the paper and thrust it into his pocket. His heart hammered into his chest. The person he taunted was part of the international crime syndicate. The Dex criminals, they were assumed to have disbanded until recently when they resurfaced and caused great casualties in Unova.

If they were here in Hoenn...his legs felt weak, perhaps, he should stop toying with the underground. The information he heard there was not good for any sane person's heart.

Several hours later

Hoenn

Near Mount Chimney

Silver held open his map and gazed at the area, the volcanic ash spewing forth from mount chimney was dusting his hair, clothes and boots. From the information he procured, team Magma should have a base of operations here. The jagged pass surely lived up to its name; compressed, reddish brown straits were punctuated by roughly hewn stairs of rock. There were very few trees for cover but the natural landscape already kept people away from the area. He spied a few hardy trainers and hikers, several rock pokemon peeked out from the sparse dry tall grass and trees. Taking out a pair of binoculars, he climbed into a tree, gave the area a sweep and came up with nothing. The straits were uneven, there were no evidence to suggest a large amount of people walked on these paths, on the slopes, he peered for an indentation in the rock face and found none. If those Magma people were still operational in the area, the pass would've looked much cleaner and there certainly wouldn't be civilians near the base. Shimmying down the tree trunk, he began hiking up the pass in order to inspect it more carefully. He questioned the local trainers and received negative replies after much searching he concluded that the team must have shifted their base somewhere else.

But where?

Somewhere close by or further away?

He consulted his map and found another isolated little island on the west side of the jagged pass; however, the sheer mountain loomed up to him. Slightly confounded, he questioned one of the trainers and was informed that the place does not exist.

"It doesn't exist dude" a lass drawled, "they say if you can soar past this mountain, you'd be able to find it...Of course no one has, Mount Chimney is the highest point in Hoenn, if pokemon goes that high, they might suffocate or something. Ya'know, the air is thinner up there. It's bad for the lungs..." she continued to prattle and Silver walked to the edge, he put a gloved hand on the rock face and looked up, sure enough, it seemed to stretch to the clouds. Not deterred in the slightest, he let his honchkrow out.

"Let's do this," he muttered, "Sis is counting on us." With an almighty heave of its midnight tinted wings, the pokemon rose in the air. It soared higher and after considerable amount of time, the trainer began to worry. They were very high up in the air, amongst the clouds and he wondered how his partner was doing, surely the amount of flying they did was going to take a toll on the bird's health. Gently urging it, he began circling and flying in and out of the clouds. To his dismay, the only thing he could see was the mountain. Inhaling deeply, he tried again, this time he peered intently through the magnification device and combed the area. He needed to find the fabled Gnarled den, most likely the people he was searching for will be there.

 _But what if this was all for naught?_

The tiny irresolution gnawed at his mind, it grew bigger, trying to blow out of proportion. Honchkrow was tired, this was evident by how the large bird was dipping ever so slightly, still, it tried to maintain a steady pace for its trainer. Through his lenses, the view was rather picturesque, miles and miles of blue ocean and cream foamed waves. Panning, his eyes locked on to an indiscernible landmass and he peered at it to reassure himself that it was not a mirage. With renewed vigor, he urged his companion to go further. The sorry beast nearly made it. Wings, fatigued and bruised, honchkrow have a pathetic cry and tumbled with Silver on its back. The normally reserved trainer screamed when he fell through the air, his mind blanked as the sandy beach rushed up to him. Closing his eyes firmly his body hit the ground with a hard thump and he passed out.

* * *

Evening

Hoenn

Sootopolis

Wallace gave an exaggerated twirl and the audience gave off an ear shattering cheer. In the seats, Whi-2 contemplated on how she got herself into this predicament. After senior Silver had left, she studied her map and intelligence for a while and set off for Mossdeep to investigate further. The locals mainly spoke about a group of people who managed to hijack a rocket launch and steal its fuel. According to them, they were dressed in maroon and blue. Her search took her everywhere and since she was disguised, the girl had no qualms about approaching people and asking. Touring through the city eventually got her to the gym, standing at the threshold, she changed her mind and was about to walk away when she bumped into a man who reminded her of Ruby. Tall and lean, his outfit made her blush (no decent man is supposed to have the sides of his pants cut that low) and he sported a white beret resting on teal hair. Stammering an apology, she tried to move past him but the man bent to her level and asked if she was in trouble. Thinking fast, she told him that she was doing an investigation on Team Aqua for a school project; the stranger looked a bit doubtful but agreed to help her. Now, she was sitting in a front row seat in one of the contest halls in Sootopolis and trying hard not to look at the way Wallace and his water pokemon was waltzing around the gaudy stage. Maybe if his outfit covered up what's supposed to be covered, she'd enjoy the show more.

"And thank you for coming to watch my show! Stay tuned for more~" he bowed deeply as the curtains closed. The viewers got up and Whi-2 tried to shoulder past the members to get to the backstage. As she shoved through throngs of women (he seemed to be especially popular amongst them) she overheard something that stopped her cold in her tracks.

"...Yeah, even with his gym leader duties...contests and now he's doing volunteer work for the police..."

 _POLICE._

She rooted on the spot and her mind reeled.

"And did you hear...Those Aqua members are at it again...I don't know who is worse, those Dex-criminals or Team Aqua..." As she strained to hear the two gossiping women, some other person shoved her out of the way, desperately; she tailed the duo amongst the jostling crowds hoping to find a lead. Wallace was not an option anymore. "...yeah, something is astir at the cave...Ori" The people surged out through the door and dispersed. Dumfounded, Whi-2 kept on staring absentmindedly, the last words uttered made no sense. Cave? Ori? Quickly she cast another frightful look and with forced calm, evacuated the place. Stumbling into a pokemon center, she located a vacant bench and feverishly pulled the map out. Her eyes roamed the area around Sootopolis and zeroed in on a cave situated some miles away from the cratered city.

Cave of Origin, her destination. A determined glimmer took hold of her eyes. She found the place, now she simply had to make her way there, worm into the organization and bring it down from the inside out.

* * *

"I suppose she's already figured out by now" Staring at a vanity mirror, Wallace eyed Steven's reflection, the young champion was sitting in a corner of the dressing room amidst two mannequins and had a contemplative look on his face. "The girl was young; around twelve or thirteen I think and told me she was investigating Team Aqua for a school project. Lamest excuse I heard so I immediately had my suspicions since you told me the organization uses children. Well Stevie?" the young man flinched, "don't look so down, we are not sure what they'll do with Team Aqua but once those water lovers crawls out of their dens we can get them will one fell swoop eh?" The gym leader flipped his hair and swiveled to face the steel gray haired man.

"I understand, thanks for informing me, I'll keep a look out. Currently Team Aqua is in the Cave of Origin and in hiding. I don't have orders from the superiors to go after them. The threat of them using Kyogre to cause a flood looms in our faces so therefore the higher ups deemed to leave them alone." Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair and left the room with a troubled expression.

Evening

Hoenn

Gnarled den's beach

"He's so handsome, can we keep him?" A woman with lilac hair shoved her cherubic face into Silver's personal space, somehow she looked really familiar, where did he see her again? Slowly, he pushed himself up and the gathering around him widened their circle. His head hurt as if he'd taken a blow from woodhammer and everything was fuzzy. Where was he? And why were these maroon clothed personnel surrounding him?

"Who the hell are you?" Another rotund male demanded harshly and poked a metal rod in his chest. It hurt.

"Who am I?" he asked stupidly and looked up. These people sported mean, twisted expressions, perhaps if he smiled, they'd be easy on him. A fresh wave of pain rolled through his head and he clutched it and curled, a whimper parted from his lips. "My head, it really hurts!" Sucking in a breath, he rocked to and fro.

"Oi," the man growled, "stop playing and tell us who you are?" Slowly, Silver looked up to him and squinted, the surroundings were blurry.

"Ah...I don't know where I am? Who are you people and where am I?" the questions kept on coming in a small voice, behind the dangerous looking posse, several fire type pokemon snarled and stamped their feet on the sand.

"Tabitha, he's got memory loss!" Courtney stood protectively in front of the curled up adolescent, "we have to take care of him."

"You are only saying that because you want to keep him" the man roared, "can't you perceive him as an active threat? People don't randomly crash into this beach here, we specifically chose this place because it's difficult to get into! All of a sudden a stray dude ends up here with no recollection of how he got here. I find it fishy!u

"He fell from a considerable height" A blonde crouched near Silver and examined him, "makes sense if he can't remember anything. It's getting late, let's take him in and keep an eye on him. It'll be Courtney's responsibility." Said female squealed delightfully and looped her arm around the newcomer. With a groan he got up and limped alongside her.

"Thanks..." a small smile bloomed on his face and Courtney blushed furiously, this person was going to be a refreshing addition to her disgusting and rather ugly looking co-workers.

* * *

 **A/N** : Okay people, my laptop decided to die on me and so it went for repairs (Not sure if it's gonna make it though)To make things worse, my sister's laptop also decided to go into a coma on the same day and we had to re-install windows and everything. As of now, Mindy's laptop is still not fully functional but she's graciously lending it to me. At Silver: I'm so happy to see you again! Loved your summary as usual, Silver and Gold's exchange that Crys is not dumb was the funniest. At Jack54311: Eh, I guess I'm not really sure what a shipping fic is...thanks for pointing it out. At Eevee: I literally posted this chap for you, keep up with the long reviews, it keeps me going! As for your question, Blue would most likely defect. Sorry for not being able to respond properly, as I said, the laptop is not fully working. Please keep on reading and reviewing!


	35. Prey

**Chapter 35: Prey**

Evening

Hoenn

Cave of Origin

Shelly, midriff bared and with her hands on her hips stared impassively at Whi-2, sure the girl was cute and had a thick, bushy ponytail however, Archie makes it a point not to take in young recruits and this one was unfortunately very young. Instead of giving up, the girl stood her ground defiantly and her azure irises sparkled with determination. To the amusement of the guards stationed at the entrance of the cave. A trainer had surfed across the ocean on the back of blue jellyfish-esque pokemon and bravely strode to the entrance. Once she got there she kicked up a fuss of joining team Aqua and the two guys helplessly had to call the admin to see her. Shelly found her enthusiasm rather wonderful, unfortunately her boss won't allow the child to enter. Besides, the criterion for joining their ranks was a strict one.

"Sorry darling~ I admire your courage but our leader won't allow it. I would appreciate it if you cheered for us from home; tell all your friends and family about how wonderful the goal of Team Aqua is."

"I'm not going home; I want to join you people!" Whi-2 thought that she was doing a poor job; her attitude came off as snobbish, demanding and childish. She acted on instinct, there were no senior to guide her on her actions and even though she had been on many missions, this was her first solo and it was making her extremely nervous. Nevertheless, she opted to get her job done at any cost and without blowing the cover of her identity and if driving a few people (plus herself) nuts in the process was going to get the work done, then so be it. Glancing up at the dark skinned woman, she proposed, "let's battle, if I win, you will allow me into your ranks, if I lose, I'll go back home. Deal?" She flipped her hair confidently akin to Blue and inwardly flinched, it was one mess right after the other. At her words, the admin raised a penciled eyebrow and smiled.

"Sure kiddo, if you manage to beat me, you're welcome in our base. In fact, you can take my position. My name is Shelly; I'm the vice-captain of Team Aqua." Whi-2 gulped and prayed no one heard, yep she was royally screwed. Without further talk, Shelly led her deeper inside the cave where a hive of activity was taking place. She saw the interior being reconstructed to house great numbers of people. There were large rooms blasted into the rock face; metallic lifts and connected walkways enabled the team to move about efficiently. The first floor was designed as a living quarter, according to the administrator sashaying in front of her, here, the underlings lived about their daily lives and the area was designed as such. A kitchen and mess hall was situated in one corner and opposite it were the bathrooms and shower stalls, Whi-2 even spied a makeshift library and game room of sorts, these were still under construction judging by the way the books and screens were all scattered around. Reaching the edge of the first floor, she was escorted into an elevator and the two females descended into the bowels of the earth. When the lift stopped with an audible hiss, Whi-2 strode out and stopped cold in her tracks. The floor she descended in was smaller and dimmer compared to the other one. Here, her attention was grabbed by a huge glass cage filled with water. Inside it was Kyogre, the moment she walked in, the primal beast stirred and pinned her with a bloodshot eye.

"Shelly" a scarred voice issued from the gloom, "I told you not to disturb me unless you have urgent news."

"I do" the woman's voice had turned somber. "I have a young girl with me who wants to join us." At her words, the sound of a man getting up from a chair reached the Dex-holder's ears. A hulking man stepped forward and the youngster nearly fainted from fright. Like Shelly, he was also tanned, the upper part of his face sported a cross shaped scar and the rest of his body was clad in a body-hugging sharpedo skin suit. The male wore thick gold ornaments and by all means looked like the meanest, most despicable villain Whi-2 had ever seen on television. However, instead of cursing in that guttural voice of his, he merely stooped to her height and kindly rattled off reasons why someone as young as her couldn't join his glorious crusade. Taken aback, the little spy merely blinked but kept on insisting she be given a place.

"We agreed to settle this with a battle" the female admin drawled and her boss let out a huff, this was a waste of time.

"Fine, do it quickly and get this child out of here. A lass her age should be playing around at school."

They moved to a space beyond Kyogre's tank and took stances. When she let Foongy out, Shelly laughed at the little pokemon. In contrast, the opponent's carvanha's razor sharp jaws reflected the apprehension painted on Whi-2's face. The odds were in her favor yet the swirling anxiety rooted in her belly won't dissipate. In order to be accepted, she had to make an impression, merely defeating Shelly won't suffice and she had to put the woman down thoroughly and memorably. So, when the savage pokemon came for her with its mouth wide open, the Unova native decided to play brutal. Underneath carvanha, grass tendrils rose up in the air and seized the predatory fish. It knotted around the beast first closing its jaw, then trapping the fins and finally the living vines constricted so tightly, even Shelly looked alarmed. She barked out an order and her monster struggled against its confines, writhing and managing to tear a few of the bindings. As it attempted to execute the move, amoongus fired a solar beam, it hit the thrashing fish point blank and the executive wore an expression of horror. When the light dissipated they were awarded with a carvanha half stripped of its flesh. Whi-2 wanted to gag at the sight of the half carcass; she could see the semi charred intestines of the beast.

A tense silence stretched between the three occupants in the room. Her heart was hammering in her chest, Shelly looked at her disbelievingly.

"Well kid..." Archie eventually broke the spell, "you've just defeated the second in command. Welcome aboard."

* * *

Afternoon

Unova

Route twenty one

"It's floating...Just how Green and that N dude said." Lack-2, russet tinted eyes wide with wonder stared at the gigantic ship. Yesterday, the top three decided to get rid of Team Plasma's mobile base and since no one would be a better information source than their former king, the leaf haired adolescent was summoned. N told them that the huge ship was generally moored near Route twenty one. The security on the ship is extremely tight and the boss was a man by the name of Colress. After a mini argument between Red and Green, the former man was instructed to stay put at base and send a few of his subordinates. Restless and seething, he rattled off the names of Gold, Lack-2 and Saph, the three took off right then; after spending a night partying away in Nimbasa, the trio slept in the morning and departed for their designated mission at noon. Now, the little group stared at the levitating ship in wonder, a thick, rusted chain anchored the watercraft. Still the distance between the sea and the deck of the ship was formidable.

"I guess we need our flying types to...Hey, what are you doing? As Gold was musing on the course of actions, the two youngsters got busy. Saph grabbed the anchor chain and began to scale it and Lack-2 followed her. The acting leader watched with amusement, the duo managed to make it half way up till fatigue overcame them and they jumped. More specifically, Saph jumped, his apprentice lost balance and fell on the sand below. A low grumble issued from him as he got up and dusted his hair.

"Trying to climb up the chain was a stupid idea," the amber eyed trainer scolded, "I mean; can't you see how high the ship is floating? Get your pokemon out and...Wild gal...What in Ho-oh's good name are you doing?"

"Ya got no sense of adventure" the bandanna wearing girl grinned and dug out a length of rope from her bag. "Sure we could just fly our way up there, but exploring other ways to get up is also fun." Twirling her cord expertly, she threw it up and it failed to snag on the railing. The two watching males sniggered at her doings. Huffing, she paid no attention to them and continued to wield her rope with vigor. After much tries it eventually snagged and she smirked, giving it a vicious tug to make sure it won't dislodge, she began to haul herself up. A few contemplations later, Gold and Lack-2 joined her in shimmying up. When they reached about halfway, Lack-2 decided to voice his concerns.

"Stuff like this doesn't go smoothly, I reckon someone is going to notice something and throw your shimmy rope off...right about...now." And Arceus, true to his words, the three went screaming all the way down. Gold fell first and grunted in pain, Lack-2 fell on him and wheezed, eventually, Saph plopped on top of them and instead of getting off, she sat on the two boys and screamed profanities to the plasma grunt that was stationed high up in the air. The three detangled amidst shouts and curses and in tandem glowered at the ship.

"I say we launch cave gal up there and let her wreak havoc."

"How senior?"

"Dunno, she can take a flying leap from my outstretched manly arms."

"This isn't one of your childish cartoon shows, be reasonable! I don't even know how seniors Crystal and Silver keep up with you" Lack-2 rolled his eyes and studied the frigate again. In the meantime their female comrade had disappeared. When the duo turned around to look for her, they found her hefting up a boulder. Alarmed, they made way and she staggered to the edge of the sea and launched the rock with all her might, as expected, it fell very short of the ship and splashed into the water several meters away from her.

"Hey Saph, your boulder didn't hit the target." Gold pointed out and she loured at him.

"Well yeah, I was relieving some stress, perhaps my next target should be your head and _clearly_ it won't be a miss. The two younger trainers chuckled and the eldest embarrassedly ran a hand through his short hair.

"Point taken...Now all in favor of actually executing our mission? We're on a schedule here!"

The plasma grunt on deck eyed the three specks on the ground distastefully, whoever they were, those three idiots needed some grey matter in their hollow skulls. First they try to scale the length of their anchor chain and next they throw up a rope and try to climb up that way. Perhaps the trio was a couple of rouge trainers seeking to create some trouble; Team Plasma has become notorious these days. Walking away from the edge, he grabbed a mop and began to swab the already pristine floor, Captain Colress preferred to have his spaces clean and tidy, thus even though the grunts had absolutely nothing to do (what do people do on a floating, stationary ship?) he still swamps them with cleaning work. The grunt briefly wondered if the trouble makers should be reported...Nah, they will probably grow tired of their mischief and go home. Besides if they were serious of getting on the ship, they'd come prepared with flying types at least.

"HOLY KYUREM! We got INTRUDERS!" screeched his masked comrade who was sweeping a few meters in front of him. As he turned, the world turned with him. Moments later his eyes swiveled upwards and they both fainted with gleaming needles poking out of their necks. The Dex-criminals landed with soft thuds and cautiously looked around.

"And I told you my Ducklett won't be able to handle my weight! I should know best!" Hissed Lack-2 clearly annoyed with something, Gold and Saph ignored him in favor of creeping around the surface of the ship, when they made sure there weren't anyone else, they regrouped in the middle.

"Security was tight huh?" The blue eyed trainer stated sarcastically, "I expected this place to be crawling with those people. Kind of disappointing actually, at this rate my martial arts is gonna rust."

"I say we charge in and-"

"Lack-2!" His mentor's voice had a commanding lilt to it, "the plan was to be quiet as possible, don't make my life difficult. If senior Green finds out we drew the media in, he'll have my neck on the chopping block." The other two nodded in understanding and their gazes turned solemn. However, at the same moment, a whole army of identically dressed grunts poured out from below, alerted by the initial shout, reinforcements were sent. In complete disregard of his teacher's earlier plea, the young Unova's eyes glittered with vicious glee. Whirling around, he tossed a ball into the air and took a battling stance; his well-disciplined samurott pawed the wooden floor next to him. A command from its trainer had the quadrupled beast charging into the throng of people, several were tossed aside mercilessly, others stamped underfoot and one was impaled by the long cream horn protruding from the water type's forehead. Competitive streak ablaze, the lone female in the group also went. Like an Amazonian, she howled a war cry and dove with her Toro, soon, the monster-human duo were a fantastic blur of orange flames and flailing limbs. Like flies, the opponents dropped, some of them had their clothes blackened and issuing wisps, others clutched their chests and necks and moaned in pain. Gold pigmented irises took in the carnage and watched how the other two battled with obvious glee; majority of the grunts did not even have time to summon their pokemon. His student had a twisted expression on his face; apparently his hatred for Team Plasma hadn't dimmed.

"Ugh, what the hell! I'll roll with them as well, they can't be hogging in all the fun!" Saying this, he pulled out his pool-cue and whacked a random grunt on the head, smiling widely the three man team trashed the place.

Fifteen minutes later, Saph worked out a crick in her neck and unceremoniously plopped to the deck. Lack-2 dug out a cloth and was meticulously wiping samurott's horn free of multicolored body fluids. Once again, Gold took in the groaning, bloodied trainers around him and inwardly moaned, why didn't he do the sensible thing and stop them? He was the eldest for Rayquaza's sake! Returning Exbo back to his ball, he made a beeline for his student; the brat needed a firm lecture.

"Listen up Lack-2" he began and the boy trained an apathetic gaze on him, "and this concerns you as well Saph so pay attention." The two paused in their actions to hear him, "we are now going to go under and don't you two dare start a ruckus! Do you hear me? This mission was supposed to be done covertly, unfortunately thanks to you two that's all tossed to the winds a-"

"I'm sure my eyes weren't deceiving me when I saw you rampaging around with your stick and typholsion, practice what you preach you pervert!" Lack-2 cut in scathingly.

"...Don't dish out your foul mood on others every time you encounter something unpleasant you stupid brat!" The older male shot back, "I'm getting sick of your attitude you hear me? Just because I joke around most of my time does not mean I'm not capable of sending you to hospital if I feel like it..." Gold's eyes were flashing dangerously and his words stung deep, "care to recall who was it that defeated senior Red when he was at the pinnacle of his glory? Oh Yeah, Me! I have a lot of patience and you are wearing it out by constantly disobeying any orders I tell you to do, also your disappearing acts are starting to grate on my nerves. If that happens one more time...I'll revoke you as a student and toss you to senior Red, who at the moment is not in very high spirits. I won't be surprised if Pika uses you as a stress relief...And that won't be a nice experience would it? Next thing you know, poor little Lack-2 is paralyzed in bed. Reflect on your actions right now and when you are done, we will continue with our task." The boy quailed under his mentor's uncharacteristically acrid glare, the Johto native tugged his peak cap off and harshly slapped it on Lack-2's untamed locks, the force of the blow caused the boy to flinch. Gritting his teeth, he meekly sat down on the deck with his head bowed whilst Gold strode away.

"It's rare to see senior Gold this heated up...He gets really angry when he's worried about the people he cares about, so don't give him a hard time okay? Well, I'm partly to blame so..." Sapphire trailed off with an apologetic look on her pretty face.

"I'm sorry, I should go and apologize, my actions would drive anyone insane." Quieting down, he ruminated. For as long as he lived, Lack-2 never, ever regretted any one of his actions, no matter how severe the consequences may be. He worked like a well-honed monster, not letting his target out of sight. During his work, he had sacrificed things which he'd rather not think about; doing so would plague his nights with nightmares. Thus he abandoned all attachments. This was not the first time he that he was on the receiving end of bitter words, other times he'd shrug it off, however this time the words gnawed at him, it made him feel remorse and regret. Why? How did a mere trainer have such a remarkable hold on him? When he was embroiled in their shenanigans, he forgot everything around him, the heavy weight looming over his head, his unhappy childhood. It began to dawn on him that he viewed the black haired trainer as a sort of an older brother. The man patiently put up with all his nonsense without complaining...Inhaling deeply, Lack-2 got up and approached Gold who was busy conversing on his Poke-gear. An apology was pending.

"Aww come on~" the amber eyed trainer cooed, "just once, please? Just you and me, Silver can act as an escort. Seriously super serious gal? You crushing on your spiky haired commander or what? Okay, okay, forgive me; I won't ever entertain such a thought ever again!" Letting out a breath, he snapped the device shut and turned to see his student waiting for him, the boy had his gaze trained to the ground.

"I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time..." Lack-2 prayed the words won't get stuck in his throat, at the moment; it's taking all his willpower to force them out coherently, "I won't do this again." The cap was taken off his head with a swish and a hand ruffled his hair fondly.

"Don't sweat it. Just listen to me more often okay? And if you wanna go all out, ask me first, your awesome teacher won't refuse you!" Imparting another genial grin, the older trainer ambled away to Saph and the brown haired youth watched him go.

The warmth of content diffused in his chest as he beheld his seniors discussing further plans.

* * *

Night

Hoenn

Team Aqua's headquarters

The young girl eyed the outfit and trained her lazuli irises at Shelly; it was a plain cry for help.

"Don't look at me that way kiddo, I told you we don't accept youngsters. Anyway, you need to get changed and knock off for the night; we have much work to do!" Saying this, the older woman left Whi-2 alone. The trainer eyed her age inappropriate uniform with mild concern. Slowly, she put the waterproof suit on and stared at herself in the body length mirror. Her top barely went past her ribs and the pants revealed too much skin, maybe she should've opted for a grunt uniform, at least the striped leggings would cover _something_. Scandalized by what she was wearing, she quickly spun away from the mirror and began to braid her hair, the voluminous mane was neatly tied with a bow and stiffly she marched out to see a lackey waiting for her. The dude gave her a once over, cocked an eyebrow and grinned. Saluting, he led her to the commander's living area, this space was situated a little further away from the grunt's quarters and Whi-2 followed with as much confidence she could muster. The other subordinates eyed her, some smiled, others sneered and looked away. Head held high, she ignored snide comments and came to a stop before an intricately carved door.

"Have a good night miss" the underling intoned, "please call me if you need something." Saying this he bowed and melted away. Whi-2 swallowed nervously and went into her room.

The interior was a pleasant surprise, the walls of the compound had wave and seashell designs imprinted on it, on scrutinizing the chandelier hanging in the middle of the room, the young trainer found that it was made of shells, coral and pearls salvaged from water pokemon, shelves were bolted to the wall, there was a nice wardrobe and a huge bed. All in all, the room was rather well decorated...the only problem was:

Too many shades of blue.

Sighing, she flopped to bed and brooded, tomorrow, she would be given duties befitting of a vice admin...According to what Shelly told her. The thought knotted her stomach and the Unova trainer shut her eyes tight and clenched her fists in conviction, besides, if her seniors could do this, so could she. Now that Whi-2 was aware of how huge and organized the criminal syndicate was, her initial conviction of bringing them down single handedly wavered, maybe she should just find out about their schemes and report to her seniors, the actual combat can be handled by the Execution department, it was their calling anyway, the mental image of Lack-2 and Gold trying to outdo each other surfaced in her mind and elicited a giggle from her. Eyeing the time, she pulled out her Xtransciever and decided to update Silver on her doings; he made it clear that they should keep each other informed. Dialing his contact, she waited for him to pick up.

The same evening

Hoenn

Gnarled den

Courtney watched blissfully as the man she rescued imparted another gorgeous smile. Since his clothes were tattered and filthy, he was promptly given a grunt's uniform to wear, not that he minded. The black haired man was kind; his voice was low and soft. Unlike Tabitha, he wasn't fat, similarly to Blaise, he wasn't scrawny. The duo was sitting at a table and the lilac haired commander was doing her best to make the amnesiac guest feel welcome. In the same vein, he was allowed to keep all his personal possessions, the other admins kicked up a fuss when she refused to hand over his pokemon studded belt. For this he was extremely grateful and to show his gratitude, he kept his beasts out of sight. Unfortunately, he didn't even know who they were so using them was out of the question. With another simper, she pushed a bowl closer to him and desperately tried not to flush when he thanked her with a confused grin.

"I'm full already Miss, if you bring out any more dishes, I'll start becoming over weight."

"You need to eat" her sing song voice floated in the cavern, "we need you to be in top form."

"Why?" his fine features distorted in bewilderment.

"Yes, care to tell us why?" an obese male entered the space and boomed; "don't tell me you're planning to recruit a dude who doesn't even know his name."

"You saw his pokemon didn't you Tabitha?" Courtney rose from her chair, "we can make good use of him!" Hearing this, Silver's head shot up.

"You want to use me?" his tone betrayed disbelief, "I'm sorry for imposing on your hospitality but please, I don't think I'll be any good...Also none of you are telling me what this place is and last night I heard some...Awful roars." He screwed his eyes shut and rocked; the two admins looked at him, one with visible worry and the other with tangible scorn.

"Have fun beating some back bone into your useless grunt" Tabitha scoffed, "And Boss Maxie wants to see you as soon as possible...In other words right now, guess you'll have to leave your pet boyfriend for a while huh?" With a mirthless chuckle, the man left. After casting a harrowed gaze at the inert Silver, Courtney too followed him out, now the adolescent was all alone with an entire buffet laid out before him, he watched the steam rise from the delectable dishes, alas his appetite was gone. The uniform was suffocating, sluggishly; he put the hood up and gingerly touched the horns decorating it. Such dubious fashion sense, what was the purpose of those projections anyway? They made the wearers look like miltanks. As his hand came down, a loud blaring tone issued from his pocket. Fumbling, he brought a device out and stared at it, someone was calling him. A certain person by the name of Whi-2. Casting a wary gaze around and accepted the call, a picture of a young girl filled up the tiny screen on his gear.

"Senior Silver!" She piped and proceeded to ramble on about how she managed to haphazardly join a Team Aqua and gain their trust, he observed her blankly as she related her experiences; her words were coming too fast for him to accurately process what was happening.

"Senior?" Whi-2 stared at him, he was wearing a Magma grunt uniform so his infiltration must have been successful, however her normally sharp eyed superior appeared dim witted, his slightly confounded gaze bored into her and she felt an uncomfortable sensation creeping down her spine, did those people do something to him? "Hey senior!" her voice came out louder, "are you okay? Did those Magma people umm...brainwash you?" her contemplations were morbid.

He stayed silent, silver irises swinging up and down.

"...Hugh...would've probably gotten a heart attack if he saw you wearing such scanty clothes. Highly inappropriate Whi-2" Silver finally admonished with a lopsided grin and the girl reddened with embarrassment, with an indignant squeak, she angled her Xtransciever to only show her face. "I'm doing okay...I'm suffering from lapses in my memory and my head is throbbing nonstop. When I tried to get here, I fell from a considerable height and woke up feeling all confused and fuzzy. The top three admins found me and the female admin concluded that I was suffering from memory loss...which was _partly_ true. I guess her incorrect conclusion actually saved me from a lot of trouble; I'll have to pretend to be hopeless from now on. As for you, congratulations, I see you did your job successfully. I'm proud of you Whi-2 and I'm sure Sis will be as well. Keep on doing your best and thanks for contacting me."

"Don't drag Hugh into this!" her face was still red but she warmed at the praise, it was not everyday Silver dished out compliments. "I guess he will throw a fit, I couldn't help it! After I defeated the vice-captain to a duel she made me an administrator and gave me this...Thing to wear. Some of the grunts hate me; you should see how they gave me the evil eye."

"Don't worry about them, focus on your work only, if you are overly nervous, it will only be detrimental to your mission." His tone turned tender, "once again, remember, if you are in any sort of life threatening danger, abort the mission and return. If you are in a capricious position, call my sister and she'll get you out. Understood." She nodded and spoke up again:

"I think you clonking your head did some wonders..."

The disguised red head frowned, "Come again?"

"Do you know how nice you sound?" his junior chirped, "normally you have this dead sounding, apathetic voice but now your words are all warm and fuzzy" a small laugh escaped her, "I think commander Blue will be happy with your emotional growth, she always complains that you have the emotional range of a teaspoon."

"The tone of my voice is none of your concern...I hear footsteps and it's late at night so go to sleep. Later." with a click, he stowed the device away and his face scrunched up. What was his ditzy underling talking about? Fuzzy voices? He'd have to remedy the problem before going back to base. Gold and his sister would never stop making fun of him. When his ponderings subsided, Courtney slunk back into the little grotto-esque room and he leveled a glare at her before remembering that he was supposed to be amnesiac. Forcing a grin on her face she approached him.

"I had to convince Boss to allow you to stay here" she relayed somberly "he told me if you can function efficiently, you will become a fully-fledged member..."

"That's nice to hear" he droned and the female admin blinked.

"You must be tired" the woman got up and gently tugged on his arm, curbing the urge to knock her out, he followed her like a puppet, his head whirred and after noticing the numerous coy glances she threw his way, he finally relented and smiled. Courtney simply melted all over again and Silver suppressed a sigh. This mission, he decided, was going to suck.

* * *

 **A/N:** The verdict has been given…my laptop ain't coming back. I'm not sure if I should cry because now I won't be able to play games anymore. And besides, that thing was with me for long. Anyway, Gold admonishing Lack-2 anyone? And poor Whi-2. At Eevee, it's weird to call me by my pen name? Lol why? Fatti is actually my nickname and most friends call me either Fat or Fatti, till my bio teacher decided the –chan sounded cute. She calls my sister Mindy-kun. Hahaha, is Whi-2 falling for Silver? Read on to find out! As for Whi-2's skills, I wanted to write about someone who was still inexperienced and made blunders, I hope the next chapter gives an insight of what she is capable of. At Jack54311: Thanks for the explanation, I learnt a lot and yes, there is going to be some ship teases since I don't want romance to be the main plot. Eh, possibly shipping as well *shrugs* who knows? (But only in the final arc though) At Silver: Them joining up together in the face of a common enemy does make sense no? You had me laughing at Honchkrow's thought processes. The poor pokemon needs a break. Anyway, please read and review! Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. And virtual chocolate to all. Thank you for reading.


	36. Bow down to the mighty

**Chapter 36: Bow down to the mighty**

"I can go all out right?" a silkily low voice questioned and Gold suppressed a shudder and sent his lackey a disgusted look.

"Kid...In terms of flirting, you are the inferior one...But yes, you can go all out. Just don't impose on my kindness and be gentle towards the gals. It's our code of honor."

"I can't believe we are having this conversation!" Sapphire blurted out and scooted from her obviously deranged comrades, the duo grinned at her coyly and she curbed the desire to throw them overboard. Following the semi-harsh lecture Lack-2 received from his mentor, the boy had once again wormed his devious plans and persuaded Gold to go along, as of now, the trio had agreed to steal the ship. It was a fine one anyway and it boasted a huge intimidating factor, not even an armada and a small militia could stand up to this watercraft. With more reasons piling up after each other, the acting leader eventually caved in and relented. Now the main issue was of how to deal with the swarming mass of Team Plasma grunts waiting for them below deck. The black haired trainer wanted to go in covertly whilst Lack-2 argued that they should just go all out. Gold's glower simply dissipated when his student begged and promised to exercise restraint. Plans were being drawn up and tossed aside. The winds were beginning to pick up speed and the ship swayed slightly, its anchor chain creaking with effort, overhead, swanna and other bird types soared past, the outline of their wings were sharply defined against the azure canopy of a sky. The female member's thoughts strayed, it was a lovely day to spend whiling away at base, instead she was here, soon there was going to be a battle and by all costs they were to emerge as the victor. She smiled, little fangs poking out from beneath her top lip, if they managed to spirit away the vehicle...their leader will no doubt be extremely pleased.

"Hey senior Saph, looking cute" Lack-2 commented and like lightning she shot out a leg; it collided neatly with her junior's abdomen and he doubled over, moaning in pain whilst his teacher watched him with a pitied gaze.

"I told you not to mess with her...guess this will be a practical lesson for you." The amber eyed trainer and Sapphire got up, "come on Lack-2 we don't have time to waste, we have to return by night." Groaning, the Unova native let out a pained sigh and straightened himself out, his seniors were already descending into the ship and he observed them.

"Che...Reshiram, what am I doing?" he muttered to himself before following them.

Late afternoon

Unova

Route twenty one, inside the Plasma Frigate

Ghetsis' lip curled in distaste as he eyed the commotion in the screens. Three people...Three brats were all it took to throw his dream organization in disarray. Must he do everything himself? A month ago, Ryoku and the police had a tangle and his underling had lost spectacularly. The incident left a bad taste in his mouth. Not to mention his puppet was missing. It dawned on him that N must've given these individuals classified information; it was uncommon knowledge that the Plasma frigate was moored here. He had taken great effort to make sure the police...looked the other way when it came to investigating this route. Of course it was the local police's job to sweep through the areas, as for the international agents, they were not to be trifled with. Bribery would only get himself arrested. Grinding his teeth audibly, he banged his staff on the ground in order to draw the attention of the captain manning the ship. Colress was watching the chaos causing trio with a rather entertained smile and this was making Plasma's leading sage irritated, Ghetsis was well aware that if the those three showed promise, the fickle man next to him would welcome them with open arms. It was time to abandon a sinking ship. Cloak swishing, he proceeded to limp out of the control room with the scientist following him, after traversing through a series of brightly lit passages, they halted before a huge room whose large metallic doors had frost creeping around the edges. Retrieving a key card from the folds of his clothes, the green haired man stepped into the steel gridded chamber and was promptly greeted by a pair of glowing yellow eyes and a ferocious roar. The glacial wind emitted from the beast sent his robes fluttering backwards and forced a chill down his aching bones.

"I'll be taking Kyurem, revert the dragon into its stone form." Despite the order, Colress hadn't budged from his place. Ghetsis gave him another half a second before turning around and glaring at the scientist, the man had an inquisitive look on his face. "Wipe that dumb look off your face Colress; you saw those three didn't you? We both know what they are capable of. To be safe, I'm taking this dragon with me; you stay here and protect the ship. If you do manage to fend off those upstarts, I'll give Kyurem back to you."

 _Although I highly doubt you will_. Ghetsis entertained the cruel thought as he beheld the blonde doing his work. A few taps and beeps later Kyurem was electrocuted and with an agonized howl it glowed and shrunk. The compartment holding the ice dragon hissed open and carefully Ghetsis cradled the glittering rock and stowed it away. As he straightened up, a resounding crash alerted him to the predicament occurring inside his mobile base.

"Colress...I will leave you in charge of the ship, do try to save it" the lynchpin of Team Plasma droned and strode away; the younger man watched him go and sighed. Nevertheless, he was given the responsibility so he will do his best to protect the base. Taking out a slim device from his pocket, he stared at the object in his hand, it was time to test his newest gadget...And who a better opponent than a trio of super-powered kids?

* * *

"Ice-beam!"

"Lack-2!"

"Toro, flamethrower!"

"Sapphire!" shrieked Gold but to no avail, the duo in front of him was engaged in a gala. The narrow corridor was painted with smears of blood and littered with comatose trainers, wounded pokemon, ice-shards and flames. Lack-2 snapped his fingers again and samurott charged with its water cloaked horn low to the ground, it swatted and impaled several newcomers who were trying to get into the congested space. The amber eyed trainer noted how the youngster wore a hateful look, his clenched fists and engorged veins showed that he was furious and Gold didn't understand why the sight of Team Plasma riled up the normally apathetic trainer. Stomping after his beast, the boy disappeared and he simply watched, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do in such a chaotic situation. No sooner had the brown haired boy left; Saph followed him after drop kicking a grunt who tried to sneak up on her.

Gold inhaled deeply and looked around, "Exbo, let's go, no use trying to reign in those two...I bet Arceus is punishing me for when I used to disregard Green's orders" he mused. "Dear Arceus, I will always listen to my superiors from now on...Please be kind to me." satisfied with is prayer, he straightened his cap and charged down the stairs, the next room he entered into had him halting in his tracks. Encircled by a crowd of grunts and their spitting beasts, his two lackeys backed up against each other. It was a tense standoff and the tension broke when a random liepard broke the ranks and went for Saph. She viciously kicked the feline aside and called her donphan out, the pokemon curled into a ball and started rolling around the chamber, its bulk flattening and crushing anyone unfortunate enough to be in its way. To top off the carnage, a blizzard flash froze everything and with a smirk, Lack-2 took a few photos of his so called artwork.

"This isn't funny" his mentor chastised once he stowed away his camera, "seriously child, you are beginning to worry me..." the last few words had the boy looking up in alarm.

"I just froze them partially" he countered, "not like they're gonna die of frostbite anyway"

"Actually they can die" Saph kicked a wall and shattered some of the frosty fetters, the freed criminals shivered uncontrollably and eyed them with tangible fear, they crept backwards, trying to make themselves look small.

"Then..."

"Throw them overboard" Gold cut in and failed to see how the rime covered felons paled and shook. One brave soul crawled to him and the Johto native took the opportunity to pick the person up. Thankfully, she turned out be a female. After an internal debate and noting how wonderful her eyes were, he marched back up to the deck. Giving her a handsomely apologetic smile, he tossed her overboard and she went down, trailing a scream along the way. The next half an hour Colress, who was staring at a monitor, frowned as he witnessed the trio's actions. They looked pleased with what they were doing.

 _How inhumane_

Done with throwing most of Team Plasma's underlings over board, Sapphire watched them bob unhappily in the water and her face scrunched up. What if some of them couldn't swim? With this thought gnawing on her mind she went back inside the ship and tackled a passing (and terrified) underling to the ground, sitting on his chest she demanded him to tell her where the life jackets are kept. Uttering a thanks, she floundered away. The grunt briefly thanked the deity monsters for sparing his life and as he tried to slink away to do his job, another of those trouble makers came barreling in. He stood rooted to the spot as a copper eyed boy almost bowled him over, grabbing him by the collar, the younger trainer shoved him against the wall and spat out a question:

"Colress...Where is he? And you better not spout crap about defending your bo-"

"He's in the bridge; I'll take you to him. Please just spare me!" the man quivered in Lack-2's grasp.

The Dex-holder blinked...Well that was easy. Slowly, he let go as his seniors shuffled behind him, still shaking, the foot soldier led them down a few floors, he stopped in his tracks and pointed to a door at the far end of a corridor. His work done, he stammered a string of apologies and instantaneously vacated the area, the Dex-criminals watched with mild amusement as he ran down the illuminated hallway at breakneck speed. The grunt's careering getaway was abruptly halted by three black cloaked masked men who slipped out of the shadows. For some reason, the appearance of the three newcomers made Gold's hair stand on end. Wordlessly he pulled his pool-cue out and raced to the scene. One of the members, his white hair appearing shiny in the passage's flood lights rose up, gripped the grunt's neck with both hands and twisted it so viciously that a snap could be heard. Hearing this, the other two trainers rushed to their acting leader. The masked triad disappeared and the Johto native knelt down to the fallen man and reached for a pulse, it throbbed feebly against his fingers a few times before becoming still forever.

"He's dead" Lack-2 declared and probed the area around them with a sharp gaze, "once those three cross your paths, you are dead already, they never let their target escape and they work for anyone." The amber eyed trainer straightened up and gripped the boy by his shoulders. He expected Gold's hands to be digging in his arms and a barrage of questions of how he knew this information. However the grip was soft, comforting even and the taller adolescent crouched down to his level and worded out a single question.

"How do you know all of this Lack-2?"

 _He couldn't lie_

Imparting a soft sigh, he related: "My...Parents were killed by them. I was five but I remember everything clearly. It was raining that day and I was waiting for Dad to come home. The day was special, Dad had gotten a promotion at work so Mom was making his favorite dishes and I was watching television. When he got home I ran to him and suddenly I was kicked to the side. Those three slipped out of nowhere, like black water and held my dad. They asked him questions, however he refused to answer and when Mom tried to get between them they...They stabbed her. It was pouring out, her blood, a red fountain staining the tiles. Dad screamed and those white haired people..." he broke off, clamped a hand to his mouth and retched. Gold eventually pulled him closer and Saph patted his back in a comforting manner. Still with the hand over his lips, he continued, "jammed a short sword down Dad's throat. The handle was sticking out...a white, pure white gleaming handle." hearing this the female gasped and his mentor held him tighter. "I researched and found out they do dirty work for leading authorities and are affiliated with Team Plasma and I won't rest until the organization has been destroyed" his words came out as a muffled hiss.

In response to his hostility, both his seniors engulfed in a hug. He felt constricted, nevertheless he held on to Gold's shirt with all his might. No tears spilled out him, he was done crying and feeling sorry for himself. But sometimes...It was nice to ease of the oppressive load pressing down on his chest. Gold's poke-gear beeped, signaling the time and jolting the three into awareness of a mission looming over their heads, with a bit of difficulty, the boy detangled from the black haired trainer's grasp and announced that the assignment needed to be completed before sundown.

"Are you sure you're up to this? You can go above deck and rest Lack-2, Saph and I will be more than enough to take care of one guy"

"Seriously? And miss kicking the living daylights out of a Plasma executive? Tsk tsk senior, you are too sentimental. I'm fine but I want you to take me to the Game Corner once we done." A sly smile worked its way on his lips.

"...You are too young to enter one Lack-2" Saph pointed out, "and it's immoral to be gambling at your a-"

"Deal" Gold simpered and called his typholsion out, master and beast strode forward.

"I'm done with you people" the female member sighed followed them

Evening

Unova

Inside the Plasma frigate, Bridge

Inside the bridge and near the helm of the ship, Colress jolted when the door to the chamber was blown apart with a bang and the three man-team who were wreaking havoc on his frigate entered with their pokemon in a tow. His eyes widened on seeing them and he stood up and zoomed in on Lack-2, the child looked familiar.

"I've seen you before" Colress addressed him and saw Lack-2 study him with a measured gaze.

"Well, I'm famous for my devilishly handsome looks..." he drawled, "and this face of mine was plastered all over Unova with the words: Missing Child printed underneath it, does that ring a bell?" He grinned, showing a mouthful of teeth and the scientist frowned.

 _No, that's not it..._

"Dude, is that part of your hair?" Gold pointed his stick at the blue highlighted hair flick adorning the man's head and snorted, "Ruby is so gonna worship you!" The two males high-fived each other and continued in scrutinizing the Plasma member, Colress eyed Sapphire next; she was peering at the equipment and gadgets inside the bridge with a curious expression on her face. Facing the snickering duo before him, he offered them a proposition:

"You three are ridiculously talented...Why don't you join Team Plasma and help us further our goals? We are in dire need of trainers such as yourselves. With this machine," he held up a gadget, "I'll be able to pull out the latent potential of your pokemon. Think about it, you guys could be undefeatable..."

A silence settled upon them, Colress noted how they regarded him with open mouths. To the surprise of Gold and Lack-2, it was Saph who broke the silence.

"Ya all have no ambition," she stated, "the only thing Team Plasma does is liberate pokemon from people. Like really? That is child's play, not to mention it's boring and nonsensical, eventually the public will revolt and the police will sniff you out." Her aquamarine pigmented irises took on a strange gleam, "we on the other hand will create a parallel world. And this is a challenge that gets my blood pumping. Sorry dude, we're all set and please take no offence when we crush you and use you as a stepping stone to further our goals. Our commanders decided you idiots are a nuisance."

"Eloquently put Cave-gal" Gold ran a hand through his hair and lumbered forward, "Team Plasma is good as dead, time for us to re-rear our heads." Gold held up a card and the researcher paled, his pale green irises reflected the images on the card: Two crossed swords on one half and several mug shots of various pokemon on the other. His thoughts tumbled over each other; he merely thought they were rouge trainers. Hmpf, now it made sense why the brats looming before him were so skilled and strong. Poke-Dex holders, he'd expect no less from the elites who were chosen for their raw talent and potential. Taking a few steps backwards, he called forth his own beasts; it was time to test his theories out.

When Lack-2 tried to step forward, he was barred by his senior's pool-cue. Gold implored him to search the bridge and figure out how to man the ship since it would have to be repositioned. The younger male sputtered a few heated excuses but the adolescent would not listen. Giving up, he joined Sapphire at combing through the dozens of cabinets and electrical equipment and trying to make sense out of them. Behind them, a battle raged and he turned around to watch it, figuring the intricacies of the ship could come later, now, the only thing he wanted to see was Colress receive a thorough beat down at the hands of one of the most powerful members of the organization. Gold rarely boasted of his strength as he preferred to talk about other mundane matters; however Lack-2 knew his mentor was not someone to be trifled with. He defeated Red fair and square and that was a feat few could boast about.

The two battlers faced each other and Colress noted how the perverted smirk his opponent wore earlier had morphed into a grim, determined slash. Next to him typholsion's mane of fire raged. The strained air snapped and in an instant a magneton let loose several pillars of thunder. Exbo expertly weaved between the blinding columns and attacked the steel type with a head-butt, once the magnet pokemon became disorientated, the fire type reared up on hind legs and let loose a flamethrower, the intense heat outright melted the three metallic orbs and they formed a grey puddle on the floor of the bridge. Colress took a step back and the Unovian child watched the proceedings with undisguised glee. His senior was talking business. Without missing a beat, beheeyem was sent out, the researcher had to get rid of the fire type, he concluded that the monster was Gold's most powerful beast. As soon as cerebral pokemon flashed into existence, typholsion blitzed next to it and struck it with a fire cloaked claw, alas, the psychic simply teleported out of harm's way.

"Burn up" Gold whispered the command and his irises shifted calculatingly, the Plasma scientist was boosting beheeyem's limits. Even after it was caught and burnt black, it still managed to float out of reach. Focusing on fire monster, it executed a synchronoise and the Johto native chuckled, no way was his glorious Exbo going to be felled by a flimsy psychic mo...ve...To his utter shock, the volcano pokemon staggered backwards and after it's flames went out, it crashed on its back, streams of pale orange liquid began to gush out of its mouth, ears and nose.

"How?"

"Beheeyem's hidden ability, analytic, allows it to boost its attack by thirty percent if it's opponent moves first" Colress explained, "not to mention my machine has brought out my pokemon's latent potential, you will find him a difficult opponent."

"I'll be the one deciding that" the black haired trainer intoned with a diabolic smirk and tossed out another of his partners, without warning Aibo popped out along with politoed and Colress stared.

"Two?"

"I'm a bit pressed for time" Gold admitted, "my superior is going to use me as a chew toy if I come home late. Polibo, use payback, make that alien suffer for what it did to Exbo! Aibo...You know what to do." The mauve monkey screeched and vanished out of sight, meanwhile, the green frog leapt to the side as beheeyem fired an energy ball, the ground catered on impact. Politoed sprang around erratically as it desperately tried to dodge the barrage of luminous green spheres, the cerebral pokemon drifted lower with each consecutive strike and the moment it hovered half a meter off the ground, Polibo back flipped in midair and descended with a dark globe in its hands, it slammed into its target and nimbly jumped away. Instead of fainting, the physic monster merely shook it's over sized head and readied another attack. Colress grinned and reached for another pokeball, to his dismay the belt around his waist was gone. He spied ambipom waving said belt teasingly from a distance, gritting his teeth, he made a move towards the monkey. After taking a step, the world around him collapsed and went black. Standing behind his prone, crumpled form, Lack-2 hefted a thick book and waved it at his mentor. At the same time, Polibo, with several pockmarks and thin lines crisscrossing it's body, finally pounced on a rather fatigued beheeyem and proceeded to bash the already fainted pokemon repeatedly on the floor till it's skull was split into two. Hopping over the unconscious executive, the boy joined his mentor.

"I found the manual" he announced nonchalantly.

The scientist woke up to find himself trussed with rope and the golden eyed man gingerly picked him up. As they advanced upwards, he decided to speak up: "You know, creating an alternative world is taboo, if the leading authorities of the Poke-verse hear what you are up to, your punishment will be very severe." He locked eyes with his captor and tried to relay the severity of his words, the three trainers had potential to be more than just criminals.

"We'll never get caught" Gold countered and walked to the edge of the deck, "thanks for warning us anyway" he smiled and tossed the man over the railings. Instead of panicking, Colress merely grinned and splashed into the water gracefully.

Done with tossing the whole crew of the Plasma frigate overboard, the trio of thieves gave the mobile base a thorough sweep in order to snuff out potentially hiding grunts, they also came across several crates of pokemon, the sorry beasts were all crammed together and several of them sported collars or bells around their necks. Feeling remorseful, the monsters were released to the wild, some of them ran to their freedom, others took hesitant steps forward; clearly the daunting task of surviving in the uninhabited was new to these trained pets. Satisfied with their work, the three trainers went back to the bridge of the ship where another argument broke out between the two perverts. Sapphire watched from a distance as the two wrestled for the wheel. Much to Gold's mortification, the youngest of them single handedly fired up the ship and ran a systems check all on his own. This dealt a severe blow to the older trainer's pride (because the only thing he could operate efficiently was a slot machine). When the anchor chain was reeled in (how did the pipsqueak know how to do that?) Lack-2 smugly declared he was going to steer the ship and so the needed a destination. Thus the squabbling began with each of them clutching the helm and the frigate veered left and right. As the large watercraft did another sharp turn, the Hoenn native got up from the chair she was sitting on and smoothly removed them from the wheel with a roundhouse kick. The duo crashed into a cabinet sized device and moaned in tandem.

"I'll do the steering" she pounded her fist into her palm and glared, "kid, help me", the brown haired boy angrily pouted.

"Read the manual," he snobbishly stated whilst turning his back and Saph curbed the desire to knock him out.

* * *

Afternoon

Sinnoh

Inside the Snowpoint Temple

Their footsteps echoed on the smooth, worn stone. The interior of the temple was lit by bioluminescent of chinchou; the pokemons' antenna pulsed with a soft gold light and illuminated the darker depths of the structure in a surreal fashion. Platina was unable to tear her inky eyes off the murals on the walls, to her, they were simply breath taking. Her two comrades were also appreciative of the scene playing out before them. As they kept on navigating the depths, it became colder, blacker and their hushed whispers vented steam. The heiress trailed her hand over the walls of the temple, her finger tips brushing against cold archaic lines and depictions she was unable to see. Suddenly the entire building rumbled and the three, alarmed, huddled together in the middle of the passage. Rubble rained down from above and in a flash all the lights winked out one by one, plunging their surroundings into an abysmal darkness. When the shaking stopped Pearl began fumbling on his person for a flashlight, after several tries, curses and a rummage through his backpack, he found it and switched it on. The small white circle thrown by the torch showed that no permanent damage had occurred, however, none of the wild pokemon scurrying around the floors could be seen.

"Was this an earthquake?" Diamond questioned and Pearl crouched down and put his hand on the floor, seconds later he got up and replied in affirmative.

"An avalanche and now an earthquake" the orange eyed teenager muttered, "great, what next? Something trying to kill us?" He let out a small huff; it was tough trying to keep in high spirits when one was frightened.

"Pearl, we can do this okay?" Dia gripped his comrade's shoulders firmly and the blonde managed a smile, never did he think the day would come when his indolent best friend would be the one to reassure him. With a nod, the trio faced forward and marched onwards. A few paces later another rumble broke out.

"This is not natural" Platinum said as the third vibration ceased. By now the grey walls had deep fissures and the hallways were deadly silent, "some pokemon is causing this...Probably our target." At her words the two boys turned and looked at her with horrified looks, "think about it," she chimed, "Regigigas is probably not going to welcome intruders in his sacred resting site, we are doing as such and it is trying to warn us away."

"Nice try though, it won't work" the blue eyed teenager thrust the last of a rice ball into his mouth and grabbed the flashlight off Pearl. He strode forward with the other two trailing behind him. Boldly they crossed the hallway and stepped down another flight of stairs. The environment was eerily quiet in the last chamber. Diamond shone the light across the room and saw earth toned boulders littering this particular cavern, they seemed to make a sort of a pattern as the pale light washed over them, the beam travelled further and further till it touched upon the hunched form of what was obviously a gargantuan beast. Even in its seated position, the top of the golem brushed the ceiling. Cautiously, the trio bravely shuffled forward and came to a stop before their target. The leader of the titans was primarily white with yellow projections on the top half, green shrubbery grew on his colossal pillar-esque legs and between what Diamond considered were shoulder blades. None of the trainers saw how the titan flexed its fingers.

In the next moment, Pearl felt his ribs emit a shattering pain. He gasped for breath as his body flew through the air and landed on one of the boulders. A mumble escaped his lips as his bruised form crumpled to the floor and he passed out. Platina and Dia whipped around to look and before anyone of them could take action, Regigigas' other arm came sweeping from the gloom. Similarly to Pearl, it swatted the noble away and she landed on the far end, bashing her head against the wall. Diamond screamed and frantically tried to follow his friends, alas, the torch fell from his hand, shorting out in the process and he stumbled on a projecting rock and crashed to the floor. Behind him the giant was shifting and another earthquake swept through the chamber. Terrified he swept his hands around the ground and turned, shuffling backwards in fright. The ancient pokemon was stirring; the dots decorating its face began to blink, punctuating the black chamber with momentary pulses of light. Through these fragmented scenes, the Sinnoh native watched how two arms reached for him, frozen in fear, the only thing he could do was stare resolutely ahead as rocky fingers closed over his form. His chest compressed with unnatural weight as he was lifted off the ground and brought closer to the golem's face. Diamond did not flinch nor did he whimper in pain.

The ancient golem deliberated whether to crush the human he currently held in his hand. Such upstarts, daring to trespass on his territory! It was small, still not fully grown but its eyes held the emotion of one. Empathy. Instead of screaming and flailing like every other person he came across, this one was deadly still and graced him with a look which expanded into everything and nothing at the same time. Ageless. The blue held a depth that lacked in other humans, a firm fury interleaved with burning passion and strung with fear. It was scared yet it showed nothing, the masked emotion betrayed desperation, a faint hope...No a raging hope of a better life. A yearning to become strong.

 _Strong_.

Slowly Diamond was let down on the floor again and he trembled slightly. The sheer power emanating from the creature before him muddled his mind...However, he reached for a pokeball hanging off his belt and unclipped it, he had to capture the legendary even if he had to do it alone. For Pearl and for Platina. Before he let his mamoswine out, the mythical beast flashed with a harsh golden radiance and he was forced to shield his eyes, when the glow died down the black haired boy gaped. In front of him, where Regigigas was supposed to be standing was a pokeball, it rolled and came to a stop at his feet. Tentatively picking it up he peeked into it and inhaled sharply.

Regigigas was staring up at him through the clear dome of the ball.

* * *

 **Here are the character ages: Starting with Team Constellate:**

Blue: 24 years old currently, was 22 at the beginning of the story

Silver: 21 was 19

Ruby: 19 was 17

Platina: 16 was 14

Whi-2: 15 was 13

Each arc spans around one year

* * *

 **A/N** : And team Plasma goes down…or do they? A bit of Lack-2's past to show that no, the poor boy wasn't grown in a lab despite how he is. Seems like Regigigas took a liking to Dia. At Eevee: My brother used to call me Fat when I was younger because I was very chubby and it stuck. Feel free to call me either that or Fatti, it's what my friends and siblings call me. Green is like those flashy toys; he looks good but has the personality of a robot, so obviously it's going to put off girls. And I made a mistake, I mentioned in the previous chapter that Whi-2 makes an appearance in this one, she only reappears in the 38th chapter. (Silly me and I'm the author). So sorry for that. As for Green and Yellow, the former trained her and if you read the chapters, he puts up with her a lot…so I thought maybe he might have a crush or something on her. At Jack54311: Thanks for the consolation and the lesson. Your puns are quite funny *I get them* Idk why she added the –kun, says it fits with my sister's nickname. (And it sounds cute) And you thought you had Lack-2 figured out…keep on reading and formulating your own theories. I think all this confusion is part of why we even read crime stories in the first place, it adds intrigue. At nightmareeater532: I suppose Gold grew on Lack-2, the poor child was alone and now he suddenly has someone who cares very much for him. Also Lack-2 as a double agent? Hehe. At Silver: Gold used pool cue…Like a boss was my favorite part! Double crossing? These people hate each other's guts so why not? I'd like to take a look at your story Btw. Thanks for reviewing and reading! Please continue to do so and virtual brown coconuts to everyone!

And I don't get bugged by long reviews I enjoy them immensely. Feel free to go crazy! Much thanks to Roronoa Zoro Ultimate Badass for following the story (nice screen name Btw)


	37. Ripples in a still pond

**Chapter 37: Ripples in a still pond**

Evening

Kanto

Police headquarters, meeting room

It was quiet in the space as all of the occupants were mostly ignoring each other. The overly bright room had a long rectangular table and several high-backed chairs placed around it at regular intervals. At the head of the table Lt. Surge sat with his scruffy combat boots on the glass tabletop and read a newspaper, next to him, Volkner was tinkering with a gadget and peering at the little electronic device with great interest. The younger blonde took a screwdriver and poked around and within seconds the flush lights overhead dimmed and blacked out altogether. Surprised by the occurrence and knowing his spiritless underling was most probably the cause of it; the soldier slammed his large hand down on the table and crushed the device accidentally. In the next instant all the lights winked back into existence. Volkner threw his superior a loathing look and decided to stare at the opposite wall instead. The meeting will not start unless Superintendent Cynthia is present. She was the only one they were waiting for, all the others were in attendance. The atmosphere in the room was suffocative, the chamber was small and why Surge wanted an important meeting held here in this congested area was the query gnawing on everyone's mind that evening. Sure the muscular guy was awe-inspiring but sometimes his actions were rather odd. He suffered from a streak of paranoia and if anyone questioned him about the war he participated twenty years ago, he would fly into hysterics and end up shattering bones or the teeth of the questioner.

Volkner saw it happen before, a persistent media reporter had asked him the question since he was one of the few alive and sane soldiers to emerge out of the war and the man had flown into a rage and knocked her teeth in. The police officers all agreed that caution should be observed when around Surge.

"Lady still not coming?" his voice reverberated through the area.

"It's difficult for her to come all the way from Sinnoh" Falkner mildly pointed out.

"...And I don't find it difficult when I must haul my sorry butt all the way to Unova? Do you know how long it takes to reset my traps once I come back? A hell of a long time!" As he finished his rant, Cynthia stepped into the room elegantly and took her seat; the blonde wanted to impart a few choice words but decided against it when he saw her face, clearly none was pleased with the location of the meeting. It was inconvenient and out of the way.

Just how he wanted it.

"First of all, care to enlighten us why you chose such a dreary place for the meeting?" the Sunnyshore gym leader piped up, "no offence superior, but this area oozes boredom, I'm falling asleep just by looking at this place. Kanto is no Unova."

"The walls have ears," Volkner blinked in confusion, has his commanding officer finally lost it? "Our meetings are usually recorded with cameras and uploaded into our database and our base can be hacked into, which has happened several times already. This is why those blasted criminals are always one step ahead of us. Today, we don't have any cameras in this dingy room so things have to be recorded the old fashioned way, pen and paper...Falkner work on it!" The cyan haired man exhaled and twirled a pen in his hand whilst digging out several sheets of paper, "also, Team Plasma's mobile base has been crushed and the ship is now anchored near the shores of Undella bay and protected by a mighty psychic barrier, the flag waving on top is a picture of two maroon swords crossed over each other." Lt. Surge stopped talking and waited for the information to sink in his colleague's heads. Several of them sported wide eyes, others nodded knowingly. "So that means those Dex-criminals are going off and killing anyone that stands in their way. If we examine the recent string of events they left in their wake, we can see they aren't so cautious of their actions anymore. Moreover, we as the police can't go and hunt them down because...they are doing us a favor as well..." A few audible swallows were heard in the stuffy room, it was a humiliating thought to know that the Dex-criminals were doing what the police were supposed to do. The public's opinion of them had risen.

"Could someone please turn on the fan?" Cynthia requested and overhead the blades slowly began spinning, a few rotations later it sputtered and died out and the female champion heaved a heavy sigh.

The atmosphere was taxing.

"We can talk about the Dex-criminals later," Falkner cut in when he sensed the depressive mood was taking a turn of the worst, "for now let's focus on the other mischief makers. There was an avalanche recently in Snowpoint on the day of the diamond dust, it has been speculated that the avalanche was induced by a man and pokemon. Also I want a thorough investigation of that building in Veilstone city, till now all of my efforts to get in there had been denied, the place is very suspicious. On another note we have intelligence of something sinister happening with Team Magma, unfortunately we still cannot find their base, Team Aqua has settled in the Cave of Origins and our spy tells us they have Kyogre firmly in their grasp. We have to tread carefully."

Another silence descended in the room and quietude was promptly shattered by the previously dead ceiling fan coughing back to life. The sound of chopped air was loud in everyone's ears.

"I say we try to capture the Dex-criminals first" Misty softly pointed out and inhaled when the focus turned to her, "compared to what the other local criminal organizations are doing...their actions can be viewed as mundane-"

At her words the room burst into a cacophony of shouts and insults as the other police officers gaped at her. Surge and Claire stood up and pinned her with an accusatory stare. Some of the calmer officials simply looked at her with an unfathomable gaze.

"Mundane?" the female dragon tamer hissed, "tell me what part of stealing legendary pokemon and important artifacts is mundane? They are no better than the other organized syndicates, in fact they are worse, we have no inkling of what they plan to do with the legendries and they elude discovery. Unlike the other teams they operate in secrecy and in the long run, it is _their_ works which will cause an imbalance in the world."

The Cerulean gym leader ruminated over Claire's words. "They do not harm people" she added, "and they don't go around citing that the geography of the Poke-verse needs to be altered, more land, less seas. The Dex-criminals certainly don't force normal trainers to give up their pokemon nor do they inspire horror like Team Rocket. In fact, it was them who brought the organization down if I recall correctly."

Cynthia listened as Misty and Claire argued back and forth about the Dex-criminal's actions, a small suspicious thought wormed into her mind and she worded out her question, in an instant the chamber became silent as a grave and the water type gym leader's mouth hung open with disbelief and rage.

"No!" the orange headed woman spat, "I'm in no way affiliated with then and I'll never be, please don't forget they targeted my Suicune, my point is that we are simply judging them too harshly based on their acts, maybe if we approach them with a different mindset they might just be much more easier to handle and capture."

"I understand what you mean," Cynthia shook her shock of hair backwards, "I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions, I see you want them captured as much as we do. It is a difficult task because, like Claire pointed out, they operate in secrecy, plus they are highly skilled warriors...Dex-holders..." she broke off and rested her chin on her hand.

"Right, let's draw up a plan" Falkner stood up and laid several sheets of paper on the table.

The officers all pitched in and once again the chamber came alive, pages were grabbed and ideas were scribbled down with fervor. Surge's booming voice alternated between spewing encouragement and insults. Half an hour later the superintendents stared impassively down at a crude mind map and all agreed that the plan was...Okay. Their efforts were now redoubled to gather ample evidence on the whereabouts of the criminals. The Organization's heists were to be downloaded from the archives and restudied, not to mention the Celadon City Game Corner fiasco almost two years back. Suspicious individuals caught on camera would be tailed secretly; the regions will be combed in order to flush them out. Vice-captain Falkner smiled genially and intoned it would require a superhuman attempt to get them once and for all and the spirit in the room rose considerably as the tired and often overworked agents cheered. Off to one corner, Norman shifted up against the wall and turned his face away from his jubilant co-workers. He began desperately praying for the Organization not to get caught.

* * *

Evening

Sinnoh

Snowpoint City

Pearl opened his eyes groggily and the blurry surroundings sharpened, He was lying on a soft bed inside a large tent and the sound of several dozen people moving about assaulted his ears. Slowly he rotated his head and winced, a streak of pain ran down the length of his neck and he held his breath till it subsided. Letting out an inaudible gasp, he angled his head again to the right and saw Platina sleeping next to him, her dark hair spilled like ink over her porcelain white face as she slept on her side, curled up with her hand resting underneath her cheek. Breathing in, he began the daunting task of moving his head the other way, he will probably find Diamond snoring next to him, when he finally looked to his left, there was another wounded civilian laying there and his best friend was no-where to be seen. Panic surged in his chest as he forced himself upwards and nearly passed out again. His memory was fragmented, he remembered going through the Snowpoint Temple, he remembered the periodic earthquakes and how the lights went out...And he recalled pain, mind numbing pain and everything going black. Was he dead? If so, did being dead hurt this much? And why was this tent filled with injured people and nurses? And _where was_ Diamond?

A gentle exclamation alerted him to his best friend holding packets of food and bottled water, the two stared at each other for a few minutes before Diamond's serious face morphed into an indolent smile as he dropped everything and crashed into Pearl. The flame eyed boy emitted a screech of pain as his mind undulated between the conscious and unconscious realm. Through sheer will he forced himself to remain awake and noted how his blue eyed comrade shuffled away from him in alarm. A transparent bag was forced into his bandaged hands and through the clear covering he saw it was a sandwich, gratefully he tore through the packet and ravished the food with delicacy washing down the dry morsel with a gulp of water. Having done that, he faced Dia solemnly and enquired in a whisper:

"How did we get out and what about the mission? Regigigas?"

"I've captured it" Diamond was uncharacteristically grave as he answered and Pearl's visage transmuted shock, without missing a beat, the blonde fired his ebony haired friend with a series of questions and the teenager listened without a uttering a peep.

"I'm sorry Pearl" the boy finally replied, "I can't tell you, I'm not sure what happened either, it just happened. I didn't battle Regigigas, he sort of came with me...And he was the one who helped us out of the temple. The avalanche has the city crippled and the mountainous route between Snowpoint and the other cities have been block-aded by snow...I dragged you and Platina here because they were giving emergency medical treatment and you two desperately needed it but we have to leave, while I was getting food, I overheard the nurses speaking about the police arriving on scene. This avalanche was in-duced and so they are going to investigate the city for sus-pic-ious individuals. We have to leave Pearl and quickly, when Missy wakes up, we have to go."

There was urgency in the boy's voice that Pearl had never heard before. Diamond was many things; however he was not one who was easily frightened. As he mulled everything over, a young red-headed nurse came over with a syringe filled with pale yellow liquid; she smiled tenderly at the blonde youngster and proceeded to give him an injection. Pearl endured it with gritted teeth and a pained hiss. Like she reassured, the aching in his body began to subside and he flashed her a grin as she stood up and walked away. Sitting hunched, the blond watched as Dia crept to Platina and started to comb her hair back from her face. A weird feeling churned in the pit of his stomach and he felt sick. His companion had refused to tell him what had happened in the temple and he couldn't believe it. It was a small detail, however it nagged at Pearl. The two were best friends and neighbors since they were in diapers and the thought of Diamond keeping secrets from him felt...

Wrong.

He wanted to know what was going on. Pearl had to know _everything_ concerning his best friend. The blue eyed boy was slightly dim-witted and it was his job to tell Dia what to do. In their stand-up comedy, his friend was the stooge. With all these abstract thoughts crowding in his head, he failed to see Platina wake up. The noble stretched elegantly and refused the offer of food. Clearly her constitution would be unable to handle such dry junk. Once again, Diamond began speaking, urging them to get out and with a nod the three got up. Cautiously they scanned the area and started to inch forward to the giant flap of an exit. Discreetly the trio glanced back for a final time and slipped out. The situation outside was none the better. Snowpoint was half buried in snow and tents, like the one they exited, were dotted throughout the city. Several medics, chansey, audino and blissey rushed past, their footprints leaving a confusing trail in the snow. One nurse even stopped in his tracks to usher them back inside. A smooth lie from Platina prevented them from being coerced into a bed again. Fishing out her phone, which now sported a cracked screen, Platina called someone and spoke, her terse tone issuing instructions to the listener. The male duo took note of her slumped shoulders and averted their gaze when she stowed the device away with a defeated sigh. Her perfect features marred when she winced in pain.

"My family will not be able to pick us up." she intoned and stared straight ahead at the avalanche of snow blocking the pass. "I'm sorry, but we are all on our own."

"Its okay" Diamond stepped forward, "we can do this" he grinned.

And Pearl's stomach churned. That was his line. Wordlessly he dropped to the ground, feeling drained of energy. Alarmed, his two companions crouched down next to him.

"I feel useless" he admitted and saw pity in their expressions, "I mean, isn't it my job to motivate people?" he leveled a look at Dia, "I can't even do that."

"Pearl" Platina began speaking but Dia interjected.

"...When I say I can't tell you what happened in the temple, you should respect my decision and not pry any further. Don't get angry because you can't boss me around on this mission." The blonde stared at him in shock, his flame tinted eyes glazing over. He opened his mouth and closed it, unable to utter any words.

"So please let me take care of you" Dia put his stubby arms around Pearl's rigid form and hugged him and the hyperactive one of the three merely collapsed, he was tired, scared and his mind was whirling. The past few months both he and his team were placed in precarious circumstances and the blonde was still recovering from that. The deafening rattle of bullets being fired and ricocheting off the hull of a gigantic flying ship was still fresh in his memory. Not to mention when the skies rained meteorites, the image was burned underneath his eyelids.

"Yeah," he whispered, glad to let Dia take over for once, "please take care of me"

* * *

Way below, the figures were tiny, their forms rendered discernible due to the vast world of white they travelled in. A red headed woman floated in a metallic bubble and observed the Sinnoh trio cross the treacherous path. Despite their age, the brats were sensible; they all eloped across the ground. Platina was, as usual, regal atop her rapidash as she streaked through, the flaming horse left steaming footprints on the snow caked ground. Behind her was Diamond and Pearl, one holding on the antlers of a tauros whilst the other perched on mamoswine. They were making remarkable progress through the mountainous pass. An unpredictable tempest howled atop the snowy peaks and inside her protected ship, Mars stroked her purugly and giggled, she reached out a slender arm and picked up a phone, it was time to report to her boss:

"Yes sir" her sing song voice was a complete contrast to her superior's dead murmurs. "I'm tailing them when I saw them slip out of the tent I was working in. Spirited kids I must say, even though two of them are badly injured...Oh no~ seems like they might just be buried underneath another few meters of snow...I'll hover around to see what happens." having said that, she dropped the phone in the cradle and eagerly pitched forward to see the wall of ice closing around the three Dex-holders.

Platina forced her heart to remain beating steadily, Mount Coronet, she chanted mentally; if they could make it there they would be safe inside the abandoned base. Whipping her head backwards, her dark blue irises picked out a sheer mass of white rolling down on all sides. The ice was billowing towards them, making a thunderous roar, Pearl inhaled and shut his eyes tightly, the stinging winds swirling around them carried snowflakes and he was aware of his hair and eyelashes being coated with a fine layer of ice. Hand benumbed by cold and fatigue, he gripped Tauhiko's horn's and leaned forward. It was a race against time. Next to him, Diamond's visage was grim as mamoswine cut a swathe with its tusks. Too focused on his comrade and not really seeing where he was going, tauros' hoof struck a submerged boulder and the monster buckled involuntarily. Its owner was thrown off and as the blonde hurtled through the air he saw everything clearly: Dia's shocked face and the cascade of white.

A cascade of white trying to smother them.

Trying to bury them.

Snuffing out his will...

"Tauhiko return!" a crisp voice rang out and in mid-air Pearl unclipped a pokeball from his waist and encapsulated his beast. Split seconds later, two firm hands caught him and he inhaled a mouthful of freezing air as he held on to Diamond, thankfully Moo still maintained its speed and the two teenagers fumbled before the orange eyed boy was comfortably seated, ahead of them, rapidash continued careering, it's flaming mane heating the surroundings somewhat. The threat of imminent death was still looming over the trio; however Pearl felt much better, the horrible anxiety that plagued him was slowly ebbing away. With his fingers boring into Dia's shoulders, the willful boy sat for the duration of the harrowing journey. The din of ice and snow colliding with each other and falling was the only noise that could be heard. Clouds of dust and ice ballooned outwards and left the three travellers frozen and stiff to the core.

And they made it. In the last moment, they made it.

When she spied the wide silver door set into the base of Mount Coronet, Platina urged her beast into a gallop; she sped away from her two companions and halted before the frozen and partially rusting door. Commanding rapidash to breath out an ember, she observed the ice melting away. Reaching deep inside her jacket, she retrieved a keycard and swiped it. The door stayed shut. Panicking she jammed the card again in the slot and wriggled it, the avalanche and her two friends were getting close and in any moment mamoswine would crash through. With a beep, the card registered and with a metallic groan the shutter began to slide upwards. She entered the base first and the acrid tang of partially corroded metal hit her senses, moments later, mamoswine hurtled in with Dia and Pearl balancing precariously on its back. With another desperate swipe of the keycard, the trio watched as the shutter lowered in an agonizingly slow pace. The rumbling ice blew in frigid air and right before a ton of snow could tumble inside the abandoned base, the door clicked shut. The Sinnoh trio heaved relieved sighs and sat in the foyer, the ground was cold and the area derelict.

"This place is a mess, how long are we supposed to stay here?" Pearl looked around and pulled a face, dusty silk threads and webs littered the roofs and upper area of the base, the staircase leading to the top floors had steps missing and he could see several wild pokemon scurrying about and avoiding the three new humans who toppled inside their makeshift home.

"Not long" Platinum answered him and began to unpack, "we shall stay here for one night and return to base tomorrow...we have completed our mission."

Night

Johto

Dex criminal's hideout, Execution's room

"You three did WHAT?"

Gold and Sapphire sat with their heads hanging low before Green and Red. Strategy's commander barely disguised his wrath as he glared at them viciously. The only one who stared him back straight in the eye was Lack-2 and inwardly the amber eyed trainer felt himself crumpling. He wished the boy would show some respect to the other seniors, alas, Lack-2 avoided everyone with the exception of Whi-2 and himself. The child even kept a minimum contact with the leader of the department and Gold didn't understand why. Right now the spiky haired brunette was admonishing them severely whilst Execution's leader merely regarded them with an unfathomable gaze. One couldn't tell if he was pleased or angry with what his underling's had done. Lips set into a firm line, Red watched them, his crimson eyes boring into their bowed heads.

"You three did a good job" his low and rather emotionless voice cut into Green's high pitched scolding. "You steered the ship into Undella bay is it?" Gold nodded, "Good, that's near one of our bases and we can make good use of the ship...the thing is a force of its own."

A tense silence permeated the room, despite Red praising them, it didn't feel like a victory, for once, the normally kind and cheerful leader's voice was hollow. His words were devoid of warmth.

"Good job Red?" the jade eyed trainer turned to face his co-worker, "I see the little brain matter left in your skull is starting to vanish" Red narrowed his eyes but said nothing, "the ship is will start attracting police officers and they will investigate. No matter how careful we are, we still leave minute trails and the authorities can trace these leads and find out abou-"

" _Coward_ " whispered Red and the corner of his mouth curled when Green stilled. "You are scared of being found out are you? Even Blue doesn't let her subordinates fight for her. I understand your reputation is at stake...So allow me to do whatever I want with my department. If the police come knocking, I'll crush them myself...Been long since I've gone out in the field."

The brown haired trainer said nothing; he blinked furiously a few times and tried to think of a snappy comeback, but nothing. Coward...A simple word coming from a simple person. However it was true.

Green was scared of being found out.

"If you are done staring at the indoor decor, leave. I want a few words with Gold and the others...And sor-"

"Don't apologize" the words were almost spat out by the emerald eyed leader, "I deserve what you said. You are right...I am a coward" saying this, he grimaced and briskly vacated the room. The posse sitting inside observed his form disappearing through the door.

Exhaling, Gold peered at his mentor and saw how the man's eyes trailed on the door the longest. A minute later they snapped back to the trio sitting on the carpeted floor and he smiled. Sensing the tension dissipate, the three juniors relaxed and shuffled up when the older male decided to join them on the floor. In the next few hours hilarity ensured when the three younger trainers related their mission experiences. Gold noted how Red's eyes lighted up in genuine mirth, the first in a long time. When the topic turned to the masked warriors the happy mien melted right off and the raven haired man's expression was back to the brooding visage he sported these days. His face took on a contemplative look and the youngsters regretted telling him about the incident.

"And then Gold and Lack-2 started wrestling with the helm and I kicked them out of the way" Saph added in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Sound like you had lots of fun...All I do is drift around the base like a zombie...Hmm, the next time a big mission rolls around, I'll try coming too. Let's pray that Green doesn't blow my head off!" At his words the quartet chuckled and thereafter Lack-2 declared he was hungry. The group retreated to the far corner of the room and all agreed to try cooking up a meal since Diamond was away on a mission. They were shortly joined by Black who decided to add to the chaos. Knives flew through the air; Lack-2 kicked Gold who in turn accidentally bumped into Sapphire. The azure eyed female punched him so hard; he flew into Red who ended up stabbing himself with the fork he was using to stir something in the pan. How this happened, no one knows and before Black could postulate a theory, Musha, who was floating nearby, was grabbed and promptly set on his head. In the end, it was the older Unova native who managed to put together a decent meal. When Yellow entered the chamber to deliver documents which needed to be filled out, she was mildly surprised to see the members all seated on a large couch and eating whilst watching television. All of them had injuries with the exception of Saph. Gold fared the worst, his cheek was swollen up with a purplish tinge and the calf of his leg was bandaged, Lack-2, who sat next to him also had a bandage on his cheek. Red had the back of his hand plastered with surgical tape and Black's whole head was covered in white gauze.

"Please don't ask" the four males chorused when she gazed at them inquisitively. Giggling, she handed the papers to Red and left.

* * *

In the dead of the night

Ransei

Dragnor

Candles and paper lanterns cast an orange glow and threw mutated shadows on the paper screened door. Inside a Japanese styled room, a three headed hydreigon rested on the lap of a man wearing a silk kimono. The color of the clothing was so black; it seemed to suck the muted lighting in the room. The three heads emitted sharp snores in the otherwise quiet room and a hand reached down to stroke the middle head fondly. The man sat patiently in the room before a low wooden table, thick smoke curled from an ornate pipe clamped between his lips. He seemed to be expecting someone and his slight irritation at being kept waiting was shown through the way he shifted, his expensive clothing rustling against each other. On the side of the room, hanging on the wall was a scroll painting depicting the electric dragon Zekrom. The ink brush strokes captured the magnificence of the mythical being perfectly and for a while the man watched, his black eyes caressing the thick lines which made up the painting. Half of the image was engulfed in shadows; however to the noble staring at it, the distorted picture appeared more beautiful.

In the following instant, the flickering flames snuffed out plunging the chamber into complete darkness. Seconds later they lighted up again with an indigo flame. On the wooden table lay a short sword, its handle a gleaming, pure white. The man, his black hair set into a top-knot reached out a scarred hand and touched the handle of the sword briefly before pulling his arm back. He looked up to the three masked men who appeared before him and motioned them to speak with a wave of his hand.

"Lord Nobunaga" one of the shadow triads rumbled, "it's an honor to be in your presence once again."

"I've been waiting..." the lord paused, "have you completed the task I set you to?" his voice was hard, low and thick with arrogance.

"No Sire...We are being paid handsomely by the target, currently we are working for him but please rest assured, we shall return once he outlives his usefulness."

Nobunaga exhaled smoke, "And of the dark dragon of lightning? Have you captured it? At least tell me of its whereabouts." Blue flames reflected off his glazed, expectant irises, but to the masked men before him, the expectancy spelled doom.

"My Lord, I'm sure you have heard of them...Dex-criminals. They are rounding up the legendries and keeping those mythical beasts for themselves. The dark dragon" the ninja swallowed inaudibly "is with them as well. A green haired youth formerly of our Organization is commandeering Zekrom."

The dragon lord sighed and briefly berated himself on signing the peace treaty which basically forced the leaders of the different regions not to seek out legendary pokemon for their personal use. He wondered what the outcome would be if he had Zekrom by his side...At the very least, he could unite Ransei under one rule with the fearsome beast as his partner, he was getting sick and tired of the internal skirmishes and wars that were periodically surfacing in Ransei...If the other warlords continued to jab at each other's throats to take over the opposition's region, it would scar their beautiful country. Taking the pipe out of his mouth, he tapped it once to clear it of ash and instantaneously the hydreigon snoring on his lap reared up and all three heads lashed out on the person who dared to grace their master with bad news. Razor sharp teeth punched through the skin of his throat and shoulder blades. The middle head stopped short of crushing his windpipe, the warrior uttered a muffled gasp of pain and gurgled up a quantity of blood.

"That's enough" Nobunaga tapped his pipe and the vicious dragon tore its jaws out of human flesh. Blood gushed out and stained the clothes and the tatami mats laid out on the floor of the room. "Incompetent fools" the lord sneered, "see to it that your employer is dead and then return...You three need to be punished severely for your actions." Bowing, the other two supported the third one between them and vanished into thin air. Once again, the candles went out and re-lighted with orange flames. The warlord sat alone and pondered.

Dex-criminals...his slanted eyes crinkled with delight. Perhaps he should keep a close eye on those trouble makers.

* * *

 **Character Ages. Team Execution:**

Red: 24 years old currently, was 22 at the beginning of the story

Gold: 21 was 19

Sapphire: 19 was 17

Diamond: 16 was 14

Black: 19 was 17 (He is the same age as Ruby and Saph)

Lack-2: 15 was 13

Each arc spans around one year

* * *

 **A/N:** Much thanks to Miniwolfy2 and Armaroy for following and favoriting my story, it's much motivation for the dark times ahead...and by dark times I mean exams. Who likes them? No one? Good, no person in their right mind would look forward to war (with pen and paper). At Jack54311: Perhaps Regigigas had a discarded pokeball lying near him? People do try to capture him you know, just that it didn't end well for the others. And getting thrown into the water from such a high place could potentially crush your bones. The force of water shouldn't be underestimated. And yes, Saph is a Boss. Anyway, Thanks again to those who read my story, virtual chocolate cookies to all! Keep on reviewing and reading! Enjoy


	38. A galactic clash

**Chapter 38: A galactic clash  
**

Early morning

Sinnoh

Base of Mount Coronet

The sunlight washed over the stark white world of route two hundred and six and the base of Mount Coronet. Glittering snow reflected the weak light and everywhere was blinding white save for the polished silver door set into the rock face of the mountain. The grey shadows of five people loomed over the door, their footsteps softened by snow. A spiky haired man regarded the door with cobalt irises, his face was ashen and dark circles were prominent underneath his eye sockets. Boots crunching, he broke away from the group and placed his hand against the metallic surface. It was slightly warm to the touch, meaning there were people inside. Cyrus didn't smile at his discovery, however his lips managed a twitch and the Galactic commanders who were fanned out before him understood. Their commander had found his quarry at last and now it would be a simple affair to capture the three brats and ship them off to the Galactic Building in Veilstone city.

"Should I break the door down Sir Cyrus?" Saturn stepped forward, his pupils shining, "my beasts are more than enough to take down that flimsy piece of metal..." Cyrus paid him not attention as his gaze was fixated on the entrance, next to him, probopass floated and emitted a strong wave magnetic wave. The underlings flinched and the blue haired commander merely closed his eyes and opened them again.

"No." The tone of his voice was akin to the whisper of the dead. "Use a laser and cut through the sheet of metal, if we use pokemon, the occupants inside will wake up and alert themselves...I want the element of surprise on my side. My encounter with the Berlitz heiress has showed me that these children are not to be underestimated. The princess has information I've been looking for. My visits to the Celestic and Heart caves had been futile." Or not as he thought about how he witnessed the destruction of Heart cave in Unova. A single shark-esque dragon had called down debris from space, hurtling atmosphere heated boulders and pockmarking the surrounding landscape with craters and a destroyed heritage sight. Pulling himself out of his ruminations, the dispirited man watched as Saturn and Charon got to work, they pulled out a laser cutter and crouched near the door, slicing through the metal like a hot knife through butter. A neat rectangle of iron fell outwards into the snow and the edges of the sliced sheet glowed red hot. Clasping his hands behind his back, the commander stepped in first and his monster trailed after him. The first thing he saw on entering the room was three pre-teenagers sleeping in a circle on the frigid floor. A small fire burned in the middle and their heavy breaths intermingled with the cackling of burning wood. With measured footfalls, Cyrus strode to them and came to a stop before a plush sleeping bag. A crafted face peeked out between faux fur and a mass of blue-black hair. The Galactic commander simply stared, Mars was right, she was beautiful. Keen sight observed the girl's eyelids shifting and a minute later, they fluttered open and he silently beheld the debilitating despair swirling in the inky depths of her irises.

Wordlessly, she shuffled and got up, her body a coiled spring. Cyrus admired her composure. Platinum Berlitz's gaze was calculative as she beheld the five intruders. She recognized them from her mission in Veilstone and their spacesuit uniforms. The blue haired man standing before her must be the leader. Eyes shifting again, she noted how the other executives stood near Diamond and Pearl, her two best friends were still fast asleep. Blissfully oblivious

"It's rude to walk in when a lady is sleeping" she intoned and heard one of the females snort, "Lopunny...High jump kick." The commander's eyes registered confusion, all that washed away when a lump began moving underneath the sleeping bag, a mass of brown and cream fur exploded out and arced into the air, the slim beast descended with a bang on his probopass, a strong hind leg kicking a dent into the metal, the main body of his pokemon blasted outwards and the rabbit-like monster landed elegantly on the floor. Twirling around, it launched itself again in the air and somersaulted, Mars watched, her scarlet irises widening as lopunny rammed a limb into her. The dizzy punch threw her off balance as she crashed to the floor. In the next instant, Jupiter and Saturn jolted into action. The blue haired male tried to strike a sleeping Pearl; instead the blonde quickly rolled to the side and abruptly shot up, striking his opponent with a fist. Diamond was not so fortunate, the indolent boy woke up lazily and yawned, Jupiter kicked out viciously with the heel of her thigh high boot and clipped his forehead.

"Ouch..." the teen slowly raised his hand and wiped at the dribble of blood. It took him a few moments to see the predicament he and his team were in. Surrounding them were strange and imposing adults...Judging by their expressions and actions, they were not friendly. His suspicions were confirmed when several metallic spheres formed in mid-air, the heavy orbs were launched from somewhere far and the projectiles sliced through the air, hitting Platina's lopunny with deadly accuracy. One, two, five balls of metal smashed in the monster, the pokemon was hurtled around like a rag doll and squealing in a pained manner, a final orb hit its skull and rabbit pokemon fainted with blood pouring out of its groomed ears. Platina watched wordlessly as Mars got up with a wretched look on her face. The executives all reached for the pokemon clipped to their belts, several clicks and flashes of light later; there was an army of trained beasts surrounding her and her friends. They shook the abandoned base with their cries and growls. The trio huddled together and suddenly felt very small and insignificant as the Galactic members bore down on them from all sides. Probopass had returned next to Cyrus and the mini-noses levitating around him did not look too welcoming.

"We are taking you with us" Cyrus spoke, his words cutting through the din, "You" he pointed to Platina, "will relay to us the information we are looking for and we will keep those two safe..." he jerked his head to Dia and Pearl.

The trio of Poke-Dex holders kept quiet.

"Let's use formation Alpha" Diamond broke the tension and his co-workers eyed him with mild concern...Was he okay?

"Dia...no, Diamond..." Pearl only used his full name in grave situations, "now is not a good time to be making jokes. Save those for later okay?" he tried to sound soothing but it was difficult to comfort when his voice was shaking.

However the blue eyed trainer did not heed his words. Rising, he defiantly locked eyes with the supreme commander and pointed a finger at him.

"You won't take Missy away from us and we won't go quietly with you mister...We will defeat-" his words stopped in mid-sentence as all the mini-noses punched into him. Pearl screamed and summoned infernape; the agile monkey caught the assaulting creatures and kicked them away from Diamond. The boy was sitting on the floor with various bruises on his face and body and he spoke up again: "I'll be the defense, Pearl and Platina, you two strategize and attack..." Pearl grinned with renewed vigor and crouched down to Dia, his flame eyes glittering. Platina copied his movements and the Galactic team showed pitying smiles. A single thought ran through their heads...

These kids were doomed.

* * *

Midnight

Cave of Origin

Team Aqua's hideout

 _Beep beep_

 _Beep bee-_

Whi-2 slammed her hand on her Xtransciever and groaned. She lay in the bed for a few more moments before abruptly sitting up. Blinking, she stole a glance at her communication device and saw it was twelve o'clock sharp, the time she designated in order to explore the base without hindrance. Now that the hour had come, she wanted to snuggle back into the comforting depths of her baby blue comforter and succumb her consciousness to fantastic dreams. Sighing, she pulled herself out of the warm bed and switched on the light, instantaneously she grimaced at her reflection. The girl had gone to sleep wearing the admin's uniform. Staring dazedly at herself for a moment longer, she eventually crept towards her backpack and began to rifle through the contents, sifting out the equipment she would need for her mission. Out came a few button sized cameras fitted with mikes, an all-purpose pocket knife complete with a miniature screwdriver, scissors, glass cutter and a bottle opener, she briefly wondered why the bottle opener was necessary. Pulling out a utility belt, she clipped on two pokeballs and stowed the other gadgets into the several pouches. She put on a pair off goggles and began tinkering with the functions, it sported a thermal sensor, night vision, X-ray and magnification, setting it to night vision she blinked at the ghostly green surroundings and turned it off. Shrugging, Whi-2 dove into her bag again and retrieved a laser and a set of fingerless gloves. With renewed excitement she pulled on the gloves. The black latex seemed to mold itself into her hands and it fitted so perfectly she forgot she was wearing anything in the first place; the grip of the rubber was firm and the material cool. Smiling, the young spy grabbed a small flashlight and jammed it into her belt, with a calmness she was not used to feeling; the child opened the door and slinked out.

The exterior was pitch dark and quiet as a grave, fumbling with the heavy set goggles; she turned night vision on and cautiously advanced forward to the end of the living quarters. Her interest lay in the lowest chamber, in the room where Kyogre was kept. Most possibly it was also Archie's personal space so she reminded herself to tread carefully. As she debated on taking the elevator downwards, the doors of the tube hissed open and she came face to face with a grunt. The trainer felt her limbs slacken, a terrified scream was making its way from the pit of her stomach and with great difficulty she managed to bite it down. The surprised man standing before her was familiar...He was the grunt who escorted her to her new room.

"I needed to go to the toilet but I got lost in the dark" slipped Whi-2's lame excuse and she cursed under her breath. What sort of person going to the lavatory would be equipped like her? The grunt arched an eyebrow and stepped out of the elevator.

"You have an attached bathroom with your chamber miss..." he relayed and the Unova native was aware of his suspicious gaze travelling up and down her form. She was a dead giveaway; the mission was over before it even started. "Also, it is not wise to prowl around the dark...Let me escort you back to your place."

"I could say the same to you" the spy took a few steps back, "all grunts should be sleeping so why are you strolling about in the middle of the night? Only authorized personnel are allowed in the lower chambers after dark. I'll report you to Archie for your misconduct." The grunt's face screwed up and he peered at her through half lidded eyes.

"Who sent you?" he demanded, "clearly you are a spy...A terrible one. I told Steven that I'll be okay on my own! Why did he send me an incompetent child?" the man pulled off his bandanna to reveal a shock of spiky turquoise locks. He eyed Whi-2 with a mixture of disbelief and exasperation. "The name's Brawly, police...nice to meet you new kid." His expression flitted as if it wasn't sure whether he was pleased or disgruntled to have another person on board.

Whi-2's mind was a tornado of ideas, excuses and other mundane thoughts. Clearly there was a huge misunderstanding going on here, without even enquiring further, this Brawly had assumed that she was one of their own...Sent by Steven Stone nonetheless, she remembered reading about the champion of Hoenn, he was a hard worker and diligently balanced his policing work along with his champion duties, apparently the man was also a geologist of sorts and travelled the different regions studying rocks, metals and other precious stones. A prominent member in both the Pokemon's Association and the police he is a master of steel type pokemon...And a handsome young guy to boot. The trainer shook her head, his looks were irrelevant to the situation, right now the tide turned into her favor and what did Ms. Blue say? Exploit every opportunity given to you; in this field of work, even a small mistake can jeopardize one's assignment and life.

"Yes, Steven sent me..." she whispered slowly as if the information was confidential, "and he told me all communications between us and them should be cut off" Brawly glanced at her in alarm, "apparently if we keep on contacting headquarters we will be found out sooner or later, so to minimize the chance of this happening, we are now on our own. Sorry for being so unprofessional...this is the first time I'm doing this" the blue eyed girl admitted and Brawly's countenance softened, "so please let's work together" _and I can simply leave you here when my work here is done_. A cruel thought wormed into her mind and she dismissed the villainous idea immediately.

"Chill" Brawly ran a hand through his spiky hair and grinned, "The more the merrier right?"

An hour later the two were crawling through one of the thick shafts which were prevalent through the base. Brawly explained that these vine-esque pipes carried water and the entire base relied on a hydraulic system to keep it functioning, unsurprisingly, it was Kyogre who acted as the power station. Brawly's first task was to infiltrate one of the pipes, to do so he had do gouge a hole through a thick mixture of glass and concrete of which the tunnels were constructed out of. It took several days for the pipe to empty out sufficiently for him to slosh through knee deep water and plug the entrance. A week later he was scurrying through the network of tunnels and sabotaging the rest of the shafts. Aqua grunts were increasingly getting frustrated on the failing power system, sometimes the lifts would get stuck and on other days the screens would malfunction. Guards and maintenance teams were posted on the second level of the base, with their goal already nearing its end, Archie was not bothered enough to catch the criminal. The leader was too absorbed with his glorious plans of submerging the entirety of Hoenn underwater. Although he and Maxie had a temporary truce, it would break down as soon as the fake blue orb had been assimilated by him.

In the constricted confines of the glass pipe, Whi-2 spied a metallic grille and shuffled close to it, despite Brawly's protests, she made a beeline for Archie's room, digging out the pocket knife, she selected the mini screwdriver and got to work on the rusting screws, her hands shook and it was plain to the observer that she was scared, nevertheless she managed to unscrew the grate and slide into the next section. Crawling on her arms proved to be difficult work, it was tiring to drag her entire body and for a moment her mind wandered to snakes, with the thought occupying her head she failed to see the surroundings change. Beneath the tube, the area glowed a luminous blue and it was Brawly's impatient hiss which forced her back to reality. With a bit of difficulty she pulled her goggles off and stared, right underneath her was Kyogre's massive tank and the legendary beast beheld her with incensed eyes. Suspended above the whale-like creature, Whi-2 swept her eyes and to her dismay found that the pipe she crawled in did not end in this room, it curved away dipping, rising and disappearing somewhere into the dark depths. Letting herself drop to her stomach, the girl turned on her back with much difficulty and began patting her belt, fishing out the multi-purpose pocket knife and taking out the glass cutter. The Hoenn gym leader simply gaped, his mouth falling open.

"Are you nuts?" he queried, "there is no way your flimsy glass cutter is going through slice through these pipes...Kid, these glass walls can stop a bullet! Also, how do you plan to land? A fall from this height can shatter your spine or even kill you"

"It's diamond edged" The young trainer quipped back and spared him a tired glance, "and I'll think about landing once I get this shaft to shatter."

She worked in silence, her lazuli irises narrowed in focus. It was getting difficult to breath, the concentration of oxygen was low and the two occupants were feeling fatigued and light-headed. The scraping of stone on glass was the only sound shattering the silence. Whi-2 cut away furiously, the handle of the tool was digging in her palms, blinking sweat out of her eyes she slid the brilliant blade back and forth over a section of the pipe, but for all her efforts, the shaft showed no signs of splintering. There was only a thin white line and it showed no signs of cracking. Taking a gulp of air, the Unova native scraped harder and faster and the friction caused a small spark. Motivation renewed, she wedged the edge of the blade into the thin score and stabbed, on her second stab, the handle broke off with the head lodged into the tiny crack.

The two spies stared in dismay and Whi-2 heaved. She felt helpless, lonely and claustrophobic. The glass surfaces were pressing down on all sides, threatening to smother her. Taking another few breaths and forcing her emotions to stabilize, she summoned Foongy, the mushroom pokemon sent fine tendrils in the miniature slit and from there the tendrils absorbed energy and grew, the green shoots pulsing forcefully and turning into thick vines. To her delight, spider web fissures spread across the length of the tube. The thick vines pulsated again, glowing acid green. With an almighty crash the segment broke beneath them and Whi-2 found herself falling. Desperately she scrabbled on the sides of the shattered tube for a hold, instead she slid downwards and the rough surfaces cut through her gloves and lacerated her palms and fingers. Screaming, she landed with a thud on her back and lay there. When Brawly tried to help her up, she couldn't move.

Foongy hopped close to its inert master and peered at her through tiny pupils. For some reason she wouldn't move even though the floor was really cold. The girl lay sprawled, not even attempting to fix the awkward angles that her limbs were in. The pokemon bounced around till it could see its trainer's face. There were no tears as well and the youthful face was static. A rush of dread swelled up in Foongy's chest, there was something terribly wrong with its trainer and it was evident. Squeaking indignantly, it head butted the other male who merely stood there at a loss. Fed up with the useless human, the little monster directed its attention back to Whi-2, the rising and falling of her chest was becoming labored. Shutting its eyes it screeched and released a cloud of healing spores. The colored dust settled on her and another dose was released, amoongus kept on releasing spores till it ran out of energy and yet, it's partner showed no signs of stirring. Tottering to the girl, it emitted a fatigued squeak and fainted with its head touching hers.

Brawly inhaled sharply, dawn was threatening to break out and with it the base will burst into a hive of activity. The current situation was not in his favor. The kid had fallen and injured her spine, thus paralyzing her completely, she needed emergency medical treatment or else...It was too late and he watched as her chest stilled. Morbidly he realized that it was his first time watching a person die and it had to be a young child. After the little pokemon fainted next to her, he crouched down in order to pick her up and nearly screamed his head off when her half lidded eyes snapped open and she spoke, each word ringing clearly in the air.

"Bug the room, we need to get out of here before Archie enters and catches us." Instead of doing as he was told, he gawped at her.

"You...You just..."

"Just get on with it!" Whi-2, normally docile, snapped, "we are running out of time." Scooping Foongy in her arms, she dug out the button cameras and handed them to the older spy, quickly the duo concealed the devices in shadowy corners. Nodding to each other, they crept out, keeping close to the walls lest anyone is out and about. The harrowing journey back to the room was rewarded, they encountered no-one. As the brown haired girl finally entered her bedroom, an overwhelming sense of exhaustion claimed her. Staggering towards her bed, she passed out with her partner still cradled firmly in her arms.

* * *

Late-morning

Sinnoh

Base of Mount Coronet

Formation Alpha turned out to be a defensive fortress. It was the first time Cyrus felt such intense emotions, anger mingling with something he couldn't describe. A multitude of heavy, slow pokemon formed a ring around the three brats. This placement was not static, when the galactic commanders attacked, the beasts would huddle together, either absorbing or rebounding the assaults, the ring was then widened and out of the gaps poured several other pokemon, an infernape, empoleon, cherrim, and chatot. These beasts would perform a hit and run, quickly slipping back into the tight knit circle. The formation was perfect. In a short amount of time, half of the Galactic executive's pokemon were wiped out. He watched as Mars and Saturn lashed out furiously, the veins in their foreheads distending with frustration. Toxicroak and purugly prowled around Diamond's ingenious arrangement, looking for a crack to slip through in. The heavy beasts shifted to the side for a moment, a small gap formed between lickilicky and torterra and the toxic mouth pokemon tried to leap inside, instead a luxray barreled out and closed its lightning cloaked jaws over the attacking monster. With a croak, the poisonous frog tried to land a sucker punch but failed as the electric type jumped away, when probopass began targeting it, the lion-esque beast whipped around, its tail lashed toxicroak on the face and it dove back into the safety of the fortress. Saturn cursed when luxray disappeared, his monster had fainted.

"I can't battle anymore" he announced with a solemn tone and next to him Mars giggled in a high pitched voice. Sneering at him, she turned her attention to the living wall and addressed the trio huddled in the center.

"How cowardly, battling us like this, if you have any dignity left, come out and face us instead of hiding behind your pokemon you STUPID BRATS! Purugly, use hypnosis!"

"Chahiko, chatter! Keep Dia's pokemon awake!" Chatot flew upwards and a stream of noise began to issue from its beak, human phrases, Pearl and Diamond's comedy jokes, swear words, various pokemon growls and cries, all of them were perfectly mimicked and Cyrus longed to plug his ears to save him from the torture of the cacophony. Inside the tight-knight circle, Platina's eyes were flashing with displeasure and her empoleon mirrored her expression. "Platina, please...Our lives are more important than pride...they are simply taunting us because we are bringing them down, listening to them would only serve to defeat us." The orange eyed boy glanced at Diamond who nodded. Dia ordered two of his beasts to shift and empoleon dived smoothly through the space. It held out its metallic claws and as it streaked past purugly, the penguin raked its steel appendages through the thick fur and fat of the cat-like beast. Blood sprayed in an arc and the wounded beast fought back with an aerial ace, the attack did little more than splash more blood on empoleon's body. Brutally, the emperor pokemon swung it's sharp fins and sliced purugly in half.

Mars screamed and cursed.

Her screeching were grating on empoleon's nerves, briefly waddling on its webbed feet, the monster shot out like a bullet and embedded it's trident crested head into her abdomen, the female stilled at once and her eyes rolled over. A sigh escaped her lips and she passed out. Smoothly sliding out its horns, the proud beast turned and received a face full of metal from probopass, swatting the last metallic sphere away, the two creatures locked eyes. Each one's full of hate for the other.

"Jupiter..." Cyrus intoned, his hands still folded behind his back, "keep them busy...When I'm done with this creature, we will take them down together." The silent female nodded and beheld a flaming monkey jump out from the center of the ring, it joined empoleon but the penguin arced a bladed fin at it. With a hiss, infernape retreated and Jupiter saw her chance.

"Skuntank use night slash" the skunk blitzed forward and used poison coated claws to draw a neat slit on infernape's neck, the monkey screamed and staggered back, the horrible stench emitting from the creature was befuddling him. A smoke screen of stinking poisonous gas was thrown out and Chimhiko, blinded and choking, countered with a flamethrower. It missed the target and skuntank barreled into him, throwing the ablaze monkey into the far end. Somersaulting, the fire type touched down and its body was wreathed in flames. With a cry, it smashed its fist into the toxic pokemon and a flaming uppercut threw it into the air, Chimhiko jumped, drew level with its opponent and issued a devastating kick on the beast's back. A crunch was heard before skuntank collided back on the floor. It twitched and became still. Swiping a hand over the thin score on its neck, Pearl's partner leered at Jupiter, it taunted the calm executive by swinging irritatingly around her and when her hands inched to the belt on her hip, the monster executed a double kick, two fire cloaked limbs blasted into her, one shattering her forearm, the other hitting her sternum and punching her out of breath, she rocketed outwards and her head hit the wall.

"..." Dia observed the battle through the tiny spaces provided by his pokemon. Chimhiko was recalled. "Aren't we...going overboard Platina?" How he managed to make a rice ball in this confined space was a question Arceus would be able to answer. The porcelain faced female, her expression hard, shook her head.

"No...They were prepared to kill us" her eyes briefly went to the injury on Dia's forehead, "so we shall retaliate with like...Empoleon" her perfectly even voice carried over, "your pride was wounded...Show no mercy. Brick break" At her command, her partner kicked off the ground and toward probopass, it's fins raised high and glinting.

"Gravity"

In the next instant, empoleon lay face first on the floor, an unseen force gluing its half metallic body to the ground. A ball of electricity was gathering in front of probopass, zap cannon, with trepidation Platina observed the sphere gathering mass, if it hit, her empoleon would surely die. Inhaling, she forced her trembling limbs to keep still, her faith in her companion was high, even now, the water type was painstakingly angling his head at the compass pokemon, The Sinnoh native gulped, would her command work? She had only learnt of the ultimate attack for a short while and was lacking practice... but, she had to give it a try.

"Empoleon..." a brief hesitation, "hydro cannon"

The water exploded out of its beak and jerked empoleon off the floor and into the air. A colossal pillar of liquid hit zap cannon and pushed it back, enveloping probopass with electricity and water. Right then, Diamond issued a command and Cyrus turned, his emotionless face morphing into horror as the ring of bulky monsters stampeded outwards, bastiodon stomped probopass and a power whip courtesy of lickilicky smacked him across his face. His head whirled and everything went black.

Unknown time

Hoenn

Gnarled Den

Silver was crying.

Fat tears rolled down his cheeks as he banged on the steel door. He wanted to get out; confining him was out of the question. Yelling at the top of the voice, he demanded the occupants inside the base let him out of the small room they barred him in. The door was thick, as much as he pounded it, it wouldn't even dent. His fists were turning reddish purple and his hands were throbbing in pain. After a particularly loud screech, the door slid to the side abruptly and a uniformed grunt stared him down.

"Pipe down you stupid kid!" the man snarled and the red head backed up in fear and sniffed. His legs were trembling, yet he managed to glare at the foot soldier, in the next instance, the heated glare melted right off and Silver bit down a whimper of fright. Hulking behind the man was the nasty outline of a rhydon. The beast lumbered behind its trainer, its plated tail thrashing from side to side. Taking a shaky breath, the Johto native searched for a way out but to no avail, he was stuck in this place.

"You've been a real headache you know that kid?" the sinister man grinned, "all the other ones have quieted down, but you...Need some discipline instilled in your puny head it seems." The rhydon growled as if agreeing and Silver scooted further inside the cell. He was terrified of this man and his rhydon. "...It's punishment time little Silver" the smile inched wider till it was splitting the individual's face into two, "hope my lovely Rhydon here makes it a memorable account~" The red head screamed in fright as the horn on the drill pokemon's head started spinning rapidly, producing a high pitched whine. Opening its jaws wide, the grey monster let out an earthshaking roar and stamped its thick hind legs on the ground. The trainer could only watch as the roaring came closer along with a set of dirty white teeth that were the size of his fingers. Closer and closer it came and he could feel the pain already, the beast's foul breath washed over his face and he screwed his eyes shut, praying to whatever deity monsters to free him out of this predicament. Nothing answered his prayers. The crunch of his arm shattering was loud in his ears and sweat poured down his neck and back from sheer agony...the awful gnarls was deafening him and his whole body twitched.

Silver jolted awake.

In the gloom, the cavern was shaking and he could hear the distant roars of a beast echoing through the Den. His whole body was covered with a sheen of sweat. For the past several days, he heard those thundering growls. It came from deep within the base, alas all his snooping provided no results. Whenever he heard those unholy sounds, his whole body shuddered involuntarily and before long, he started having nightmares of his past. The silver eyed male held his breath as another growl ripped through space, exhaling, he crept out of bed and began to put on clothes. A black full sleeved shirt and black pants. Pulling his messy hair into an equally messy bun, he slapped on a pair of night vision goggles and set out to explore. It was easy to navigate the twisting tunnels when they were devoid of grunts. Stealthily he crept across the downward sloping floors and came across the room Courtney forbade him to enter. Acting as an amnesiac certainly had its merits. He was free to roam around and make stupid blunders. Unfortunately it also meant that he couldn't lash out at Tabitha when the rotund male picked on him, Silver smirked, it was a small price to pay for such an easy mission.

The entrance before him was marked with a strange crest and the spy regretted not brining a flashlight with. The world before his eyes was a digital green and it was beginning to give him a headache. Crouching on the dirt floor, he put his ear against the door and immediately regretted his decision when another bellow rang out. The noise rattled his brains and forced his breath to still, the sheer horror he felt on hearing it was indescribable. Panting and wanting to find out once and for all what exactly was making such a discord he gripped the door and pushed it, to his astonishment, it offered no resistance and opened easily. Caught off-guard, he stumbled into the room and let out a silent gasp.

It was like stepping into a different world.

The chamber was circular and softly lit with different shades of pastel. Niches and alcoves ran around the length of the walls and these spaces were filled with thousands of psychic pokemon each glowing in a different color of light. The kaleidoscope dimly illuminated a hulking figure which was sitting in the middle of the room surrounded by a wide metallic ring. Briefly forgetting his fear, the adolescent stepped forward, his boots echoing on the tiles and came to a stop before the monster and froze. There was no mistaking the plated armor and the massive steel tipped claws, even the crimson pupils were the same. But how? Groudon was in the Dex-criminals' grasp and he was sure it was not stolen from them. Was this a clone then? Cautiously, the thief circled the beast and stopped when he came to the front. Groudon's chest was peeled away to reveal a mess of flexible tubes and pipes feeding into what looked like a metal ribboned heart. The organic tissue was pulsing eerily against the thin sheets and like the psychic pokemon inside the chamber; it emitted a multicolored light every time it throbbed. The beats were sickeningly loud and carried an ominous weight to it. Inhaling sharply, Silver crept closer to the monster and put a hand to it. The body of Groudon was very cold and felt synthetic. Like it was made from an alloy of metals. Sweeping his gaze around the room once more, he came to an understanding. This legendary monster was a fake, a marvelous creation by Team Magma; however it lacked life and thus needed copious amounts of energy just to get its manufactured heart pumping. Pulling the goggles off, Silver peered at the monster's lifeless pupils and felt a pang of sympathy; this little project was not going to end well. It was virtually impossible to create another legendary by means other than cloning or breeding, both which have been forbidden by the International Pokemon Association. As the male turned to leave, a small orange pokemon floated before him and sped away into the gloomy depths. The silver eyed trainer halted...Victini...why was it here?

A growl tore through the humming silence and the man half turned to see the semi-beast and machine moving. The previously dead eyes rolled around their sockets and pseudo Groudon stirred, its metallic joints creaking and whining. The sound coming out of the legendary was unnatural and without thinking, Silver bolted from the chamber. His mind reeled...Victini, the victory pokemon. Team Magma's plan was already an award winning success.

* * *

 **Character Ages. Ending with team Strategy  
**

Green: 24 years old currently, was 22 at the beginning of the story

Crystal: 21 was 19

Emerald: 18 was 16

Pearl: 16 was 14

White: 19 was 17 (He is the same age as Ruby and Saph)

Each arc spans around one year

* * *

 **A/N:** Much thanks for all the reviews and support! I had fun writing about the Sinnoh trio's battles, Diamond's strategy is quite genius no? And a bit more about Silver's tragic past. At Miniwolfy2: Thanks so much for reviewing! I hope you will continue to support this story and that the chapters will not disappoint. As for him…he gets angrier? You will have to read to find out. At Jack54311: Hahaha, revel in the mystery! Misty probably wants to catch them so she can knock some common sense into his skull. Green quitting the Dex-criminals? Does it happen? At Silver: You have a point…they are all alive. I always wanted some girl to kick Lack-2 so it finally occurs to him that not everyone will fall at his feet and Saph was perfect. No problem if there is no summary, hey, people are busy right? Platina's family are really supportive, since they have money to burn and why wouldn't you want them to get caught? Won't it be intriguing to see how they sort themselves out? Sorry for the cookies (you cake monster :P) I was pretty distracted with my studying. At Eevee: It's heartwarming when I see a reader actually takes note of all the little itty bitty stuff that goes on between the lines. Writing is no joke (well…at least to me.) As for Green, I'm glad you noticed, basically he is going through negative character development, Red and to some extent Blue as well due to the stress of their somewhat strained relationship. Their stance gets better so please look forward to that. And the love from across the oceans was much appreciated. At AceTrainerLeaf: I covet reviews since they tell me what the readers think. Ah, we don't have mangoes anymore but the coconuts are still there. Do you like coconut water? I'm not a huge fan but my family loves them. I'm happy that the characterization of the characters are coming along well. Please keep on supporting.

Virtual canned coconut water to all. The stuff from Malaysia tastes real good (If there are any readers from that country, you guys are doing an excellent job with the coconut water!)


	39. Spinning out of orbit

**Chapter 39: Spinning out of orbit  
**

Early morning

Hoenn

Cave of Origin, Whi-2's bedroom

"..."

The scenes on her portable computer could've come out of one of the fantasy movies she and her friends loved to watch. Except that it was real and very definitely happening. After bugging Archie's room with button cameras, Whi-2 spent all her free time holed up in her room. Fortunately Shelly didn't ask any questions and thus the little spy was free to do what she wanted. A week had passed and the events slowly unfolding before her left her bewildered. Her understanding finally cleared up when she observed the series of events. This morning, Archie was presented with a small silver case from one of the scientists working for Team Aqua, when it was opened, Whi-2 gasped. Nestled in folds of black velvet, a half-sphere glowed with an ethereal blue light. The hemisphere was cracked, the edges sharp, glinting and uninviting. Seeing the blue orb, the leader of team Aqua cradled his treasure with care and after sending Shelly (who was visibly concerned about him) out of his private chamber, he stabbed himself with the half-orb. Disturbed, Whi-2 forced down the hot cocoa she was drinking and put the cup away...She had lost her appetite. To the young girl's shock, the crystal started sinking down on the back of Archie's hand, the commander endured the pain with gritted teeth and a few swear words. From where the glass ball was being assimilated into him, electric blue lines began spreading, over his hands and even flashing across his face. Once the orb stopped merging, it was barely visible, just a small window of blue on Archie's hand. The man himself laughed maniacally, his eyes wide with insane mirth; he howled and came to a stop before Kyogre's tank. The two stared at each other and with a cruel, sick grin, the Aqua leader swiped his hand...And to Whi-2's horror...

Kyogre did the same.

She watched with morbid fascination, when Archie walked, Kyogre followed, when he spoke, the mythical creature listened to him attentively. It was madness. The legendary beings are known not to associate themselves with humans, whether they be trainers or the like and here was the ruler of the seas doing somersaults in its gigantic tank simply because a criminal minded man was waving his hand's about. With a forefinger, Archie began tracing lines on the tank, his eyes lidded, seemingly lost in a pleasure only he was aware of. In response to him, Kyogre began bashing its head along those lines and fissures appeared. A thunderous crack announced the end of Kyogre's confinement, the glass split into many sections and tons of water gushed out, momentarily flooding Archie's room before flowing away to create havoc in other areas. Man and beast were alone when suddenly Shelly barged in unannounced.

"Archie!" she gasped, her uniform wet, "this is bad! This is very bad...the weather is going out of control! The waves around this cave are towering high and if we don't escape this island soon we will..." she stopped when the man merely chuckled.

"Kyogre must be hungry" he rasped and Whi-2 shivered, "ever since we recaptured her, I didn't feed her. I suppose a good meal will stabilize its emotions and the ocean around Cave of Origin would calm down don't you think?" Shelly shuddered at his words, her body had spasmed when bloodshot eyes leered at her.

"Sir...What are you-"

Team Aqua's admin did not finish her sentence. The last thing she saw was Kyogre's cavernous mouth looming up and a set of pristine white jaws. Pain did not even register when she was suddenly bifurcated at the waist. In Whi-2's room, a scream tore through the air and the youngster violently shoved the laptop away, she was sweating heavily and gagging. Swallowing thickly, she gingerly picked her smashed laptop and stowed it away whilst being acutely aware of a gurgling sound rushing down the corridors.

It was time to evacuate.

Taking a split second to reach this decision, the young Unovian crammed her damaged computer in a back pack and shouldered it, after giving the chamber a sweep; she stepped out only to see a wall of water bearing down on her.

"Frillish" she called, "use surf!" at the same time, the wave crashed down and she leapt onto her pokemon's back, the swell of water propelled them outwards and she clung on to dear life as they haphazardly shot out of the entrance of the cave. When she beheld the circumstances outside, her mind refused to believe it. Towering tornadoes of wind and water were raging on the surface of the ocean as were giant whirlpools. The sky was thick with pregnant clouds and she watched mute, as terrified pokemon fled. Bobbing helplessly in the middle of the ocean Whi-2 felt the energy drain out of her. It began to rain. It began to pour and hail, the chunks of ice hitting her face. Her listless swaying was broken when the cave behind her collapsed. A giant whirlpool began sucking the tiny landmass in and after it was taken under, Kyogre emerged with Archie on its back. The trainer felt numb with fright...Was she supposed to engage this man? Would she even survive a fight with a legendary? Out of nowhere, an arm roughly grabbed her by the waist and she felt her breath punch out of her.

"You okay kid?" It was Brawly; he was surfing at high speed on some kind of motorized surfboard, his turquoise spikes whipped around in the wild wind. "You better recall your mon, or else it might be gobbled up." It was awkward to do so whilst he was carrying her but after fumbling for a bit, her frillish was safe in a pokeball. Holding her securely, the gym leader weaved himself between cyclones and howling tempests.

"Where are you taking me?" Whi-2 was grateful for the body heat seeping out of the older adolescent; at least she won't freeze to death.

"Mauville, Police headquarters" The fight type gym leader sharply angled his head away when a particularly large bit of ice fell from the black sky. "You will be safe there...And stop wriggling! It's taking all my concentration just to keep my balance on this board." The girl in his arms shifted restlessly.

"No..." Brawly looked at her quizzically, "Please not the police..." once again, fear cloyed in her throat and Whi-2 found herself shedding tears involuntarily. A heavy weight constricted in her chest and not for the first time did she find herself cursing for the predicament she fell in. At first the boarders between her normal life in Unova and her new one in the Dex-criminals had been very defined. Sharp. Now the lines were all blurred and she couldn't remember where she was more content. The thought scared her and it was at times such as these that she internally lamented at her situation...how did her seniors do these things on a regular basis without losing their minds? She often wondered. The load on her chest was suffocating...She wanted friends who understood her...however she didn't want to be a criminal.

She didn't want to do this.

"I'm part of the Dex-criminals" she shouted over the tempestuous winds, her salty tears mixing with ocean spray and rain, "If you take me to the police...My life...My life" briefly she pictured herself behind bars and the realization of how close she was to being captured brought on a wave of nausea. "Don't take me to them please" she pleaded, "I just...want to go back safe and sound."

The surfing trainer noticed how she did not mention home. He opened his mouth to ask a question but at that moment a loud synthetic tone added to the cacophony assaulting his ears. The occupant in his arms stilled, dug her hands in her pockets and brought out a fancy communications device. Without missing a heartbeat she answered it, her previously wavering tone firming into one of relief.

"Ms. Blue!" Whi-2 sobbed happily.

* * *

A few days ago, morning

Sinnoh

Mount Coronet

Three pre-teenagers gazed upwards and saw an airship descending from the skies. Platina was at first apprehensive when she noticed the large blimp bearing the crest of Team Galactic however, when the airship lowered, she spied Blue waving behind the large front windows, Ruby was with her and Emerald was manning the controls. Constellate's commander looked fashionably out of place with a pair of reflective goggles covering half her face and a tight fitting, fur lined parka. She jumped out of the hovering vehicle wearing silver stiletto boots and Ruby followed her. The male was dressed similarly to his leader, Platina noticed he missed his hat; instead, a striped bandanna was used to cover his forehead. Pulling off the goggles Blue flashed the trio a grin, winked at her subordinate and after shaking her glossy mane of hair backwards, she entered the abandoned base. The Sinnoh trio and Ruby followed behind whilst Emerald stayed back in the ship lest they needed a quick getaway. Inside the base, Blue wrinkled her nose and blinked. Somehow, someone (her suspicion fell on Diamond) managed to cram a small but functioning kitchen inside the empty base. Makeshift stoves powered with tree branches, an igloo type thing which served as a refrigerator and a hollowed out boulder doubling as a basin all surprised her. Smiling, she turned her attention to the captives who were bound and tied, the three Dex-holders clearly kept their distance from them. The Galactic members were bound tightly and their injuries were left untreated. Mars, who was stabbed in the gut, was in a coma and her wounds were turning a ghastly purple. The other members who were conscious all glared at her and the blue eyed female found her lips stretching in both pity and sadism.

"I suppose you remember how you injured Platina when we were snooping around your base in Veilstone huh?" she asked, her voice a whisper near Cyrus' ear, "payback...You should feel humiliated to be upended by a bunch of brats" The man didn't twitch at her words. He stayed still as a rock, his cobalt stare apathetic. Blue's sharp gaze travelled over the bedraggled group and settled on Cyrus and Charon. "Ruby, Platina...Round the leader and his old crony up. Team Galactic has been doing research on the creation legendries for a long time now and I'm very sure they have information that is of use to us. Since we can't lug the merry group all the way to Johto, we will have to leave the rest. Only the once who score top marks are allowed to board the Galactic express Airship~" she trilled a laugh, "anyway, we need to head back to base and commence the creation of the red chain immediately." The Kanto native noticed how Charon went frigid and Cyrus inhaled abruptly. "Of course our new...Comrades..." she spoke the word with thinly veiled disgust "will be the one doing the actual work. And there is no use trying to wriggle your way out. I _know_ you people have a method of creating the red chain. Don't worry; you will be rewarded for your efforts." Ruby snickered at his commander's antics and began to haul the two adults with him, when Charon started sputtering; the teenager's milotic slammed a stiffened tail in the small of his back. Jupiter watched as her commander and Charon were taken away, the brown haired woman imparted another vile simper before tossing a card at her feet and marching away with her head held high. The executive's eyes lingered on the card, her vision filled with an image of a cluster of dark blue stars.

Evening

Johto

Mahogany Town, Dex-criminal's hideout.

Following their mission, the three of them had separated again. Pearl didn't know how to feel about that. After the harrowing battle with the Galactic commanders inside Mount Coronet's base, Platinum had suggested that the assaulting adults be tied up. She immediately called Blue who, understandably, threw a fit. The flushed woman scolded them for not contacting earlier and her tone dripped with concern when she was briefed on the events. Blue then told them to sit tight as she herself would come retrieve them, true to her word, she arrived a day later in a jaw hanging fashion. Two of the Galactic commanders were taken prisoner and once they landed in Johto after a day and half's journey, a meeting was called. Right now, Pearl flanked Green and watched his two best friends do the same with their commanders. Dia was as usual, stuffing a an article of food in his mouth and Red who sat on a plush couch next to him, rested his cheek on a fist and stared off into space, his cap low and jaw set. Blue crossed her legs and tapped on her arm rest and standing beside her, Platina was as motionless as a statue. Three pairs of eyes locked on to the two new occupants sitting on the floor of the chamber. Cyrus' wrists were raw with rope burns.

"Cyrus and Charon, leader and vice-leader of Team Galactic..." Red's monotone broke the suffocating silence in the opulently decorated room and very slowly his mouth stretched into a diabolical smile "Dia did a number on you people, I wish I was there to see it." His loud exhale was heard by everyone in the room and Green curbed the urge to roll his eyes.

"So what are we going to do with them Blue?" The spiky haired commander asked.

"Hmm I-"

"Use them to create the red chain Green...Dialga's sake aren't you supposed to be the brains in our group?" Red retorted and swiped a cupcake from Diamond, when the cyan eyed boy blinked and looked at him; he got a pat on his head and a kind smile in return.

"Your ingenious streaks are really annoying..." the brown haired adolescent sighed, "go bash your head when you train with your snorlax or something. Hopefully you'll return to your dumb, goofy self."

The desire he kept buried deep inside was casually blurted out and Green inwardly swore. He needed to keep his emotions under control.

"...As Red mentioned, I'm going to use them to create the Red chain" Blue replied.

"Commander" Platina spoke up with a respectful nod of her head, "what if they refuse?" At this point, the younger generation collectively gaped when all three of the seniors sported mildly disturbing smiles.

"We" Red began

"Have" Green continued

"Our ways" finished Blue.

Cyrus trembled. He now knew the meaning of fear.

* * *

Mid-morning

Hoenn

Gnarled Den

"It's finished" Maxie announced, his face alight with glee. Tabitha, Blaise and Courtney all watched as the inorganic Groudon shifted and roared. The metallic screeching was horrible to the ears but the leader of Team Magma cared naught. His only concern was the smooth functioning of this monstrosity. A small cage dangled out of Tabitha's plump fingers, he lifted the pen upwards and observed the anguished expression on Victini's face. The victory pokemon was squeaking loudly and trying to free itself, its large eyes were wide with what the obese male assumed as dread. It kept on glancing at the pseudo Groudon and thrashing frantically. Maxie grabbed the cage out of Tabitha's hands and stared at the beast.

"We don't need it anymore" he said, "this pokemon has served its purpose...as much as I'd like to put an end to it so that it does not fall in other hands, I'm not that cruel. After all its thanks to Victini we will finally be able to reach our GOALS!" A resounding cheer was thrown up by the executives in the circular chamber, the humming of psychic pokemon got louder. Maxie undid the bolt on Victini's gilded encasement and at once the small monster flew out at an astonishing speed. The occupants in the room watched it go and the orange furred pokemon did not look back. Once it sped out of sight, the attention refocused on Groudon. The movements of the mechanical beast were slow and clunky, nevertheless it was the type of horror Maxie envisioned and wanted.

"Sire" Courtney spoke up, her thin voice slicing through the vibrations, "please give it a command, I'd like to see how it reacts to you." Her eyes were shining with admiration.

Trepidation.

Maxie felt it. When he first proposed the creation of a fake Groudon to Archie, his plan was lauded by the dark skinned man, the two decided on a temporary truce. The original continent pokemon was in the hands of the Dex-criminals and the boss wanted to avoid a tangle with them at all costs. He knew that if he crossed swords with them, it will only end up in his detriment. Finally, the goal of creating a synthetic legendary was put into motion and it required tremendous amounts of energy. The rocket fuel he and Team Aqua stole so masterfully was not enough, eventually he was forced to break into the weather research institute and abduct the powerful psychic pokemon inhabiting the place. Seeing the success the psychic type brought to his ambitious project, he sent out his grunts and commanders to get some more. A special chamber lined with alcoves and niches was constructed for them and it was here he embarked on creating his brainchild. The alloy used to create Groudon was mined from several regions, most notably Sinnoh and Hoenn, the raw material was extracted, hammered into sheets and artfully welded together to create a body. As for the internal organs...Here Maxie was stumped. After much research, he concluded that the mythical being only needed a heart to make it come alive; the rest of its internal functioning could be handled by illusions and the psychic type monsters. Around this time, he commanded Tabitha to bring him Victini. The tiny pokemon was insurance and it served well. A heart was grown in the labs and due to its size, it was interleaved with metal. After many months of painstaking work...It was finished.

But a knot still formed in his stomach...Trepidation.

Exhaling and glancing at the admiring looks his underlings gave him, Maxie worded out a command: "Groudon, use Earth power."

In his last moments, he would come to regret ever making this cyborg.

A roar ripped through space and the chamber's floor cratered, plumes of red-white fire erupted from the cracks and he watched as his underlings burned, the fire continued to spread, engulfing the room in a hellish blaze. The only people spared were Courtney and himself, his lilac haired subordinate's clothes were singed and he was perfectly unharmed. She made a small noise as the bleached bones of her co-workers, began falling to the cracked floor.

Thud

Thud.

A femur splintered into dust.

The earth began rocking; swaying like it was made of liquid. Courtney yelled in fright as the entire cavern started shaking. An earthquake was taking place, splitting the already cracked floor wider. Huge fissures snaked outwards from Groudon.

"Earthquake Boss!" the only living member screamed with fright, "please evacuate immediately...Huh?"

The pseudo legendary had teleported.

Maxie stood, awestruck.

It teleported, the continent beast was not capable of teleportation. That was a fact. Seconds later, the leader himself felt a pulling sensation and within moments he too had vanished.

Silver was outside the door when chaos broke loose. When he woke up, he discretely observed Courtney and the others making their way down here. Silently he tailed them and stood guard outside the crested door. He noted the mark on the gateway consisted of a single ancient letter. The letter O which was broken up at the bottom with the edges turned outwards. He took a picture of and cross referenced it. Omega, the symbol on the door was one denoting greatness. While he waited, he heard the fake mythical monster emit growls and the sounds sent shudders down his spine. At last, when the creature fully woke, it bode well for no one. An earthquake swept through the base and it only increased in magnitude. Without further ado, he ran from the place, his mind leading him to a single destination. He abandoned everything else and flew through the twisting corridors in an attempt to get outside. His sister needed to be informed immediately. He was well aware of Team Aqua's plans and if the two clashed, Hoenn, no, the face of the Poke-verse will be dramatically altered with heavy casualties of course. Dodging confused grunts, he weaved himself between bewildered soldiers and outright knocked the ones barring his way. Weavile was shifting in its ball and the red head spared it a comforting glance. He will not bring out his partners in such danger. Just as the mouth of the cave loomed up to him, a stalactite dislodged from the roof of the cave and came crashing down. The trainer gasped in pain as it went through his stomach and pinned him on the floor.

The Johto native couldn't move. A red stain was spreading from the stabbing point coloring his maroon uniform a fire red. It was agony and never in his wildest dreams did Silver think that being impaled in the stomach will hurt this much. He flopped helplessly on the floor, smearing his blood on the dusty earth. Grimacing, he tried to reach for the deadly projectile, but was unable to. Feeling the strength ebb from his limbs he began digging in his pockets for his gear, at least he could inform Blue. As soon as he held the device with both hands and dialed his sibling's number, a wedge of rock rained from above and smashed downwards. He screamed in pain and fury as his hands were crushed along with his pokegear. Tears pooled at the corner of his eyes and he lost feeling in his arms. Breath hitching, he tried to move, instead any motion sent him tethering to the edge of his consciousness. A stampede of grunts bellowed behind him and Silver went slack.

 _That's it._ He thought.

He was going to die.

* * *

Afternoon of the same day

Hoenn

Sootopolis

To Steven it was the ultimate humiliation and he wondered how Falkner and Anabel were feeling. True to what the man standing before them predicted, an apocalyptic war was taking place. Right at the crack of dawn, the young champion was roused from his sleep by the insistent ringing of his PokeNav. On reading the message, he rushed to Sootopolis' meeting chamber and was put off by the feminine appearance of the individual waiting for him. To his surprise, Norman and the elite four were also present. Immediately he knew something grave was about to happen and when the noble, who identified himself as Ranmaru spoke of an apocalyptic weather disaster, understandably Steven had a difficult time believing him.

"It's going to happen" Ranmaru, dressed in the formal garb of ancient times insisted, his pleasant voice commanding attention. "You have to put defensive measures in place, my Lord; Nobunaga will not be pleased if the geography of the Poke-Earth is changed in anyway. Hoenn will be destroyed if you allow them to fight."

"Yes we understand Lord Ranmaru" Anabel inhaled and shifted in her seat. The room they were in was one of the most lavishly decorated in all of Hoenn. When she got word that a noble from Ransei was going to grace them with his presence, she pulled strings to get this meeting chamber. Unfortunately, Ranmaru remained unfazed when he walked in, followed by his lucario who wore jeweled bracelets and anklets. The noble merely sat on a throne-esque chair and began briefing. "We need confirmation before the police are allowed to act." The man simply smiled and to his disgust, Steven found himself captivated. He saw Norman turn his face away with a twitch of his lips. At that exact moment, the windows of the chamber burst inwards, shards of glass whizzing past like bullets. The steel haired champion whirled around along with the rest of the gathering to witness pandemonium.

"See?" Ranmaru continued calmly, "I told you" he got up from his chair and dusted off several glass pieces from his elaborate clothes, "I'll be taking my leave now..." his lilting voice instilled a measure of fear, "Please try and save your homeland. Those criminals must be punished." And with a swirl of white and blue silk, both he and lucario were gone.

Anabel rose from her seat and looked at Steven squarely in the eye. "This is your responsibility" she voiced, "you are the champion of Hoenn and you should put down this crisis." He nodded solemnly, "of course, the other police officers are not going to sit idle. I'll be responsible for the paperwork and other behind the scene nonsense." The pink haired officer bit her lip, "having warlord Ranmaru here was a subtle warning to us all. If we don't stop this disaster, we will have more than a damaged Hoenn to think about."

"I'd appreciate it if they helped us" Steven worded, his face betrayed no emotions. "The noble told us that Groudon and Kyogre are going to fight. If I remember correctly, Groudon is in the hands of the Dex-criminals..."

"He said it was not the original" Falkner cut in "even so, the energy signatures are on par to the real one."

"Team Aqua and Team Magma...I didn't think they would rear their heads like this..." One of the elite four muttered. Norman didn't speak; instead he strode to the shattered windows and viewed the proceedings outside. The sky, thick with grey clouds was swirling and flashing with thunder. Before his very eyes, the wall of clouds parted and harsh sunlight filtered through. Within moments, the raging winds and heavy rain pour had ceased and the very air, which was humid, had begun to dry. The powerful rays of the sun burned away the clouds and the heat intensified to unbearable proportions. Before long, steam rose from the ocean. All this happened so fast it left the normal type gym leader wondering if he was perhaps witnessing the end of the world.

"It started" he spun from the window and stated. Steven tugged on his collar and several others fanned themselves, the sun was scorching.

"Rayquaza...Is the only one capable of stopping them." The champion breathed "how are we going to solve this crisis?"

"Stevie" Wallace squeezed the younger male's shoulders comfortingly "you can do it...lead us and we will fight. Hoenn is our home and we have to protect it." The grey haired male took a moment to compose himself and when he opened his eyes, determination gleamed in them. The group smiled at each other and moved.

Groudon had teleported near Kyogre and Maxie found himself slipping off his beast's head. The two leaders eyed each other. Archie was standing serenely on Kyogre's back, in perfect control of the mythical monster supporting him. He was livid; the arrival of Groudon had put an end to the storm his Kyogre had cooked up. Forget the truce he and Maxie had drawn up a year ago, the pokemon universe needed more seas and oceans to provide a living space to water pokemon and thus he decided to act as a savior to them. The world shall drown...there was too much land. He leered at his co-worker and spoke, his guttural voice sounding more broken that it usually is.

"The truce is dissolved, from here onwards; we fight for our own goals and ideals." Maxie's gaunt face registered shock, "step aside or face the consequences...As marvelous as your creation is...It is only a duplicated _fake_."

Pseudo Groudon roared at the insult.

Shockwaves blew the waves back and it lapped over Kyogre, soaking the bottom of Archie's skin tight suit. The mechanized beast was rooted on a little island it created for itself, the land was still fresh and had lava running down the sides. In response to it, Kyogre fired a pressurized stream of water which instantly evaporated when it collided with a ball of fire. The area around the sea beast was steaming, the skies had turned blindingly clear and it was intolerably hot. Sweat clung to both men's skin and surface of the ocean was bubbling. To his alarm, Archie noted that the sea was _boiling_. Overhead, a dozen or so helicopters started circling them like flies. Maxie looked up and his mouth curled in distaste, he had to admire the media's tenacity. At first though, he wanted to burn them all down but after a bit of contemplation, he decided to allow them to record history. After all, if he succeeded, he would be hailed as a god. The choppers circled around and camera crews were already filming the war taking place. It was extremely dangerous to be in such close proximity to these legendary beasts but who could ignore an exclusive scoop? Several cameras zoomed up on the weather duo, capturing the overwhelming hatred and energy. The lava around Groudon's islet came in contact with water and solidified into new land, slowly but surely, the landmass began expanding outwards, pushing the lord of the seas away. Kyogre caused a tidal wave which swept its advancing nemesis several meters backwards.

As usual, it was several hours before Steven and his crew were given the get go. In the meantime, the chief of police and her vice worked tirelessly, assigning police officers and gym leaders to evacuate civilians from problem areas. The steel eyed man paced on the floor of the decorated chamber, the atmosphere was tense. Once in a while, he would glance at a flat screen television which showed news. He watched as a gigantic tsunami crashed into Slateport city, the surge of water was akin to a living beast, it uprooted trees, overturned cars and demolished low rise buildings. Panicking people, their forms tiny, ran helter skelter through the city. Elsewhere, Mount Chimney had erupted and surrounding towns, such as Lavaridge and Fallarbor had been pelted with boulders exploding out of the active volcano. Ash rained down like snow. Inhaling, the champion tore his gaze away from the screen. He already knew from here on out, there will only be announcements of death and destruction.

The door the chamber flew open and Falkner along with Anabel strode in, the chief's cotton candy pink hair streamed out behind her and her visage was one of strained worry.

"You are can go" she hastily informed the motely group, "there is a silver helicopter waiting for you outside, it'll take you to the location of the fighting legendries." Steven was already walking past her, "be careful" her voice rose an octave, "and come back safe all of you." The door slammed shut and the sound echoed ominously through the vast room. Alone with Falkner, the woman emitted a deep sigh.

Above the two fighting mythical beasts, the silver vehicle hovered and Steven waited, observing with bated breath. For the first in a long time, he felt scared. He wished someone older than him had taken charge, unfortunately being a champion meant that the weight of responsibility fell on him. Sneaking a peek at Norman, who appeared deceptively calm, he leaned out of the open door and surveyed the area. There was a small island around Groudon...Perhaps they could land there. Taking another deep breath, he scoured the skies for Rayquaza, no such luck. Summoning metagross, he leapt on to his beast and floated down. The others faithfully following him, halfway through their descent, the two legendries took note and in tandem roared furiously. The silver copter dented and whisked away whilst metagross threw up a shield to counter. Maxie and Archie watched in disbelief as new occupants jumped down on the still warm earth.

"You will cease this at once" the leader of the strike team spoke, his words forceful, "at the rate you are going, Hoenn will be destroyed."

There was a momentary lull in the area; the two bosses were unable to believe what they were seeing.

"Cease this at once huh?" Team Aqua's leader growled..."try and stop me brat! Kyogre! Ice beam!"

"Flygon, fire back" a low voice spoke from behind Steven. A stream of flames dissolved the ice heading his way and elite four member Drake stepped forward and crossed his arms over his scarred chest.

"I have already warned you" the champion stated again, "stop this at once or we will force you." This time, the mechanical lord of the land swiped his tail and the group took a collective step to the side to avoid the attack. Norman was running out of patience, articulating a low snarl, he attacked.

"Kangaskhan, Fake out"

The parent pokemon launched itself at Groudon and tried to strike it with both hands, however as it lumbered across at high speed, the cyborg rotated its head and fired a mass of condensed energy. It hit the normal type and completely incinerated it. Norman gaped, one moment his partner was there and the next it was gone. Seeing this, the others stilled, horrified by what they witnessed, in the background Maxie grinned evilly. There was nothing that could stop his mecha-beast.

"We need to work together" Steven called out sharply, "if we attack all at once, it will be to our advantage. Listen well, none of you are allowed to attack alone! You will be putting your pokemon in grave danger!" As he was speaking, Archie nudged Kyogre closer to the island, he and Maxie shared a look and mutual understanding passed between them. In tandem, the legendary duo began glowing with power, the seas acted up again, choppy waves threatening to submerge them, on land, the ground began to heat up and the male could see how the earth smoldered, as Kyogre and Groudon fired elemental blasts, the resisting group gracefully scattered. Most took to the skies, a few surfed the seas. Norman and Steven stayed on land and glared. The steel type champion tapped metagross once and instantaneously it fired flash cannon. When the light died down, instead of counter attacking with the mythical beast under his command, Archie leapt on the island and barreled straight towards him. Too late Steven saw the glint of silver in his hand as it came up across his face. Pain exploded in his head and the grey haired man blinked, he shuffled backwards and heard Norman fend the criminal away from him. Gingerly he touched his eyes which were oozing blood and opened them.

Black.

All he saw was a void of nothingness stretching out endlessly in front of him.

* * *

 **A/N:** For anyone who didn't play Pokemon Conquest, go Google Ranmaru…the dude's feminine appearance is a force to be reckoned with. Poor Stevie though is he going to be okay? At Eevee: Reading a tired Eevee's (dead of the night) contemplations are pretty interesting I really enjoy your reviews, so go ahead and hog the review section…on second thought…everyone can hog it. The more the merrier right? Saph doesn't really keep her mouth shut; she's that kind of person, Ruby dressing Green up…hehehehe. Well, I was considering your tumblr proposition except that I don't really know how it (tumblr) works. Sorry, I'm not into social network sites. But yeah, I'd be happy to interact. The only time I go on there is when I need pictures for my story and to read material for inspiration. At Jack54311: Whoa, I guess I wrote it pretty convincingly, the dying scene that is. Ominous vibes? The instincts don't lie. At AceTrainerLeaf: I'm not from Malaysia but I do live in Asia somewhere. Malaysia is nice; maybe I can go live there once I'm done studying. The formation thing just popped in my head when I considered that Dia and his friends will probably loose against so many executives (I mean in the games a single player can pound all them… but let's be a bit more realistic shall we?) so I decided to make the battle different. I'm you liked it because I really enjoyed writing that scene. At Silver: You have quite a few theories there and I must say, they are all well thought out (thumbs up) Meh, I'll start saying Congratulations already. Read on to see how many came true!

Heartfelt gratitude to ADUAN II for favoriting my story. Please keep on reading and reviewing, they are food for the soul. Virtual food for the soul to everyone supporting! Silver, here's your cake :D


	40. When tides swell but the earth runs dry

**Chapter 40: When tides swell but the earth runs dry  
**

Mid-morning

Johto

Dex criminal's hideout

It was a rare sight to see Ruby with bed hair, but as most of his team members were doing other missions, the fashionista allowed himself to look ugly just this once. Johto boasted a fine morning with clear skies and a shining sun. He stepped in Constellate's common room wearing pajamas and scrutinized his appearance in one of the giant mirrors. Ruffling his head, he concluded that he didn't look bad, even if he neglected to comb his hair and hide his scar. Putting his face close to the looking glass, he slowly parted his thick strands and stared at the slash marks decorating his forehead. Delicately, he traced the jagged edges and sighed. Bored of gazing, he spun around and grabbed a remote lying on the velvet couch. Switching on the television, he vacated the room and made a beeline for the kitchen. Fortunately no one was in there and he quickly grabbed a bottle of cold juice and bolted back to the common room. Unscrewing the cap and taking a swig, he took a quick glance at the screen and...

 _Froze._

"...Dad?" He whispered; his eyes wide as he sluggishly lowered the bottle. Discreetly, he observed as Norman dished out his most powerful attacks on the opposing legendary, despite his best efforts, the normal type gym leader was being pushed back. Slaking's hyper beams and punches were shrugged off like nothing. Forgetting his surroundings, the teenager moved closer to the giant screen, his mouth agape with shock. Groudon telepathically lifted his father and hurled the older male in the raging seas. Ruby's breathing became ragged and with a crash he dropped the juice to the floor.

"DAD!" he screeched and gripped the huge screen with both hands. The orange colored fluid spilled over the vinyl sheet and his bare feet. Moments later Blue and Platina rushed in to see the normally calm trainer shaking the monitor and screaming his lungs out. Without missing a beat, the oldest female took a customary peek and inhaled sharply, she knew what was happening in Hoenn thanks to Whi-2 and her younger brother but this...the situation had escalated beyond control. Gently, she pulled the screeching Ruby away from the flat screen and hugged him; however the red eyed teenager did not want comfort. He shoved his team leader away and whirled around to see if his father surfaced. The video cut to the elite four and Wallace who were keeping Kyogre busy, the water type trainer surfed expertly on the rough ocean and dodged the sea beast's attacks gracefully.

"My dad..." his voice rose in pitch "WHERE IS MY DAD?!"

"Ruby...Please calm down!" Blue spoke, her tone vacillating as well.

"HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO BE CALM WHE..." his breath hitched "WHEN HE...HE'S GOING TO DROWN. My dad...Is gonna drown..." he added bitterly, tears sliding down his face.

"No he's not going to drown. Believe in him. I'll call Whi-2 and Silver so they can update me on the situation." The Hoenn trainer ignored her in favor of gazing at the television. Platina quietly sat down preferring not to tangle in the already sticky situation. She silently observed her seniors. Blue perched on the other end of the couch and brought her poke gear out. Worry gnawed on her mind as she dialed her youngest underling's number first. At the third ring, the girl picked up and the Kanto native let out a sigh of relief.

"Ms. Blue!" Whi-2 choked out a sob but nevertheless managed to smile, "I got saved by a member of the police by the name of Brawly..."

Eh?

"I was really scared when he told me he was taking me to the Police headquarters in Mauville" Blue was not one who was easily surprised, but she had to admit this was one of the most bizarre situations she witnessed, there was a male voice sputtering in the background as her subordinate calmly rambled on about how Archie created a synthetic blue orb and assimilated it, now the boss had Kyogre perfectly under command. "But when you called me, it gave me hope. You do really care about me! Ah, this gave me some confidence; I think I'll escape now with the jigglypuff you lent me! Thanks Ms. Blue, please don't worry about me, I'll be okay. Till then!" The screen blanked with a little beep sound and the brunette simply sat there and blinked. A tiny smile tugged her lips and her visage morphed into a tender expression. Shaking her head, she dialed a second number and waited.

And waited...

 _The person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable._

Her hands trembled.

This was impossible. Silver always answered his calls, especially if they came from Blue; it was an unwritten code between the two siblings. Breathing deeply, she looked upwards, pressed her eyes shut and waited patiently for five seconds before retrying.

"Please Silver...Pick up and tell me you are okay" she monologued and fixed her eyes on the T.V, currently, Hoenn was not a place one wanted to be in. The reporter on screen was the bearer of bad news, cameras showed scenes of disaster, Petalburg woods broke out in a fire caused by the intense heat of the sun's rays, she heard the baying and screaming of stampeding pokemon as they ran for safety. In the seas, numerous dead pokemon floated to the surface and large areas were dotted with the bloated, rotting corpses of water type beasts.

 _The person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable._

Her heart skipped a beat.

Mechanically, she put the gear away and slouched. Ruby still had his face glued to the monitor, the boy had stopped shouting. As for Platina, the heiress's face betrayed scant emotions. If the girl didn't blink or breathe, Blue could've considered her as a statue contributing to indoor decor. The team leader sat numbed as her instincts screamed at her to move, to do something. She didn't know what to do, deep down it occurred to her that something grave must've happened to Silver. For all she knew, he could be bleeding out his life somewhere and she wouldn't be there to help him. With these tormenting contemplations occupying her head, she got up from the couch and went out. Her feet carried her down slanting passages and numerous rooms. In the corridors, she briefly bumped into Yellow and Gold, the latter, wearing a perverted smirk, commended the skirt she wore. Brushing past them briskly, Blue allowed herself to get lost and only returned to the realm of reality when she stood outside a familiar door. Not bothering to knock, she entered and a blast of warm air hit her face. The bedroom was deadly silent, punctuated only by heavy breathing. Dragging herself across the carpet her eyes caught a framed picture dominating half of the wall. It was a portrait of them, the Dex-holders and Silver's unsmiling face leapt up to her. Swallowing down apprehension, she crossed the room and stared at the individual buried underneath duvet covers. Her mind was in a conflict, this was her problem, not his and since the three of them became best friends, she had a bad habit of relying on him during troubling situations. Inside this isolated space, it felt like time stood still. The curtains were not drawn and sunlight filtered in. Suppressing her morbid ponderings, she strode closer to the four poster bed and tugged on the thick comforter, with a flick of her wrist, she threw the heavy blanket off.

Red didn't wake up, he merely shifted and buried his face deeper in the pillow, his raven hair was a tangled mess and left the woman wondering when last he combed it. She stood next to his bed and once again wondered why she was doing this. Of course...

 _Green wouldn't help her anyway._

The spiky haired brunette would tell her to calm down and analyze the situation whereas the idiot sleeping in front of her would assure her that everything would be okay and proceed to shoulder the burden on his own. The two were different, one rational and calm, possessing a clear head and stable feelings; the other was irrational, fiery with emotions that swung from overly hopeful to despondently depressed, but they clicked together, complimenting each other perfectly. Blue felt guilty...It was like she used him when it suited her.

She used her co-workers.

"Red...Red please wake up..." Perhaps it was the shaking in her voice but the adolescent murmured a few garbled words underneath his breath and cracked open both his eyes. Blue was slightly taken aback by the sheer languor shown in those blood red irises.

"...I'd appreciate it if you didn't throw my blankets off like that...Next time I might not be wearing my black shirt." Blue didn't blush, instead she plopped down next to him as Red indolently pulled himself into a sitting position. "So what's up?" he questioned, "It's not every day you barge in here looking like someone cut your designer jacket into shreds..." he droned weakly and sighed.

"Silver" the woman couldn't speak anymore...Her voice was a whisper. "There is something wrong with him, Hoenn..." She felt him tense up, "...there is a disaster occurring in Hoenn. Groudon and Kyogre are fighting and Team Aqua and Magma's leaders are instigating the war. You know I sent him and Whi-2 to investigate right? Their mission was to find out the weak points inside the organization so your team could go in and take them down." Pausing, the brown haired female took a deep breath, "it didn't go according to plan. I already spoke to Whi-2...She is doing okay...Somewhat. But Silver...Silver..." at this point, Blue broke down crying, the thought of losing her adoptive brother was one too much to bear. He was the best in his group and due to this; the red head was frequently taken advantage of. Now she regretted ever sending him off alone. "He didn't pick up...Red...Please...Please go save him..." her words trailed off as she stifled a sob. Next to her, the man sat motionless and a few heartbeats later he reached out to the bed stand for his cap, smacking the article of clothing on his untamed hair, he hauled himself out of bed.

"Give me...A few hours first." He crouched down to her level and looked at her, "Don't cry Blue...It looks all wrong on you. Anyway, the legends say Groudon and Kyogre can only be stopped by Rayquaza is it? I heard it from...Green. You have to inform Saph about this. I'll go see him." He got up and headed towards the door.

"Wait! I'm coming with you!" Furiously wiping her tears, Constellate's commander followed suit.

* * *

The jade eyed male trained his poisonous gaze at Blue. He resisted the urge to lash out to his best friends. Red stood protectively in front of her, like he was trying to shield her from the glare he sent them. Green knew this was a crisis and immediate action should be taken but Blue...Always went to Red when she wanted things done quickly and brutally...And when he, Green, was being an obstacle.

"You want to train with Rayquaza, fly over to Hoenn and stop the war that's taking place, save Blue's adopted brother...And you want to do all of this today." The man lowered his eyes to the floor. "Tell me Red...Do you have a freaking death wish?"

"At least it'll save me from the look you are advertising..." the black haired trainer retorted and Green's eyes snapped back upwards.

"Stupidity must be contagious" he muttered lowly and turned, "Do whatever the hell you two want." With a few papers in his hand, Green stalked off to his department's room and as soon as he entered, he saw Yellow getting up from a chair. His face twitched in annoyance and he tried to avoid her; alas, the determined young woman posted herself right in front of him. Swerving around her, he dropped the documents he was carrying on the large table and sat down heavily on one of the chairs. His body posture screeched a warning to anyone idiotic enough to veer near him, however his aide was as thick headed as his moronic best friend and in a few moments she pulled up a chair and sat down next to him.

"What happened?" her soft voice flowed over him; however it did nothing to sooth his rage.

"Nothing..." he breathed and rotated, reaching out towards a laptop, he was about to boot the contraption up when Yellow spoke up again.

"Senior..."

"If you want to talk, try and convince Red not to fly to his death that...half-wit wants to _tame_ Rayquaza" Green waited for Yellow to rush out of the room with her face scrunched up in concern. After all, the blonde did care very much for his friend. To his astonishment, she sat there and a moment later, her hands slowly went up and gently brushed his bangs to the side, she did this several times and Green found his heart beating an erratic rhythm. He was definitely dreaming...well whatever, might as well enjoy the dream while it lasts.

"Senior" she tried again, the man in front of her had zoned out, "Uhm...Green?"

"Yes. What?" he jolted.

"I know you are feeling mad, but please try and consider Senior Blue's feelings as well. I heard that Silver could not be contacted and she is very worried about him. As for Red...we both know his head is thicker than aggron's iron hide and ever since you two fought...none of you have been acting like yourselves. I hope you two make up soon okay? It's affecting the entire organization when the top leaders argue. I don't like it either..." She folded her hands in her lap and stared at the ground.

"I'd never thought I'd live to hear you out of all people scold me..." the female blushed in embarrassment and Green stood up, "thanks for the pep talk...I guess I'll go cool off a bit." Pulling the lab coat tighter around him, he left the room whilst touching his forehead.

Afternoon

Mahogany Town

Dex criminal's hideout

To her surprise Sapphire didn't throw a tantrum when Blue informed her about Hoenn's condition. Instead the female, who was sparring with Black, merely dropped to the floor like a puppet whose strings were cut. She listened with rapt attention and nodded when she heard of Ruby's predicament. When Constellate's commander finished narrating, the Hoenn trainer got up and announced that she was going to tell Emerald about the events and will later join Ruby. Drained of energy, Blue wandered aimlessly around the base and ended up in the room Red was training. She didn't want to go inside and destroy his concentration. He needed it. Lots of it. When the mythical creature was released from the holding cell, it wasted no time and came at Red with open jaws, the crimson eyed trainer saved himself by sidestepping just in time but the beast dipped and tore off the lower part of the once champion's jeans along with a good portion of his skin. Red shrugged the wound off and proceeded to haul Rayquaza to the training room where the two were now engaged in battle. Standing on the threshold, she quietly observed the emerald serpent leering at Red and coiling around in a threatening manner, any glass surfaces or fixtures in the room had shattered and the adolescent's pokemon grouped close to him.

The lord of the skies writhed, a snake poised to strike. Red gripped his cap and his eyes bored onto the monster, beads of sweat ran down his face and neck. Trying to command a legendary was extremely taxing, the creature constantly sought to finish him off for good and it was taking his everything just to keep Rayquaza at bay. The wound on his leg was also boiling agony and he briefly regretted not having Yellow bandage it up. Shifting his weight on the other leg, he stiffened when the serpentine creature suddenly lunged at him.

"Aero!" he rasped and his grey dragon fended the opponent off with a steel wing, numerous jade scales chafed off and fell to the floor, glittering akin to gems. Doing a half turn, the mythical beast struck outwards and Pika jumped off Red's shoulder and met its teeth with an iron tail, it gave an anguished squeak when Rayquaza punched holes in the hardened appendage. Dragging the tail out, Pika hit back with several volt tackles and the pseudo dragon gave the human a wide berth. It circled around the room and Red mumbled a command, at once several vines exploded out of Saur and tried to force the flying beast to the ground, Aero rushed to the constricted snake and gripped it, sharp claws tearing into reptilian skin. Rayquaza roared and poliwrath smashed a fist down its open mouth. The blow was so heavy, the legendary bled and hissed in pain, with a jerk and twist, it tore out of the vines and buckled, however aerodactyl stubbornly held on, digging its nails further in muscle, beating ancient wings in an effort to control the target.

In the hallway, Blue went rigid as she saw Green walking towards her, the individual still had vestiges of anger stamped on his face. Like her, he paused at the entrance and peered inside. The training room was constructed sturdily and because it was used for battling, it did not contain any lavish decorations, the roof was supported with a few pillars whilst parts of the walls were inlaid with steel. The ground was drab grey concrete, no carpet and certainly no tiles. Green watched his friend fling the trademark jacket off to a corner; the male limped a few paces back and wiped sweat from his face. The black shirt he was wearing was wet and plastered to his form. With bated breath, he watched the legendary head-butt one of the attacking creatures away, despite sustaining quite a few injuries; it showed no signs of letting up. The spiky haired professor reached inside his pockets and retrieved a jade colored jewel, tossing it to Blue he added:

"Give that to him, it's the core of the Jade Orb and will tame Rayquaza"

The woman scrutinized the diamond shaped gem. "You...picked this off Emerald's forehead didn't you? I hope you didn't threaten him too severely."

"I don't know why the brat wears a piece of the Jade Orb as a forehead decoration." The commander shrugged, "but I told him that I needed it and he gave it to me..." saying this, he ambled away. Clutching the piece, Blue waited for an opportune moment to present him the piece.

Red snapped his fingers.

Poli spread his feet apart on the ground and lowered, it followed Rayquaza with an analytical stare, the dragon was still struggling to shake the prehistoric beast that clung to him. Holding both of his hands outward, the toad-esque pokemon croaked once and Aero dug out it's claws and flew away in a rapid manner, at the same time the legendary serpent paused and hydro pump hit, a compressed stream of water fired into Rayquaza and sent it sprawling backwards and smacking into a wall. As it slid down and shook itself free of water, Pika executed a thunder whilst giant boulders began forming in midair around Aero, those rocks were hurled and when they impacted, they splintered into pieces leaving large bruises. Unbeknownst to the trainer a neglected pokeball at his belt wriggled and shook, the capsule broke apart and gyarados announced its presence amidst a shower of light. Without waiting for instructions, it shot out to the injured legendary and clamped its saw-toothed jaw down on the dragon's throat. Glimmering green blood seeped out and pooled to the floor, only when Rayquaza stopped thrashing did the sea serpent let up.

"Gyara, return!" Red called out loudly and encapsulated the beast using another ball. Exhaling, he beheld the inert monster and sat down on venusaur after the grass type lifted him up with its vines. The seed pokemon released a few spores and its trainer watched gratefully as the ugly wound on his leg began to heal. Outside Blue cracked a smile and gingerly entered, perhaps the core won't be needed. In a split moment, Rayquaza roared and sprung up, spying a new target it barreled towards her and she screamed, instinctively she held the Jade Orb out and the serpent stopped short of ripping her in half.

"BLUE!" Red jumped down and winced, "...are you okay?"

"Ye-Yes" she shakily answered "I'm okay, more importantly take this, it'll bend Rayquaza's will to follow yours. We can't waste time here Red." The battler's pride was wounded, nevertheless he accepted the jewel. Moments later, Rayquaza was safe inside a pokeball.

Late afternoon

Johto

Mahogany Town

"Eh! You are leaving? I wanna go with you!" Gold whined like a child and Lack-2 grimaced, the amber eyed trainer was trying to board the Rayquaza express as Saph dubbed it. "I'm your student! You can't neglect me!" The red eyed trainer regarded him with a soft expression.

"I'll give you some coins to spend at the game corner...You have to stay here Gold, It's dangerous." He placated

"Deal...NOT! That's why you need me! I have to help you kick some villain butt! And Silver is there, jeez what is that idiot doing at a time like this?"

Red blinked...Didn't he know? "Silver is-"

"Doing great, he's busy tailing the Magma boss" Blue cut in with a cheerful facade and the Johto native huffed in annoyance and grumbled under his breath, he complained about how his best friend ignored his calls. With a pout he retreated inside the base after waving his leader goodbye and Lack-2 followed him. Green watched as Red hopped on Rayquaza, after a harrowing argument between him and Ruby, the eldest male agreed to take Ruby with him and when Sapphire protested, he threw her an acrid glare and the girl quieted down and shuffled closer to Blue.

"Ideally a train or ship would be better" Red opened his mouth but Green held up his hand, "I understand you need to get there immediately...Rayquaza flies at supersonic speeds. I hope your skin doesn't _peel_ off." He took a breath, "Blue will go via train to the Gnarled den..." he stopped right there, Crystal still had no idea in what condition her friend was in.

"Thanks for your concern" Red drawled and grinned, "If I come back without skin, you'll have a new specimen to experiment on..."

"I wasn't joking...Che...He's gone" pressing his lips into a thin line, the brunette was pushed back by a violent gust of wind as Rayquaza launched off. Unseen by anyone, his jade irises swirled with unfathomable distress.

His intelligent friend was right. The legendary dragon flew at a mind numbing speed and Red couldn't appreciate the scenery, he screwed his eyelids shut and held on the beast's head with all his might. It felt like the skin was being stretched from his face and exposed parts of his body. Behind him, Ruby gripped him around the waist and pressed his face on his back. At least the he was a good windbreaker for his junior. Red was unable to breath properly and he desperately jerked on Rayquaza's head to command it to slow down. If possible, the pokemon went faster and just as he felt his chest bursting, it stilled. Grateful, he opened his eyes and sucked in lungfuls of air. With a gentle tap, the beast rocketed forward again and both occupants who hitched a ride on it cursed loudly.

* * *

Black.

Steven blinked again.

Black.

"I'm blind" he plainly stated and Norman angled his head sharply and looked at him. The champion was bleeding heavily from his eyes. Archie had taken a dagger and slashed the upper part of Steven's face. With a growl, he ordered his pokemon to go after him; instead he was lifted in the air and hurled in the open seas.

Alone, Steven panicked and held out his hands helplessly. He heard the whoosh of water and turned his head. Fear rooted him to his spot and when Kyogre roared, he flailed his hand and accidentally struck his metagross; thankfully the metallic beast did nothing. Wallace who surfed by at that time almost fell off his pokemon when he saw Steven thrashing about. His attention diverted, the sea beast stirred up water and Wallace was thrown up in the air, Winona saved him from crashing into the dangerous ocean.

"Something is wrong with Stevie." He intoned as he hung from altaria's talons, "Winona, let me down next to him and search for Norman, he's not next to Steven...So that means he might be taking an unintentional dip in the sea."

"Roger" she dropped him on the little island and was about to fly away.

"Stay safe" the gym leader murmured tenderly and dashed off without looking back. The flying type master gave a small smile before setting off for her task.

The Hoenn champion held both of his hands up defensively as Archie observed with a sardonic sneer. Steven looked utterly pathetic and next to him, metagross did not fare any better; the psychic type noticed its master's profound distress and was at a loss for what to do. Moments later, the leader of Team Aqua noticed a teal haired man land on the island, the newcomer made a beeline for the steel haired man.

"Stevie! Wha-" Wallace stopped after seeing the man's condition. Inhaling, he glared at a smirking Archie and distastefully curled his lip. Luvdisc fired a water pulse and shooed the boss away. For the moment, the two were alone and the older male gripped his friend's shoulders tightly and asked: "What happened?"

"I've been blinded" Steven repeated in a dry voice.

"..." The water type gym leader scrutinized him, blood caked, grey irises shifted uneasily about, the bridge of Steven's nose sported a cut wound and he noticed the younger man trembling. "Stevie...You can do this...Don't worry about the rest of us, you focus on your battle, the rest of us are back-up and we are here to support you. I'm right next to you."

"Yes, I understand. I'll do my best." metagross levitated calmly next to him. "Metagross...Use meteor mash on Groudon." Maxie didn't see the move coming, the steel monster lifted its four arms to its side and blitzed at a high speed towards the cyborg. A deafening sound of metals hitting together ran out in the air and soon there were four huge dents in Groudon, the mythical master of land swiped a claw but metagross dipped down and it missed. Streaking around, it executed another meteor mash and swiftly returned to its partner. The magma leader gritted his teeth so loudly, it was audible. He sputtered a command and Groudon retaliated with fury.

"Rain dance, aqua ring and milotic use Ice beam." Wallace rattled off in one breath; his seaking conjured up rain and surrounded them with a curtain of water whilst Groudon's raging was stopped by a powerful beam of ice which froze it in its tracks. Unfortunately the ice began steaming and cracking almost immediately, milotic slithered forward and bashed it with a cream colored tail, shattering the mass completely. The red beast caught the tender pokemon by its tail and dragged its claws through it. Fearful that Wallace's milotic will meet its end, Steven commanded a psychic, to his astonishment, the move was countered.

A heavily wounded milotic slinked back; Wallace almost retched at the sight of its partially protruding entrails.

"Ha!" Guffawed Maxie when he saw their dumbfounded looks, "I created a God, don't think it's going to be so easy to take it down! Show them what you are capable of...Earth power!"

The island quaked and fissured.

"WINONA! DRAKE! We need help!" Wallace hollered through the wailing winds. Instantly the two swooped down and gathered them up right as plumes of fire exploded. Lava erupted, flowed into the sea and cooled down to form new land. Enraged by this development, Archie landed an attack and the force of it blew the police members away. Turquoise eyes swept the ground and Sootopolis' gym leader spied a soaking Norman heaving himself up on the burning islet.

"The guy has guts" he said to himself and Winona nodded. Turning to the female he saw her face was laced with shallow lacerations, reaching up he gently stroked her cheek but she pushed his hand away.

"We are in the middle of war..." her voice wavered. "Please behave appropriately."

"They sent us to die didn't they?" His tone was soft, "Look at Norman...Stevie...Look at you Winona." Altaria swerved aggressively to the side as a condensed ray of light fired past them. "Steven has been blinded...If the champion is gone..."

"We have another one amongst us...Unfortunately he is shirking his duties." the woman replied crisply and he grinned lopsidedly.

"No...I'm not fit to be a champion. The boy is doing great."

"Wallace...Get down there and do what you are supposed to do. We all know you beat Steven fairly when you challenged him, yet when you were offered the champion's mantle...You refused. You are a disgrace; you let your new duties slide and opted for an easy life."

"I wanted to be close to you." The flying gym leader allowed herself to be embraced; a second later she shrugged him off when Drake hovered closer to them.

"Any plans?" his gruff voice snapped Winona back to reality.

"Try not to die" Wallace replied drily.

On the island, Norman climbed on solid ground and swore. His clothes began steaming and the rubber soles of his boots were beginning to melt. Summoning staraptor, he flew with his bird and joined the airborne council taking place. The others were a bit surprised at his disheveled appearance and he irritably explained that he was flung into the sea. Several flying types performed acrobatics whilst the trainers hung on for dear life, once again, both beasts of land and sea targeted them. Near Phoebe, a media helicopter exploded, whizzed away and eventually crashed into the ocean. The mood was grim and dire and everyone felt exertion seep in their bones. As the impromptu meeting broke up and the members psyched themselves with a new strategy, another disaster struck.

"Origin pulse" Archie growled.

"Precipice blades" Maxie rumbled

Orbs of intense blue light soared towards them at a frightening speeds, the floating personnel scattered desperately. The flying types strained their wings in order to fly faster and save their masters from doom. Their instinct warned them of the horrors of the attacks. A destructive light, coupled with hail and wind. The weather was unnatural. To man and beasts' shock, the spheres tailed them like heat seeking missiles and briefly Wallace wondered why the chief of police didn't order the military to attack. It would've been reassuring to see a fleet of ships with cannons and fighter planes training their guns on the havoc causing duo. Winona's altaria did another steep dive and veered away from a glowing ball, only for its flapping wing to smash into another one. Instantly, its wing disintegrated and it tumbled. Its trainer screamed and Wallace held on to her with all his might, inch by inch, the entire dragon broke down into nothingness leaving two clinging individuals falling to the newly formed land. Wallace landed back first and passed out and Winona kept on calling his name and holding his hand. Up in the air with Drake, Steven's face morphed into a grimace, the battle was not going the way he expected.

Norman was worried. He saw Wallace and Winona plunge into the earth below; nearby a colossal battle was taking place between land and sea. Kyogre leapt up and targeted a heavily crumpled Groudon with a barrage of brilliant blue spheres. Circling cautiously on his staraptor, he edged forward, hoping to land an attack on either of the legendries. As he flew closer, huge monoliths of rock sliced up from underground and rocketed outwards. The normal type gym leader changed course instantly, urging his avian monster to get out of the blast radius, a fist sized piece of stone broke away from the rock blades and cannoned straight into the small of his back, striking his tail bone. Norman hissed and shifted, thankfully he only felt an intense pain, nothing was broken. Rubbing his aching back and cursing, he felt hopeless as he observed the incidents like a bystander. It was impossible to get near the legendary duo. If only they had Rayquaza...He tried to shake his mind free of thoughts, his ponderings were getting dangerously close to Ruby. Deep down in his heart, the man was relieved to know that his son was not in Hoenn, at least, wherever they boy was, he would be safe.

The clouds parted, immersed with trying to hold back the weather titans, no one noticed a serpentine creature make an entrance in the area. Rayquaza with Red and Ruby atop its scaly back flew in from the east and as soon as he did so, a change in the weather occurred. The sleet let up, black clouds lighted and gradually disappeared. Winds died down and the sun stopped scorching everything it touched. Coming to a standstill, the sky high pokemon regarded the quarreling duo with a hypnotic gaze. Kyogre and Groudon stopped fighting and trained their eyes on the dragon. All activities ceased and the two leaders of Magma and Aqua gritted their teeth in fury. On the other end, the members of the police and gym leaders were puzzled. There were two individuals riding on Rayquaza, Steven, sensing things had taken a drastic change urged Drake to get closer to the serpent. The moment flygon neared, the trainer lifted a hand and Rayquaza fired a dragon pulse forcing the strike team to keep a respectable distance.

"Who are you?" Steven queried harshly, although he already had a very good idea.

"..."

Red didn't reply, his blood red irises gave the injured team a once over and settled on the chaos below him. Swiping his bangs out of his eyes, he droned a command and Rayquaza shot downwards leaving a ring of compressed air behind. At the very edge of the aerial formation, Norman felt his arms go slack. There was no doubting the white furred hat. The Dex-criminals were here.

 _His son was here._

* * *

 **A/N:** Heartfelt gratitude to srsbest and GrotesqueChimera for following and favoriting this story. Hopefully you will continue to support and read it. Okay, I know only Primordial Kyogre and Groudon can use those ultimate moves, but let's imagine them as that shall we? I hate to think a petty stone is the only reason of them going into ancient power up mode. At Lebensmude: Whoa…words can't really describe how grateful I am to see some constructive criticism. Thanks for pointing out my excessive use of passive voice; I'll strive to write my future chapters in a more interactive form. I like the formatting and POV changes as it is since (I believe) it adds to the mystery and general confusion of the story. Thanks for pointing my punctuation errors out…I admit, I do make a lot of mistakes. And I fail to see how the quote from Kierkegaard is related to the first chapter. The quote is the central theme of the first arc, not the first chapter. You may have misinterpreted it. At Jack54311: Heh, like I said, those instincts don't lie. Look forward to the next chapter which will reveal the aftermath! At AceTrainerLeaf: Your reviews remind me of my best friend (please don't mind my ramblings). Eh, you will have to wait for the third arc to see how they get the information out of team Galactic. The top three have good harmony don't they…when they're not fighting that is. At Silver: I suppose I hurried the pacing a bit, but apocalyptic disasters don't wait for anyone do they…wanted to impart the same feeling here. And chocolate chip cookies…don't make me drool. I'm hungry as I type this.

So dear readers, please keep on reading and reviewing and supporting this story. I'll continue to improve so that I may be able to give a better reading experience (hopefully). Thank you very much and virtual pizza for everyone. (I hope everyone here likes pizza)


	41. Severed ties, severed bones

**Chapter 41: Severed ties, severed bones  
**

Evening

Hoenn

Lavaridge Town

The moment she touched down on the station platform, her hat coated with a layer of grey ash which rained down from the nearby mount Chimney. The train station was devoid of people and Blue was running late. After Red left with Ruby, she flew to Saffron city and boarded the bullet train which took her all the way to Rustboro city in Hoenn. From there, she took another train to the quaint hamlet of Lavaridge. The woman didn't bother disguising herself, she didn't even change her clothes, why should she when no one spared her a glance? The people were too busy fearing for their lives. Hitching up her bag, she walked purposefully through the thinning crowds. Frigid winds struck her bare arms and she regretted wearing only the blue and black tank top and a short scarlet skirt. Her long hair blew wildly and irritably she combed her brown bangs away from her face. A bit lost because she didn't prepare for the journey, she hiked up to an information desk and enquired about the Gnarled den. The clerk, a young woman much like herself appeared confused by her request.

"I'm sorry; the place you are looking for doesn't exist."

Blue had reached the end of her patience.

"Don't give me crap!" she spat and the informant's face morphed into astonishment. "My brother is stuck in that Arceus forsaken place...Search for it on the maps, that island exists" the woman still had her eyes wide with shock. "Well?" Blue hissed, "stop gawking at me and get on with your job, or don't they pay you enough?" Startled, the female rapidly typed away on a computer whilst Constellate's commander swallowed back tears. In the distant horizon, an explosion rang out and the entire platform shook, people ran for cover as mount Chimney erupted again and choked the surroundings with volcanic rock and ash. In the pandemonium, Blue stood still and trained her cyan irises on the quaking individual who tapped away on a keyboard, the fluorescent lights in the platform flickered a few times and moments later a blackout occurred. Blue moaned in distress and clutched her head.

"Ma'am" the lady behind the desk began "if you need help, I'd advise you to go-"

"I don't need help..." Blue cut in quietly, "I can't ask for help." Turning away, she forlornly dragged herself out of the station and went to the main area of the town. It was ablaze with activity and there she met with another trouble; gym leader Flannery was busy evacuating the panicking citizens and pokemon out of Lavaridge. The innocent and obedient civilians meekly followed her orders as police officers ushered them in the right direction. Wild pokemon added to the general chaos as they randomly fled from their habitats in a chaotic manner. Feeling (and looking) utterly lost she jumped when the vermilion headed gym leader herself came over and enquired about her condition. With a few tears escaping her eyes, Blue related that her brother was stuck in the Gnarled den and needed to be rescued. Funnily enough, she didn't need to act, the anguish and pain was so much, the pained emotions seeped out of her. Flannery shook her head sympathetically and informed her that a team will be sent in to retrieve him. Following this, she asked for a description and Blue stilled.

"Please," the brunette begged, something she was not accustomed to doing ever since she escaped from Team Rocket's clutches, "just tell me where it is situated and I'll find him myself. I apologize for troubling you."

"Can't do that," the fire type master scratched her wild ponytail, "normal people can't go there and besides, it is my duty to make sure you are safe. Join the crowds and go down to the shelter in Mauville, I'll take care of other matters."

The Kanto native bit her lip and wondered if she should threaten the young adolescent before her, instead of carrying out her wishes, she pressed with another plaintive appeal. Flannery sighed in annoyance and after being asked for the umpteenth time by an unrelenting Blue; she brought out a PokeNav and pointed to a tiny landmass west of mount Chimney and the jagged pass. The distressed criminal's eyes almost popped out as it dawned on her how impossible her task was. Chimney speweed fire, ash and boulders the size of wailord, trying to dodge all those was tantamount to suicide, Flannery issued more bad news as she explained that the Gnarled den could only be reached after breaking cloud cover, apparently Mount Chimney provided a natural barrier to the island, due to this, the general public didn't even know of its existence.

"Do you still want to go?"

"Yes" Blue steeled herself, "I'm going, thank you for the information." In a whirl of chocolate colored hair, the beautiful woman was gone. Flannery stared at a white card placed in her hands just before the lady left; it showed a cluster of stars. Shrugging and feeling rather pitiful for her, the orange haired leader tossed the card and in minutes a mound of silver ash buried it.

Hours later

Gnarled Den

Entrance

The surroundings were pitch dark and Blue angled her head to the sky and watched brilliant stars stand out against the black canopy. The fight against Kyogre and Groudon was over, she mused. The temperature remained stable for quite a while and fortunately the mountain stopped erupting and returned to its dormant state. Peering into the cavernous hole, she summoned her wigglytuff and bravely strode inside. Her flashlight showed the hard earth imprinted with boot prints, hooves and paws of various beasts. The occupants inside the den must have been stampeding roughly for such detailed impressions to be left behind and the conduit leading to the main area was littered with broken boulders, rocks and fallen stalactites. Kicking one away from the path, she ventured further and missed a body lying in the shadows. Wigglytuff uttered a squeal and she quickly turned around, the beam catching the pathetic form of her brother in the process. Seeing him like that, Blue petrified and almost hyperventilated. Her brother was mercilessly kicked to the side; his red hair stuck to his face and clung to his mouth in thick matted strands. Something rust colored ran down his parted lips, chin and disappeared into his dusty, upturned collar. Shaking herself, Blue crouched down to him and gingerly picked up his hands; the fingers were bent in angles they shouldn't be in. Cobalt irises roamed over and alighted on his abdomen, there was a tapered rock sticking out of it and seeing this she almost fainted.

"Silver." Her hands tenderly pressed against his chest to find a feeble but steady heartbeat. "Hey Silver, wake up, big sister is here for you." He didn't respond, no flutter or twitch of his eyelids to indicate he heard. Blue started crying; she embraced him tightly and sat down on the soiled ground. Rocking back and forth, she held him and cried loudly, the sorrowful sounds echoing through the rocky corridor.

Half an hour passed.

Sniffing, she wiped away her tears and patted her adopted brother on his head. A while ago, she forced some fresh water down his agape mouth and calmed down after he involuntarily swallowed it up. Removing the stalactite in his abdomen, she cleaned him up and wiped all the acrid blood traces on his person. Done with her job, she sat contentedly next to him and prepared to while away the night in the den. Just as she draped a protective arm over his shoulder, the red head stirred. Unable to believe her eyes, Blue stiffened and watched him like a hawk, Silver groaned and shifted, his eyelids started to quiver and in the next instant they snapped open to see a pretty woman leaning dangerously close to him. Gasping, he was about to shove the stranger away when said stranger enveloped him in a bone crushing hug. A familiar perfume tickled his nose and he threw his aching arms around her.

"Sister..." he rasped, "I'm so happy...You came for me. I thought..." he inhaled deeply, "I thought...I was going to die here alone."

"Shh..." she placed a finger on his lips, "no one is going to die Silver...not on my watch. Gold and Crystal are waiting for you back in base. When you are feeling a bit better, we are going home okay?" He nodded weakly, "good" her voice dropped to a whisper, "now put your head on my shoulder and sleep, you need some rest. We are leaving at daybreak." Mumbling softly to himself, the redhead leaned against his sister and fell into a deep slumber. For her part, Blue stared at the opposite wall. Even though she was exhausted, sleep would not come easily to her.

* * *

Late Afternoon of the same day

Hoenn

In the middle of the ocean, near Sootopolis

Ruby.

Norman didn't want to believe his eyes but it was true. As an explosion of air hit his face and Rayquaza shot downwards, the normal type gym leader went after them. Steven implored Drake to follow the stranger as the green serpent bashed its head against Groudon. The metallic beast offered zero resistance and its hollow exterior crumpled inwards. The force of the blow jarred through the dragon and Red who sat on its back clenched his teeth and shuddered, despite having the Jade Orb, the beast did not heed his words properly. Even though it dented like a soda can, Groudon still moved...It will keep on moving unless its synthetic heart is ripped out. Emitting an earth quaking roar, it swiped a claw and Red ducked, Ruby on the other hand let himself fall off the mythical pokemon of the sky before summoning tropius, the fruit pokemon was borrowed from Sapphire. Sitting comfortably on its back, he pushed his hat backwards and flew over to Kyogre. Tiny seeds shot out of the flying type's mouth and embedded itself in the sea beast's flesh, in tandem, a few solar beams were also fired and the sea monster did a wonderful job of dodging the pokemon's furious assaults. Of course, with Rayquaza's appearance, both legendary pokemon had tamed themselves somewhat thus attacking them were much easier. Too focused with fending off Kyogre's water attacks, the boy failed to notice a staraptor looming behind him, without warning, the predatory bird slammed into his beast and Ruby whipped his head around in alarm.

"Dad..."

"Don't you dare call me that!" Norman spat angrily, "tell me brat...What are you doing here? What in Lugia's name are you DOING HERE!? Get out of Hoenn...Stay out of this mess." Inwardly the raven haired teenager was happy to see his father doing okay, although the welcoming speech could've been much friendlier. Biting his lip, he resolved to ignore the angry man and complete his mission, capturing Kyogre that is. As he turned around, the large pokemon did a giant leap and practically flew out of the ocean, he saw Archie staring at him with bloodshot eyes and undiluted hatred. The man jumped from the leaping Kyogre and haphazardly landed on tropius, fumbling with his dagger, he brought the weapon up and tried to stab Ruby. Calmly, the boy kicked him in a manner similar to Saph and hoped he'd fall off, alas, Archie slowed his momentum by digging the knife into tropius' side and he hung there. The distressed pokemon gave a piteous cry and buckled wildly. Norman commanded staraptor and the avian picked the dark skinned man off by its talons and dropped him into the sea. Even while falling, the villain worded out a command and the sea basin pokemon retaliated by raising the waves in a titanic imitation of surf. Seeing the wall of water, Rayquaza spun around violently and smashed it with its tail, it fired an orb from its mouth which hit Norman's staraptor.

The vulturine bird imploded. Feathers, blood and guts sprayed in the air and over the gym leader. The air tainted with a foul stench. Face registering surprise, the man flailed and fell.

And fell.

He plummeted to the ground with a sickening crunch. His spine broke in several places and with growing horror; he realized he couldn't move his lower extremities. Above him, a screaming speck in the sky gradually got louder and clearer. It was Ruby; the boy raced downwards with the bulky grass type doing its best to fly with its unorthodox wings. Jumping the last several meters down, the crimson eyed child hurtled to his father and knelt down to him.

"Are you okay? Dad? He didn't mean it! I swear it was on accident!" Ruby didn't even twitch when Kyogre roared furiously near him.

"Ruby..." Norman's voice was weak and he made no movements, just shifting his head was proving too much of an ordeal, "...Get out of here, I don't want to see you." In the next instant, Rayquaza sailed past him and an arm shot out and grabbed his son, solemnly, Ruby watched as Drake and Steven touched down near Norman and stood guard. At least his dad would be in safe hands.

Fatigued beyond comprehension, Red blinked rapidly in an effort to stay awake. The strain on his mind weighed akin to lead, Green was right, at this rate; it felt like he was going to die. Perhaps using his own team would've proven to be a much better decision. Unfortunately his beasts wouldn't be able to calm storms and plow through tornadoes and walls of fire like the legendary he sat on. Plus, it moved so fast, he was sure no one caught a proper glimpse of him and even if they came close, a dragon pulse was all it needed to force them at a respectable distance. Firmly steering the sky high pokemon one way, he decided to end this quickly, they still needed to capture Kyogre...their new world did need seas and oceans. Briefly, the tired ex-champion took a moment to collect the rampant thoughts running haywire in his mind. It was laughable to think of capturing in a situation like this, people and pokemon were dying, natural disasters were occurring and all they cared about was adding one more mythical creature to their arsenal. Detaching a sweaty hand from Rayquaza, he pushed his cap down on his head and wiped said palm on his jacket. Whatever, not his organization's problem, he only cared about having a good fight. And a blood pumping battle was playing out before his very eyes. A thin, coveted smile morphed on his lips and he droned out a command.

"Rayquaza...Use Dragon ascent." It was high time he conducted the war.

The emerald serpent buckled at first and writhed; shaking its head it looked up to the sky and bolted. Red stopped breathing. His hat fell off and Ruby clung to him, with the force of gravity pulling them downwards, ascending this fast towards the heavens messed up his body and pressure began mounting in his head as Rayquaza broke through the clouds and continued at the speed of light. Panic mingled with exhilaration as Red hoped the snake would stop before getting to the ozone layer. It did. Halting abruptly, the rest of the body bunched up and in that short moment, both Red and Ruby swallowed air. Like a meteorite, the legendary pokemon dropped towards the earth, straight at Groudon. Seeing it come, the police force sensibly scattered to safer places. Jaws open wide and teeth gleaming like ivory, Rayquaza drilled into the cyborg and its deluded master. Maxie was rendered into broken bones and a blood smudge on the smoldering earth whilst the mechanical creature was punched into the land it created. Red's arms signed as they tunneled into the soft hot soil and came to a juddering stop. Underground, he saw ribbons of lava snaking towards them, Groudon's synthetic heart beat loudly a few times before becoming still. The glow from its eyes faded.

Red almost fainted. Ruby supported his limp body and the sky high pokemon tore out of the burrow. The older male's eyes were half closed and glazed. The Jade Orb shard in his palm ingrained in his skin. Mumbling incoherently, he slumped against his junior and stilled. On the other hand, the Hoenn native awkwardly balanced his senior and held onto the scaly surface of the beast. Fully out in the open, Rayquaza did a half turn and concentrated on Kyogre who appeared a tad helpless floating on its own. Ruby wondered if it was possible to capture the whale pokemon when he was grasping a comatose adult and struggling to keep his seat. Not to mention the police and media helicopters hovered like fearows around him. The man on his person moaned and pitched forward as the serpent jerked. Gripping Rayquaza's two horn-like projections Red nudged it closer to the sea. Instead of doing so, the green snake did a turn and flew away. Once again, a haze of confusion enveloped the police as the legendary soared back towards them; it made a sharp turn downwards and skimmed the surface of the sea, trailing white foamed waves behind. Kyogre eyed it angrily and opened its cavernous mouth, taking the opportunity, Rayquaza fired a hyper beam and it blasted inside the gaping maw pushing the deluge of water back into its gullet. The sea monster choked, spat and thrashed, creating tidal waves in the process. Red dug out a master ball from his jeans pocket and threw it whilst the serpent did an abrupt turn upwards.

One blinding flash of light later, Kyogre was nowhere to be seen. The tsunamis collapsed over each other and the ocean turned calm. Seizing the opportunity, Steven jolted into action and commanded the rest of the able police officers to make a ring around the intruder and Rayquaza, they zoomed towards Red and Ruby and kept a considerable distance, behind them, the choppers veered closer hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive trainers riding the legendary beast.

Putting a hand inside a pocket, both Red and Ruby pulled several cards out, seeing them do something, the gym leaders all tried to levitate closer. Grinning to himself, the leader of execution held his card up in the air and everyone's eyes slowly followed its movement. Flicking it into the air, he threw a dozen more of the same white sheets and tore off into the horizon by blasting past Sid. All that was left behind of their appearance was the missing lord of the seas and a handful of white paper which fluttered serenely down to the ocean. A camera zoomed up and the contents of the card played back on television.

Two maroon swords, crossed over each other and a picture of Rayquaza in its glory.

Surrounded by medics, Norman gazed to the horizon and clicked his tongue in displeasure. He was unhappy with Ruby making an appearance here, seems like the brat got bolder. He even came here to fight. The despondent father regretted telling his son off with such harsh words, his mind was getting foggy from the pain he was enduring, but nevertheless he muttered to himself.

"You've done me proud Ruby."

Stopping an elemental war between two gargantuan beasts was a feat to be boasted about. A distorted smile tugged at his lips and with an inaudible sigh...Norman passed out.

* * *

 **A few weeks later:**

Afternoon

Hoenn

Mauville

Following Kyogre's capture it began to rain in Hoenn. The ocean swelled and flooded coastal cities such as Slateport, barricades were erected near the river shores and people struggled to go about their daily lives in such gloomy weather. Large scale operations to rid the ocean of rotting pokemon corpses were undertaken. Meanwhile, members of the police who joined the battle were admitted to hospitals of high repute. It was one of these dreary days when Mr. Stone found himself making his way to Mauville, the rain came down in torrents and as soon as he stepped out of the car, his umbrella folded backwards due to the wind. He made his way inside the hospital and shook the umbrella free of water; shrugging helplessly he passed the broken equipment to an aide and went to the elevators. When the doors opened, he came face to face with the nurse who was tending to Steven Stone, greeting hurriedly, he enquired of the champion's current state.

"I'm sorry Mr. Stone, but your son's condition cannot be remedied."

The CEO of Devon Corporation sighed heavily, the wrinkles on his face becoming deeper. Everything was white around him, the hospital, the walls, floors and ceilings...Even the nurses wore white. Nodding, he spaced out for a moment and absentmindedly smoothed his pinstriped suit down. White was associated with purity, nobility and power and as the man walked down stark corridors smelling of disinfectant; he decided that he hated the color white. Pushing open the doors to a special ward, he paused at the entrance. Inside there was a single bed and an individual with steel grey hair was playing with a beldum. Once again everything was in different shades of white, from the bed Steven lay on to the sheets pooled around his waist, the hospital gown which hung from his form and the linen bandages covering his eyes. His adult son appeared very much like a child right now, there was absolutely nothing wrong with his Steven...Apart from the fact that his boy would never be able to see again. The dagger point had penetrated past his retinas and slashed his optic nerves. Damages to these cranial nerves were irreversible. Perhaps Steven heard the footsteps or he sensed someone, the young male angled his head vaguely towards the door and worded out a greeting.

"Hello father." His hands were still busy with the levitating steel type.

"Hi Steven" the words were thick with worry, "how are you doing today?"

"I'm okay, thanks for sending me beldum, now I'm not so bored anymore" he paused, "what...did the doctors say?"

Silence permeated the room

"Son...You won't be able to see again." Mr. Stone stopped speaking when Steven's hands halted. The steel type was still affectionately butting its head against him but the human took no notice.

"Oh...I see. I'm sorry dad."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"...When I was young, you fully supported my decision to become a pokemon champion. You did everything you could to provide me with a comfortable life and you helped me in my quests. I have many hobbies which sometimes interfered with my goal, instead of yelling at me, you always funded my expensive past-times. I've only been champion for a year and I'm sure I've given you some very difficult times. I don't think the pokemon association will welcome a blind champion." Steven chuckled humorlessly, "most likely the chairman will the one showing me the door...I'm sorry to let you down like this."

Mr. Stone watched his normally spirited child slump further in his bed; now the younger male was hugging beldum to his chest and staring off into nothing. The father wondered how being blind felt like, what was Steven seeing? An endless void of black? Grey? _White?_ Or did he see his future prospects and goals all crumbling down like a poorly constructed building?

"Stevie-"

"Please don't call me that." The champion interjected.

"Steven...You've gone through many hurdles and you have overcome them. Just...Just think of your blindness as another obstacle and try to triumph your disability. As for keeping your position as champion, it's up to you, if they show you the door, you are always welcome back home...right?" The adolescent nodded somberly and shifted.

"I'm really tired dad, thanks for visiting me every day." He looked up and smiled...Except his face was in the wrong direction. Mr. Stone got up quietly and stood before his son and smiled back. He reached out a lined hand and ruffled fluffy steel-grey locks; squeezing Steven's shoulder comfortingly he vacated the room.

Evening

Hoenn

Littleroot town

Normally he didn't have time to appreciate the quaint town he lived in. As a gym leader, he spent most of his time in Petalburg city. The city was slightly larger and obviously polluted; although it was nowhere near as contaminated as Rustboro or Mauville. A fresh breeze blew about the hamlet ringed by woody trees. Due to the disaster taking place a few weeks ago, the foliage had thinned out and died and now some of the trunks stood stark naked. Norman sat outside his door and took in the scenery, he wanted to bother his longtime friend Professor Birch, but the researcher was constantly being called to distant parts of Hoenn to comment on the destroyed habitats. Birch drowned in his work and having nothing to do or no one else to talk to, the gym leader felt rather lonely. The chairman of the pokemon association had suspended him from his gym leader duties. After Norman was discharged from hospital, he went to headquarters at Ever Grande city to find out the new schedule of his gym. To his surprise, the ridiculously short chairman stood on his gilded throne and pointed a quivering finger at him. Afro wobbling dangerously, he spouted the words Norman dreaded.

"You are SUSPENDED!" Spittle flew from his mouth and landed on the polished oak desk before him. "You, Norman, constantly break rules and you have no regard for our meetings. Don't think I forgot how you stepped out AND ignored me when I warned you! So yes, you are suspended till further notice." The pompous man snickered and commended himself on a job well done. It'll teach Norman a lesson he thought. Alas, the gym leader simply shrugged and pulled himself through the double doors and outside, he didn't even beg for the authority to reconsider. As of now, he mulled about at home or spent his days outside. Guilt gnawed at him for being a burden to his wife and he also had to think about finding a new job should the association fire him.

It got late, birds flew down from the skies and perched on the trees, soon the town resonated with the tweets and chirpings of different pokemon. Sighing, he began the arduous task of wheeling himself towards the door...as was the norm, he got stuck and cursed.

The door to his house opened to reveal his wife.

"Oh honey, you could've called me to get you." Walking around him, she gripped the handlebars of the wheelchair and pushed, smoothly he rolled right inside the house where a delicious smell wafted from the kitchen."

"Am I heavy?" he queried.

She laughed, her voice managing to lift his perpetually sour mood. "How long will you keep on asking me that?"

"You have a wayward son, a house and now a semi-paralyzed husband to look after" he grumbled and looked downwards, his legs looked healthy at the moment but in a year it will shrink to half its size. Muscular atrophy was something nasty, he saw it happen with his bulky slaking once when the pokemon was severely injured and had to recuperate for a long time, in a mere two weeks, the muscle laden arms were reduced to nothing and now Norman feared the same would happen to him.

He would never walk again, he snorted at the thought. Was chief of police Anabel happy? Were those Ransei people rejoicing? They better be, the strike team had to sacrifice. He lost the use of his legs. Steven became blind and Wallace was still in a coma. Winona shirked her duties to regularly visit him and he heard that Elite four member Drake retired from his position. Even though the calamity was over, Hoenn still remained in a bad shape.

"Did _he_ visit?" Norman reeled himself into the tiny kitchen and watched his wife stirring something in a pot.

"Both Sapphire and Ruby came when you were in hospital." she replied and adjusted the seasoning. "Saph stayed over for a while and you know your son...He bolted when the doctors announced that you woke up."

The two lapsed into a comfortable silence; Norman's irises were locked on to the steam steadily rising from the pot. Leaning back into the chair he allowed himself to relax. Things were going to be okay, he reassured himself, at least he fooled himself into thinking as such.

Mid-afternoon

Johto

Dex-criminal's hideout

Unlike Hoenn's wet blanket weather, Johto was sunny and revitalizing. Despite having a well-equipped infirmary, Silver declined to stay there, he preferred his own room. His chamber was more comforting than stark walls and curtains. The red head smiled at a large poster of Proteam Omega, his favorite animation, in his room he had the freedom to do what he wanted and so he spent most of the time watching said cartoon and sleeping. Slowly his door creaked open to reveal his sister who came in holding a tray. There was a steaming plate on it and a glass of juice, she put those down on his bed stand and pulled up a chair. Blue looked much better now, before she fretted day and night to the point where she had dark circles underneath her pretty eyes. Hefting the plate up, she scooped a spoonful of rice porridge and began blowing on it.

"Uh...Sis, my hands are all okay now, I'll feed myself." She looked up inquisitively and frowned when he held up his still bandaged hands.

"No...You can start eating by yourself when those bandages come off," she sternly stated, "besides what's wrong with me feeding you? Don't tell me you are embarrassed, I'm your older sister!"

Silver denied being embarrassed, however he pointed towards the door and his silver tinted eyes took on an angry gleam. Peeking from the threshold were Gold and Lack-2, the former grinned like a monkey and held up a camera whilst the latter showed a thumb's up. Blackmail. Those two have been hanging around like this ever since Silver was brought back to base. At first Gold had thrown a fit, he yelled at Blue for not telling him everything and both he and Crystal spent nights watching over him. After he got better, the amber eyed trainer started taking mortifying photos of him. Blue giggled at the sight of a pouting, sleeping Silver, there was a few of him when he was shirtless and one where he was clutching a stuffed toy. Now the idiot and his lackey were trying to get one when Blue was feeding him. He actually liked the attention his older sibling gave him; unfortunately the black haired pervert ruined it all. Leaning forward he tried to grab the hot plate, however Blue scooted up from the chair and held it out of reach citing his hands were still injured.

"Fine, if you don't want me to feed you...Gold, come in here please!" her voice trilled out and Silver's already pale complexion blanched further. Stowing the camera in his pocket, the trainer entered with a too wide grin. The brown haired female handed him the plate and Gold parked himself in the chair and held up a spoon teasingly.

"I'm not eating that!" The red head venomously spat when the utensil hovered before his mouth. His best friend shrugged and thrust it in his mouth instead.

"Mmm...Man this tastes good!" the gambler exclaimed, "hey Lack-2 wanna taste?" The child nodded and gobbled up a spoonful, smacking his lips in the process. "Whoa, I didn't know you could cook this well senior Blue. Hey Silver," Gold faced his brooding comrade, "mind if I hook up with your sister?" the sentence was finished with a sultry wink.

The adolescent's eyes almost popped out of his sockets. "I will _kill_ you." he vehemently whispered and in the background Blue chuckled softly and winked back. Seeing the exchange, the male sputtered in indignation and was about to lightly admonish his sibling when Gold thrust a spoon in his mouth. Choking, he managed to down the morsel with a gulp of juice. His black haired friend laughed mirthfully and shoved another spoonful into his mouth, finally relenting and knowing Blue won't, under any circumstances, allow him to eat on his own, he reluctantly allowed himself to be fed. Holding back angry outbursts, he accepted the food without another death threat. A few moments later, Whi-2 waltzed in and took in the scene with wide azure eyes. Striding up to Gold, she worded out a question which had the phantom thief groaning inwardly again.

"Senior Gold, may I have a turn at feeding Silver please?"

"Yeah sure...Blue, we need another plate here." Gold smirked.

"I'm not a gulpin! Sis don't fetch another plate and Whi-2...One spoon only...And the rest of you GET OUT!" No one listened to Silver as Whi-2 took her own time feeding him. Lack-2 sat himself at the edge of the bed and started chatting to the engaged female and Gold went around cleaning up Silver's room. Thanks to him, Crystal and Blue, the room was always spotless, no dirty clothes on the floor and they always came in to open or shut the curtains. He was really grateful for all this, though Gold needed to take care of his own room first. Blue silently got up once she affirmed that her brother won't start a ruckus again. Exiting the loud chamber, she went down the passageways and into the infirmary. There were two individuals inside. One was lying in bed and busy reading a thick tome whilst the other sat on a chair, near a small table and occupied himself with a game on his tablet. The two ignored each other and merely passed her a customary glance when she strolled in. She chirped a greeting and only the crimson eyed individual mumbled one in return.

"Red..." she eyed him, "you are holding the book upside down." Blinking, the man righted the book, closed it and tossed it near his feet. Pulling the sheets upwards, he lay back on the mountain of pillows placed behind his back. Green tapped the tablet furiously with a stylus, a ditty rang out from the device and he huffed and put it down. It was the thirtieth time he lost to the stupid mobile game. Setting the tablet gently down on the table he faced Blue.

"How's everything going?" he asked.

"Well...Red and Silver are recovering rather well. My brother is almost back to his normal self and Red...Still gets tired very easily. Gosh, I didn't know trying to command a legendary could place such a strain on one's mind and body...I mean this is _Red_ we are talking about." Blue leaned back in her chair and observed the raven haired jostling about in his bed on the other side of the room.

"I'm still human you know." The ruby eyed adolescent tiredly intoned.

"...Legendary pokemon are not supposed to be trifled with nor can we puny humans ever hope to command them. Look at those who tried, their efforts were never rewarded. Thankfully our goal doesn't need us to use them personally; we are going to borrow the attributes of the pokemon in order to create a new world." Green rubbed the bridge of his nose and exhaled, "remember when Red posed a theory of using the distortion world as a basis?" Blue nodded, "I did some more research on and it turns out we can do it...At least it's a more plausible theory than trying to capture Arceus...It's impossible to capture the alpha pokemon and even if we did, not even a master ball will be able to tame it and I also don't think the red chain will be able to restrain Arceus because he is made from a different material than the rest of the legendary beasts. By the way, how is the creation of the chains coming along?"

"Cyrus was being very uncooperative so I decided to teach him a lesson with Pika" Red droned from his position.

"I told you not to get out of bed!" Green hissed.

"Dude! What do you want me to do? Rot in here? I'm bored enough as it is. And since when were _you_ such a worrywart?"

"I-" Green paused when Blue sent him a sly look, her face threatening to split into a grin. "I'm not worried" he quickly added, "It's just that if your recovery takes too long, we'll go ahead without you."

"Heh, you don't have to worry about that, I'll be up and rolling in no time." And Red smiled, suddenly Green felt like they were kids again when the only thing the three of them concerned themselves with was winning the title of Pokemon Champion.

* * *

 **Arc Two:**

 **Little drops of water,**

 **Little grains of sand,**

 **Make the mighty ocean**

 **And the pleasant land. Thus the little minutes.**

 **Humble though they be,**

 **Make the mighty ages**

 **Of eternity**

* * *

 **A/N:** And this arc comes to a close people. Much thanks to all those who read, reviewed and offered constructive advice, they are deeply valued. At Lebensmude, I'm sorry for misinterpreting you and since you asked (I appreciate the way you think) Chapter 6 (Chess master) is directly tied with the quote. At Jack54311: Emerald wears a stone on his forehead that was later revealed to be the core of the Jade Orb. Knock some sense in the legendries or capture them? Hah! At GrotesqueChimera: You could say Hi the next time :P Thanks for reviewing, I hope the story continues to entertain you. At AceTrainerLeaf: Guess it's difficult for an overprotective parent to actually believe their children are going wayward. Did you like the aftermath? I tried to portray how the characters struggled with the aftereffects of the war.

Please continue to support and read, reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome. Stay tuned for Arc three!


	42. Eve of a new world

**Arc 3**

 **I cannot undo**

 **What I have done;**

 **I can't un-sing**

 **A song that's sung**

 **And the saddest thing**

 **About my regret**

 **I can't forgive me**

 **And you can't forget**

* * *

 **Chapter 42: Eve of a new world**

When time and space held no meaning:

It was a world of Prussian blue nothingness. The universe stretched out endlessly, infinite and dark. Vast. Conjuring an illusion of emptiness. In this hollow space huge spherical bodies floated about without a destination, without purpose. They simply hung there, going about slowly, punctuating the stillness with flashes of drab color. More shades of blue, of black or white. In the distance they appeared as twinkling lights, white against indigo. Sometimes this space would light up with flashes of color when a distant star died out. A bright snowy flare which turned the cosmos mauve and threw up clouds of multicolored dust. The sudden light would startle creatures floating about in this galaxy and if anyone could see them, they would notice these beings were flat, two dimensional with a large eye. These grey creatures came in symbolic shapes, but of what language they belonged to, no one really knows. Swarms of them swirled about in the empty world spontaneously creating things of wonder, planets, stars and expanding the wide nothingness they inhabit. At one time these chittering symbols clashed together and created a cleft in their dimension. A golden hoof came out of the seam along with a majestic creature. The beast looked unlike anything they ever created, its brilliance shined, illuminating the stark universe. Slowly, six of the unown floated near its head and blessed it with a name:

Arceus.

The original one.

Unfortunately the alpha pokemon did not provide much amusement to its creator and so the symbol pokemon floated away and kept separate from it. Their instinct told them that the white monster exuded power beyond their own. Arceus simply stood in the middle of the blue-black nothingness. A golden cross wheel protruded from its abdomen and with the passage of time (shown by how the celestial bodies shifted from their original places) the empty spaces in the wheel began filling up with a multitude of different colored plates. At this point the unown strayed far, far away from him; somehow, their creation stole their power and left them weak and worthless. As eighteen gigantic plates filled up the cross, the unown lost most of its power and could only conjure up a miracle when an immense amount of them gathered. Chattering, the remaining mass banded together and formed a ring around the edge of their domain with the intention of staying out of Arceus' way. The alpha pokemon did not move from its position, it stayed still, its eyes closed, a tiny speck in the cosmos.

An eternity went by.

He got bored. Tired of waiting for something to happen. In the course of time, the pokemon ruminated deeply, questioning its reason for being created. The little symbols themselves were very much uninterested, they merely gave him a passing glance at first and now they secluded themselves at the edge. Although, even if they blew up the cosmic egg and hid themselves in the very cracks, Arceus would still be able to see them. He could see everything.

Brimming with power and newfound knowledge, the creation pokemon decided the first order of things was to create a companion...but how to do that? He himself was an accident, a mixture of hidden power, space dust and the inexplicable phenomenon of unown's ability to create things of wonder. Nevertheless he tried and was mildly delighted when a cloud of those unown was forcible dragged in front of him. They formed an oval shape and after much shoving and pushing, they fled, leaving an egg in their wake. The shell was cream colored and ribboned with fuchsia veins. Protectively, Arceus stood over his new treasure and prepared himself to wait.

He didn't have to wait long. Several rotations of the planets later, a response came from the embryo before him. With heavy eyes he observed the thing trembling.

It rocked

It cracked

It shattered open

Pieces of eggshell floated away and rivulets of pale pink fluid gushed out as another creature poked its head out. A small, pink, feline thing which locked eyes with him. In a flash, the original one saw endless possibilities for the tiny one. Like how the unown did with him, he too blessed this new pokemon with a name. Mew...Because it was easy to pronounce. The two beasts stared at each other, accepting each other's presence. Arceus opened his mouth and rumbled out a single command.

"Transform." His voice shook the vast space and unwillingly Mew found herself changing shape. She grew to epic proportions, her head morphed to accommodate two horn-esque projections and the back tapered out. Instead of paws, her legs elongated to roughly the same length and ended in golden hooves. Pink fur was replaced by snow white with her chest and chin being dyed in sable. When her transformation finished, she noted that the distance between her and Arceus' face had gotten much shorter. She had morphed into a smaller version of the alpha pokemon, albeit without the ring around his abdomen.

The duo explored the world together and Mew often changed her shape. Most of the time she remained as a scaled down version of her creator, however, she also flitted into the different forms of Unown. The universe they lived in contained, in a manner of speaking, nothing. The celestial bodies were uninhabitable, they were simply giant masses of rock or gas and their surfaces were arid, barren, dry. The clouds of gas were noxious; it stung her eyes and ate away at her skin. Arceus didn't seem to be affected by the harsh conditions of the planets they visited, he simply went down and after giving it a sweep with his robotic gaze, he returned back to the dreary darkness they called home. Eons passed and one fateful day the original one worded out a proposal which caught her by surprise.

"Let's create" bassy tones echoed everywhere, "let's make something out of this nothingness we inhabit."

And everything started changing. Three different eggs were now being protected by Arceus whilst Mew flitted about excitedly, anticipating the arrival of the trio. One was black and gold, the other coral pink like her and the third one sported a metallic blue shell. Blue akin to the world engulfing them. Much to their surprise (hers actually, nothing fazed Arceus) the cyan and pink eggs broke first and out climbed two beings who looked so different from each other, she wondered if it was a mistake. Arceus' ability activated and those two tiny things grew to gargantuan proportions, the moment they grew to their full size...the universe started changing. The boundless space felt confined, it was bordered whilst the planets began orbiting in a more orderly manner. Time and space were given form and she observed with silent wonder as they shaped nothing into something. Around this time the third egg cracked and out flew a serpentine creature with frayed wings. By now the two creators were used to the bizarre appearances of their creations. Mew's DNA allowed her to give a different form to both herself and anything she made. Unfortunately for everyone present, the new beast turned out to be a renegade. It urged his brothers into attacking each other and reveled in violence. Years passed as Dialga and Palkia fought whilst Mew and Arceus calmly beheld them. Their collisions shattered planets and stars and huge chunks of deadly debris floated around them. Off to one side, these different masses were being collected by Unown; the symbols pulverized the rock and forced them into a condensed globe of brown.

Another barren universe.

Fed up with how things were proceeding, Arceus stepped up to the feuding duo and commanded them to stop. They did, for a few years prosperity reigned in the cosmos before Giratina fanned the flames again. Knowing that the apostate monster caused misery, the alpha pokemon created a brilliant red chain and used it to bind Giratina. Finally at peace, the temporal and spatial pokemon set about to bring order to chaos, they went down to the new world to introduce time and create space. Arceus remained uninterested; he knew the place was not fit for living. To his astonishment, when he peeked at the brown globe a few millennia later, he saw the surface had changed. A subtle alteration, but it was still change. Summoning Mew, the duo went down to see and for the first time, Mew crooned in happiness. A strange emotion. Deciding that the arid soil needed something else to cover and nurture it, they created Groudon and Kyogre. Lord of the land and seas. Much to their chagrin, the moment the two babies grew up, they were at each other's throats and Arceus almost ended their pitiful existence were it not for Mew. The DNA pokemon pointed out how the clashes were shaping the face of the Poke-verse. Water gushed out, mountains formed and spewed out hot lava. It took centuries for the Earth to look like how Mew wanted it. When the land and water ratio was just right, Rayquaza was formed to quell the quarreling duo and as a guardian for the skies. The green serpent created a protective bubble over their new land and patrolled the heavens to keep out intruders. Satisfied with the Earth, Mew and Arceus took to space.

Only to receive a few surprises.

Celebi, a tiny green onion fairy swooped around Dialga and aged both itself and its 'parent'. There were two little creatures scampering on Palkia's armored form. A tiny star shaped thing which was pleasant to the eye and a larger tentacled creature with an emotionless face. It looked alien but it was perfectly happy to wrap its flaccid appendages around the spatial legendary. At Giratina's bound feet, an orb of black writhing shadows churned, its form broken by a snowy white plume. The creature rose and immediately Mew fell asleep on seeing him. She stayed in a comatose for a long time with Arceus guarding her. Her slumber was punctuated with loud screams and screeches and sometimes the mythical duo of space and time tried to sneak in to see her. The alpha pokemon sent them scattering with Judgment. He concluded that she might've been having bad dreams, her suffering increased in total darkness and so he made Cresselia with the help of Palkia. The crescent pokemon roused her from the nightmares and gave her sweet dreams. Once Mew returned to normal health, the two creators ventured forth and found another nasty shock waiting for them.

Giratina had broken free.

The renegade and its pitch-black offshoot were nowhere to be seen. Pieces of the crystals hung in the air, frozen in space. Keen eyed Arceus picked up a slight twist in the fabric of the world and when Mew fretted over the ghost pokemon's disappearance, it replied.

"He created a distorted world and vanished into it...Leave him be. It's best for all of us if Giratina remains out of sight."

His words partially soothed the worry on Mew's mind.

Looking at Giratina's fetters which hovered endlessly in space, Arceus decided to fashion them into three different beings. Emotion, to enable them to feel. Willpower, the force which drives and Knowledge, the understanding of how everything works. The crystals melted down to a warm crimson liquid, blood and from this viscous mixture three small psychics formed. They took off at blinding speed and Mew followed them to the Poke-verse. Nearing a continent, the trio split and plunged into three different lakes. Arceus came down slowly and noted how they rested in the first created landmass. Sinnoh region was a memento from Kyogre and Groudon and it was on this very soil that he and Mew first descended to Earth. The planet looked much more beautiful, the mountains were dotted with trees and greenery. Oceans expanded as far as the eye could see, fresh water pooled in land and created lakes, rivers and breathe taking waterfalls. The original one saw more creatures toiling about on the land. Huge titans shifted continents; their colossal forms waded through the seas and pulled sheets of land which were tethered to golden chains. A mischievous weather trio blasted wind, rain and lightning in his face. Quite content with his life, Arceus resolved to retreat in a pocket dimension and leave the world be.

Except there was one problem.

Mew didn't want to go with him.

"I want to stay here," her plaintive voice sounded foreign to him, "it is my duty to populate this place and make it thrive."

"Our duty is done." Lightning rained down in tune with his words and the weather trio took refuge by fleeing to the west. "Come, we have no place here."

She stayed put. Behind her, the space ripped, time twisted and air tore into half. Out stepped three mythical monsters. They flanked Mew protectively.

"Foolish creatures...Don't you see that creating any more will be to our detriment? One day...In the distant future you will realize this was all a mistake. Your creations will drag you out and use you. Perhaps..." he eyed the quartet with obvious distaste, "I've been the foolish one." Silence stretched between them and the alpha pokemon was surprised to see Giratina take Mew's side, the recreant simply made an appearance in order to created dissonance . "Come at me but don't expect to remain unscathed!" The remaining legendries working on earth all dropped their tasks and secluded themselves. They did not want to be part of the apocalyptic war that will take place.

Arceus almost killed them. To the three pokemon's credit, they managed to damage him exponentially. His plates were reduced to half its sizes and pieces of it rained down on the land underneath them. The battle only stopped when Mew transformed into the original one and decided to join the fight. The white beast relented and let them go and gratefully the creation trio, battered and bruised beyond comprehension, vanished into their own domains.

"You still want to stay here?"

"Yes." The pink feline reverted to her original form and levitated before him. "I will stay here and see if your predictions come true."

Alone.

He will be all alone again.

Arceus moved north from Sinnoh to a spot filled with ocean, he struck the surface of the shimmering water and a landmass rose from the deep. Mew blinked, the alpha pokemon sure had unique taste. The new region was shaped exactly like him.

"Ransei." His orotund voice rang in her ears. "I shall take refuge there...And watch over all of you." Saying this he vanished.

Left to her devices, the DNA pokemon went about and created more life to fill the lonely landscape. The legendary birds were given form and mastery over elements. As time trickled through the ages, the shape shifter grew bolder and experimented. To her delight, she ended up fashioning an entirely new species. These humans had curiosity and a capacity for learning and thus she devoted her time to their care. Xerneas and Yveltal were born to instill morality. For those who pursue truth, Reshiram was their companion and similarly Zekrom sided with ones who sought ideals. Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf bestowed knowledge, willpower and emotion respectively and once humans began living in large groups and became much more civilized, the four swords of justice were given life so that they may maintain order. Lugia was sent to quell a war whilst Ho-oh revived three sorry beasts that were unjustly killed by humanity's selfish actions and prejudice. Through all this, the pink pokemon toiled tirelessly.

 _But._

Mew should've taken heed of his words. Arceus never rose again, no matter what apocalyptic disaster played out in the universe they created. The humans she lovingly made spearheaded wars, bringing about death and destruction. At one point, when technology had advanced to epic proportions, those overly knowledgeable creatures ensnared her and tried to make a copy. To her horror, they succeeded in making a twisted duplicate. Unlike her, Mewtwo was vengeful; it sought only to bring ruin. Thankfully the creature gained a conscious and hid itself far away from civilization.

And now this was happening. Her 'children' were being pulled out by grotesque methods, out of the slumber which should not be broken and this was being done all by humans.

By her creations.

All she could do...Was _watch_.

* * *

One year later

Sinnoh

Spear Pillar, summit of Mount Coronet.

The platform was constructed out of a material which shimmered like gold. Large Greek styled pillars stretched upwards to the heavens, pointing to a dimension far different from their own. The area was spacious and resembled a ruin, the floor had fissures running through it and some of the pillars were slashed in the middle. Green would've liked to examine the platform in more detail but right now there were other more pressing matters commanding his attention. Flanked by the other Dex-Holders both he and Blue stood agape and watched how the time and space titans fought tooth and nail. Was this supposed to happen? The evening sky remained blindingly clear and one could see how the stars shone down like diamonds. Before them, Dialga and Palkia roared at each other tearing space apart and distorting time. Green saw several events repeat like an endless cycle and the space around them tore into pockets. Blue and Yellow were both next to him and very far away. Off to the side of the two warring legendries, Diamond and Pearl were stationed with their pokemon. Dia perched on mamoswine, his grim face looking slightly less intimidating with grains of rice stuck around his mouth, he gripped the red chain and observed silently. Pearl was on the other side, constantly dodging stray attacks with Tauhiko. The red chain in his grasp struck the marbled floor constantly but it never shattered. Despite using the respective Orbs to summon them, Giratina, the most important beast in the equation, still had to make an entry. Knowing the ghost pokemon only hailed on the brink of a colossal war, the leaders agreed to let the time-space duo battle it out.

The energy signatures were intense; however it didn't stop Gold from trying to see things up close and personal. Silver and Crystal tried to rein him back but he stayed stiff and still. Flashes of cyan blue and coral pink lighted up the platform and reflected off the tiny audience's faces. Several of them blinked and Blue hugged Whi-2 closer to her. Dusk gave way to night and the celestial bodies shone down brighter still. If this was a cataclysm, the sky sure didn't agree.

"We have to watch over Gold, he's going in too far." Constellate's leader intoned and her young underling grasped her tighter.

"Leave him be, Red's not here to see this...So it's up to us to witness this and tell him when we see him again."

"I still don't understand how he..."

Green exhaled and shut his eyes, "Blue, we've been through this. Stop digging it up, it's over and done. We can only move forward. For Black and N as well."

The others behind them shifted uncomfortably. Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald held hands, the latter also latched on to Crystal, the female trainer's indigo irises were filled with stars, flashing lights and two gargantuan beasts. How there were not powdered was the question on everyone's mind.

"Green..." Blue's voice floated again, "what does this" she gestured to the two mythical beasts, "mean for us? What will creating a new world do for us and what about those we left behind?" Next to the spiky haired brunette, Yellow stifled a sob and the strategy commander gently squeezed her shoulder.

"For you and Silver it will mean a different turn in life. As for Red...I suppose he wouldn't want to be a champion anymore. Me...I don't know. We all want to be happy Blue and happiness means a different thing for each of us. To you it's a safe home and a comfortable childhood; for Red it means taking a career which he won't come to regret. Being champion changed him into someone without ambition; he's at the top with nowhere to go. Boredom is a scary thing no? In any case, in the new dimension we might not have to suffer the loss of precious friends."

"Yeah" Gold's subdued words were crisp through the din, "I want to see them again."

"Will we survive senior Green? I mean what if we forget who we are? What if we don't retain any of our original personalities?"

"Crystal...I'm pretty sure Silver next to you has many things he'd rather forget. We will survive...I promise." The space next to him sliced in half and all of a sudden he became isolated from the rest of his group. He saw his department looking back at him from the other side. It felt like looking into a broken mirror with a reflection being multiplied over and over. Frightened, Yellow threw her petite arms around him and buried her face in his chest. While he was appreciative of the gesture, he couldn't stop trembling himself. He was scared. Terrified. The ground next to him morphed into a pitch black chasm and multicolored light bounced off in the little chamber Palkia carelessly sent them in.

"Will we see them again?" The blonde's words were muffled by his shirt, "will we see Red, Black and N again Green?"

The edges of the dimension were fading away and the sounds were returning loud and clear to his ears. Hesitatingly he put his arms around and embraced her tightly.

"Yes..." his voice shook, "we'll see them again."

Gold saw his life flash by several times. He knew he stood too close to the fighting duo but he couldn't help it. There was a certain, inexplicable rapture in reliving the most precious moments of one's life. Even though the area around him was dusty and burnt, the smell of warm milk wafted to his nose. The sound of his mom's gentle scolding and the cries of baby pokemon rung like bells in his ears. Sunlight filtered through large glass windows and a shock of ebony hair peeked out of saffron tinted blankets. Another individual pulled them off and started dragging Gold by the ankle. The teenager kicked out at air and was unceremoniously dropped to a wooden floor. When the boy disgruntlingly opened his eyes, a blinding smile and a pair of ruby irises shining with delight greeted him. Moaning unhappily, he tried to roll over on the floor and sleep, alas, the older male wouldn't let him.

"Rise and shine Gold!" Red chirped.

"You burnt the milk again didn't you?" the amber eyed boy narrowed his gaze and sniffed.

"...Yep"

"..."

"..."

"Will you ever learn how to cook? I mean...how difficult is it to boil milk?" Knowing his senior was an absolute disaster in the kitchen; Gold pulled himself up and made his way down to the kitchen with his teacher following behind him. A tiny spiky eared rodent jumped up from the floor and slammed into his face. Pichu squeaked happily and clambered onto his untamed hair.

"You were out late last night Gold...You know I don't like it when you come home past curfew." The senior intoned whilst leaning on the kitchen counter.

"I thought Green was supposed to be the prick in our group." Dumping the inedible milk in the sink, Gold replied sharply and watched how the liquid gurgled down. He didn't want to hear a lecture so early in the morning. Grabbing a scourer, be began to scrape the pot in an effort to drown out Red's speech.

"Gold, you are too young to gamble."

The sudden sound of the pot hitting the ground echoed in both their ears and Gold glared at Red who calmly watched him.

"And I didn't sign up for this!" he hissed, "You said you're gonna train me so I could retry the league...I don't wanna do this. I hate sneaking around and stealing!"

"You can't retry for the league, your name is on the blacklist for cheating."

"I didn'-"

"I KNOW!" Red hollered and Pibo flattened his ears whilst his master took a step back. "I...Know...But that's how the world works Gold so I want to create a new one. You know...I'll be the happiest when I finally see you as a champion and I'll be free to do what I want. The crimson eyed adolescent picked up the small pot and cleaned it himself whilst the Johto native watched. The white and red jacket his mentor wore began twisting. In fact the whole room twisted and Gold cried out in a panic, he saw Red turn around with a concerned visage however, in seconds the film ended and he jerked back into reality.

He received a face full of compressed air.

What did his senior want?

Gold didn't want to be a champion anymore. Battle simulators were a scary thing.

But if it makes teacher happy then perhaps.

 _Perhaps._

He felt like a failure, maybe if he took better care of Lack-2 or paid more attention to his leader then this wouldn't have happened. They would be here, right next to him.

And everyone would've been happy.

Platinum Berlitz's steely gaze trained to a spot just above Dialga and Palkia; she assumed Giratina would fly out of there. The moon hung clear and huge in the sky, akin to a polished looking glass. Giratina's reverse world was affiliated with reflective surfaces and in many legends she read about how normal humans and even some pokemon glimpsed the distorted world in a pool of water or on anything similar to a mirror. Right now the argent light spilled beautifully over the platform they stood on, the debris rising in the air sparkled like diamond dust and the scene was surreally beautiful. This begets the question if they were doing the right thing. Although it was wonderful that the current Poke-verse took minimum damage, shouldn't creating a new universe have...Dire consequences for the existing one? Instead of things being broken down, they seemed to be more beautified which didn't make sense. There were no natural disasters and none of them were being reduced to atoms. All proceedings were going rather well.

Unfortunately there was no sign of the renegade pokemon.

"It'll take some time for it to appear." Cyrus boldly travelled all the way to her position; the ashen man still had his hands clasped behind him but his previously apathetic irises held a spark of life. Desire. He was fascinated by the success of their project and unafraid of the consequences.

"Go back to where you were standing," the heiress responded flatly, "or my leader will be displeased." The cyan haired man lingered a bit longer before leaving, his eyes wandered lovingly over the titans.

 _Clash_

The sound was unearthly, an amalgamation of horror and pleasure and it echoed everywhere. Pieces of Palkia's armor shattered and Dialga reared backwards and fell on all fours. The blue gem embedded in its chest held a visible crack. The gilded floor around them fragmented however, in a few seconds it went back to normal. Clouds of steam issued from both the beasts' mouths as they took a split second to rest their heaving bodies. In the next instant, the spatial pokemon lunged and tore space into half whilst Dialga fired a roar of energy; it struck Palkia square on its jewel and the pink crystal shattered.

Nothing happened.

A momentary lull occurred as Palkia shrunk down in size and regrew. The temporal pokemon's bifurcated body hovered in two places. The warped environment straightened out and flowed smoothly again.

Uncapturable.

Her leader told her this when she proposed the idea. The very thought of a pokemon being un-capturable boggled Crystal's mind. How? Then her superior went on a tangent about how they were created from a different material with the help of unown and were thus too powerful to be forced into tiny capsules. Since the creation trio primarily kept in their own dimension, studies of their biology could not be conducted and pokeball creators were at a loss of how to contain them. Most of his scientific explanation flew over her pretty head and when she turned to Yellow for help, her diminutive senior simply giggled and stared starry eyed at the rambling brunette. The blue haired female noticed the changes in her department. Ever since Red's disappearance, Green rambled a lot to himself and spent all of his available time researching how to open the distorted world with minimum damage. White's organizational skills took a severe setback after she lost her two best friends, even so the chocolate haired female did her best and it was a frequent sight to see Musha perched on her head. As for Gold, he acted like everything was normal but both Crys and Silver saw how the fire dimmed from his eyes. The future was grim for them, with the help of Blue and Green, they pulled togeth-

A seam formed on the surface of the moon.

No.

Inky blue eyes peered more intently and noted how the space between the legendries began opening. Her heart stood still as the seam widened and a Prussian blue world opened up before them. Forgetting their original tasks, Diamond and Pearl watched slack jawed as two glowing red eyes shone from the gloom. A serpentine creature dragged itself out and plugged the entrance of its domain with its body. Dialga and Palkia stopped fighting in order to scrutinize their long hidden brother. Giratina. It seemed displeased with the scene unfolding before him. The renegade pokemon silently observed, its massive head swinging from side to side as it took in everything. Diamond jolted first and sprang into action and like oiled gears, the rest followed suit. With an earsplitting war cry, the preteen swung his chain over Dialga's body. On coming into contact, the red crystals glowed like fire and snaked over the temporal pokemon, it bound the monster so tight, it struggled to move. With superhuman effort, the indolent boy pulled Dialga away and snared it securely. Opposite him, Pearl did the same and forced Palkia away from its brother. The armored beast strained against its confines with little success. Tauros moved backwards and pulled the spatial pokemon along with it, a wide path opened up giving everyone a splendid view of Giratina. Fearlessly, Platina galloped, her dark hair shining like black tourmaline in the moonlight and swung the crystal chain like a lasso. With a flick of her wrist, she threw it

The glistening crystals arced into the air and everyone held their breath. A shot rang out in midair and the blood red restraint bounced off a protect. The mythical creature did not take any chances. As one, the other Dex-holders surged in and stood like a barrier behind the noble, some of them even took their pokeballs in their hands.

Head held high, she tried again. This time Giratina offered scant resistance and allowed itself to be captured. Of course he would, after all, the sole purpose of the chain's creation was to bind him. The humans hauled him painfully out of the pocket dimension, it was brutal agony to be ensnared by the very thing he painstakingly broke out of, at that time he had help, unfortunately Darkrai was captured by the people who forced him out. The ghost pokemon slithered out and once he became fully exposed, he began changing. The snake like body morphed to accommodate six legs which were instantaneously bound, thin wisps of wings joined together to form a frayed, leather-esque cape and the golden mouth piece flitted down to reveal a cavernous jaw.

Giratina did not roar, it made no noise as the chain tied itself up and secured around him. Before the gaping maw of his contorted dimension, the puny humans stood awed and afraid. He could taste their fear, enveloping the area like a cloud. The Dex-criminals stood huddled; none of them wanting to be the first to set foot into a world they knew nothing of. Eventually, Blue's tart gaze landed on Cyrus and she motioned for the spiritless man to enter. To the astonishment of Charon, Cyrus looked very pleased. Hands to his side, he marched purposefully and the rest watched him being swallowed up by a cyan-black world.

"Is it safe?" Green called out and received a positive reply. He pulled a backpack down from his shoulders and unzipped it. Inside there were numerous pokeballs and every single creature trapped in it glared at him. Celebi's ringed eyes held disgust and Darkrai eyed him with revulsion, his single cobalt iris fixed into Green and the commander reeled back, momentarily distorted by a glimpse of a nightmare. Checking that all of the legendary creatures were still secure inside their master balls, he shouldered the bag and moved forward with Blue. Along the way, Gold, Silver and Crystal squeezed in with them and the rest of the organization followed. The Sinnoh trio entered last. They shared a knowing look, smiled and stepped in.

It was an utterly bizarre world.

Something they never experienced before.

A universe ungoverned by laws.

Outside, the creation trio looked at each other, their injuries had long healed but the red chain binding them felt heavy and torturous. Giratina saw fine fissures in the restraints binding his two brethren, in a few hours they would be free.

"Why did you allow them to enter your realm?" Dialga's voice thundered and the renegade almost thought he was being de-aged into an egg again.

"The distorted world is not my realm...I'm the lord of the underworld." his rasped tone sounded labored. "Thus I don't care what happens to it. I've hidden in it for far too long; it's time I head to my original place." The brilliant red crystals shattered around the time and space pokemon and for a moment they stood still, angling their heads to the moon. A few heartbeats later they vanished into portals of their own. Giratina's own bindings were cut and he spread his wings. A hideous black, bubbling gate opened beneath his feet and he gleefully sank into the murk; his glowing eyes lingering on the opening of the reverse world till the very end.

* * *

 **A/N:** I apologize for the hiatus; I had a little accident and thus spent the past several days in bed. Anyway, I'm all good now and much gratitude to those who reviewed and followed my story. Made my rather boring days bearable. Much thanks to i throw rocks at retarded kids (Why?) and onetimetrip for alerting my story. And thanks to all those who reviewed. Virtual cookies and cake people!

At GrotesqueChimera: Hello to you too :) I hope this chapter answers your questions on Dex criminal's motives for creating a new world. If things are still unclear, feel free to review/question again :P At AceTrainerLeaf: Thanks for following my other story, KOZ is my first work and hopefully all the mistakes won't make your eyes fall out. Yes, it was my idea to use the Distortion world as a basis for the new one, the reverse world really fascinates me so I thought why not? I'm glad you liked the idea. At Jack54311 I grew up with the anime too but the manga really appealed to me. Ahahaha, I suppose it is a bit of a shock, I was actually worried with how the readers would handle the protagonists actually being the bad guys; but the reviews have been encouraging so…At TheSilverHunt3r: Dex makes their own calling cards, usually handled by Team strategy. Norman helping the Dex criminals? Heh *chews thoughtfully* Lol for the upside down thing, my sister has this odd habit of reading things upside down, claims that it helps her think. At Eevee: Exams are thankfully over (YAY). Blue and Silver have high pain tolerances due to them being subjected to torture. The conflict between Norman and Ruby was also one of my favorite things to write and I wanted to give a glimpse on how the war affected the characters. Engaged? Hahah, I like confusing/dropping hints! Green washing dishes? *does not compute* I think he'd be sitting on a stool and watch Yellow do the dishes. Still, I like your scenario there :) I look forward to more At: Doyouneedacuddle: Your questions…made me take a good long look at my story. I didn't actually think about all of that…as for the layout and setup of the base. I'm sorry, I don't have any real maps to refer to but I'll start posting more information from the next chapter onwards, like where they get the money and snippets of their personal space. I actually wrote a few chapters based on them living together so look forward to that.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, merely this story. The arc introductory quote is by By Lang Leav  
**


	43. Crystals of blood

**Chapter 43: Crystals of blood**

Present time (one year ago)

Johto, Mahogany Town

Dex criminal's hideout

Diamond watched the prisoners indolently; he stuffed another article of food into his mouth and munched slowly, savouring the different flavours melting on his tongue. He didn't really have to be here but a few days ago his commander, Red, who was supposed to be recuperating in the infirmary came inside the dingy room and dished out a few attacks when the occupants inside refused to answer him. The older man cited that doing so managed to shave off a little of his boredom. Dia discreetly observed black electric burns decorating the two men's bodies. Charon quivered in his leader's shadow, the round spectacles he wore magnified the terror shown in his eyes. Cyrus himself showed a nonchalant mien. He merely sat on the cold stone floor and disinterestedly beheld the room beyond the steel bars. Both of their faces were ashen and lifeless, the Galactic commander's eyeballs had sunk into his sockets. Shuffling closer to the imprisoned and obviously miserable duo, the Sinnoh native held out a small parcel.

"Here… eat this..." the pre-teen swallowed his morsel with an audible gulp and continued, "it'll keep the hun-ger pangs at bay." The cobalt eyed man angled his head away sharply and a look of displeasure flitted across his frozen face. Awkwardly, he shuffled away from the bars and deeper into the dank cell. Shadows cloaked him as he leaned on the wall and sighed.

"I'm not eating anything you give me; you are known to poison people with food..." A dead voice sliced through the silence and Dia's mouth fell agape with shock.

"I don't poison people!" he sputtered heatedly, "I put them to sleep!" a brief silence lapsed and he retreated his outstretched hand, "fine, if you don't want it, I'll… let Lax have it." The silver foil was eagerly torn by the gluttonous monster and wolfed down in a manner of seconds. Charon's wrinkled visage grew heavy with worry. The floor was cold and the confinement bare save for a toilet hidden behind a screen. Pokemon brought them food and just when he entertained thoughts of escaping, a black haired devil barged in here unannounced; the raven locks were partially obscured with bandages. Pikachu, who sat on the adolescent's shoulder, let loose several bolts of searing hot lightning when Cyrus refused to respond to his questions. How could they reply when they didn't know the answer themselves? And the query itself sounded ridiculous; the aged man could still hear it in his ears, whispering like a broken record:

"Will I be able to meet people who passed away a long time ago in the distortion world?"

They studied him for a while but the blank face gave nothing away, it was a simple, bizarre question. When no words tumbled out of the two convict's mouths, the pain came, frying flesh and leaving the odour of charred skin behind. Mumbling angrily, he vacated the room and a few moments later the Sinnoh brat entered, his azure eyes shining with sympathy. From there onwards, the boy made it a point to visit them at least once every day. At one point, he brought in an extremely loud, hyperactive blonde who tried to interrogate them, his wild gesticulations were ignored and to the prisoners' horror, the two brats started an infernal comedy routine. Nothing could make them laugh, especially Cyrus, perhaps the man might allow himself to smile if he was graciously released and offered a ticket back to Sinnoh. But he knew there were no such luck, despite being far younger than him, these individuals possessed a streak of brutal cruelty and it showed with the way they treated their hostages.

The room was small, one half dominated by a simple cell whose the bars were thick and shiny whilst the tiled floor of the lockup was a cold, uncomfortable seat; the other side of the room revealed nothing of interest. A pale blue painted wall was the only thing they could stare at and at in one corner, a steel door stood shut. Said entrance creaked open to reveal the person Cyrus dreaded to meet the most. A woman with long flowing hair, the cinnamon tresses bounced as she walked with a spring in her step towards them. She came in smiling whilst her knee high boots clacked on the ground. The cobalt eyed man knew that smile; it looked kind but promised torture. Another female entered as well, this one younger with a demeanour devoid of emotion and hair as blue as ink. The two came to a stop before the bars and Blue peered at them with great interest. Charon felt like a rare specimen at a zoo, the deep cyan irises of the lady who kidnapped them appraised them critically, like she was trying to gauge who'd be the better sacrificial lamb of the two. Charon swallowed nervously, he was old and he hated being pressurized. Now beads of sweat rolled down the wrinkles of his forehead and drenched the collar of his once pristine lab coat. He scowled at Blue, as if to mock him, she too wore a lab coat which was made fancy by a large brooch at the lapel.

"Don't I look great?" Constellate's commander cooed and twirled in the space whilst Dia clapped twice to show his appreciation, "I took this coat from Strategy's common room when I saw our dear Green fast asleep on a pile of books" she sniffed, "it smells like ink and old paper...can't the professor wear some spray or something?" she chuckled and then trained a sombre gaze at the detainees. "As for you two..." Cyrus felt something cold slide down his back, "I have some questions and you better answer them...you don't want to end up burnt or paralyzed do you? Or worse...in a permanent jail cell for the rest of your insignificant lies. I heard news that the Sinnoh Police are looking for you. Tsk tsk... what a catch it would be for them if they suddenly woke up to find the commander and his old lackey on their doorstep don't you think?" She imparted another smile and Cyrus' eyes briefly flickered to the noble standing quietly next to her superior. "Platina here is also interested in the information we hope to gather from you and since she has done her research, I can refer to her if I'm confused about something.

The girl nodded and Diamond stared wondrously, the moment shattered when Pearl barged in screaming. "Senior BLUE!" he hollered breathlessly, "Green wants his jacket back and he wants it NOW! Dear Giratina, why did you take it from him?" Panting, the blonde irritably pushed up the sleeves of his shirt and crashed next to his best friend.

"Because he is keeping secrets." The single sentence had the three juniors look up at her in alarm. Secrets? What was she talking about? In an instant, the atmosphere in the room became strained and the brown haired adolescent patted her pockets, out came two pictures and she held them up gleefully in the air. Pearl, being a member of the said department bounced up to see the photos and Dia copied his actions a bit slowly. Platinum on the other hand was too cultured to snoop in other people's private lives. The images were faded, one showed a girl with blonde hair trailing down her back. The young woman held a straw hat in her hand and wore a cute sundress with frills. The other showed three individuals, an ebony haired man had his arms around the shoulders of a brown haired woman and a solemn faced, spiky haired man. The person in the middle smiled widely, his eyes scrunched up in pleasure.

A shadow fell across the door.

"Senior Blue...Green is throwing a fit, could you please give his coat back?" Yellow strode in the room and made it a point not to glance at the two convicts sitting on the floor. Instead of shrugging the jacket off her person, Blue merely handed her the two photographs. On taking it, the blonde blushed to see a picture of her standing serenely near a lake in the Viridian forest. Blue's lips pulled into a Cheshire cat grin.

"Give him these mementos and I'm sure he'll calm down." the older female winked.

"Mementos?" The aide's face had turned into a nice shade of scarlet and the thought of handing these photos back to her disgruntled superior scared her a bit. Cheeks aflame, she fled with Blue's laughter echoing in her ears.

"So back to business..." the leader whirled around and pinned the barred duo with a calculative gaze, "tell me, how are the red chains made?"

Silence permeated the room. Neither Cyrus nor Charon uttered as much as a peep. But Blue was good at the waiting game. An hour almost passed and on the floor, Pearl and Diamond fell fast asleep whilst leaning against each other and her subordinate politely stifled a yawn. In the end Blue sighed and flipped her shock of hair backwards, she saw Charon glance at her discreetly.

"Fiinnee!" The word stretched out, "I'll let you go if you tell me what they are at least made of and come on...Your freedom hangs on your words!" The man in glasses shifted uncomfortably and glimpsed his superior's displeased face. Grey lips were set into a thin, thin line.

Another silence settled in and this time Blue went out to grab herself a cup of coffee. Charon was left alone with the company of two snoring children and a girl who found the ceiling more thought provoking than him. The moment seemed to go on forever and quite suddenly Constellate's commander came back, behind her an annoyed Ruby pushed a chess table. The fashionista was in the middle of grooming himself and one hand was neatly manicured, with low threats rumbling in this throat, he set up the table and bolted out of the chamber. Blue and Platina began playing a game of chess and the pieces clacked thunderously loud when they were placed on the marbled board. The playing field was even and Charon allowed himself to be ensnared by the proceedings. He averted his gaze when Blue looked at him and his throat became sandpaper dry. Swallowing did nothing; it only tightened the invisible leash around his neck.

The game finished with Platina as the winner, her superior said nothing, instead she clapped and praised the junior on a job well done. Sweeping the chess pieces away, the duo conversed, the topics ranging from planned future missions to the weather, jewellery, clothes, Green's temper, Red's face and mental health, Platina's mansions and what to do with the two prisoners who were eavesdropping on their conversation. In the shadows, Cyrus grunted and Charon's tiny pupils flickered back and forth. A ball rose from the pit of his stomach and threatened to suffocate him, he felt nauseous with worry. He was going out of his mind. The conversation his capturers were having flew over his head, nothing registered and he contemplated on knocking himself out when one word out of the jumble hit his ears forcefully.

Freedom.

He didn't care if Cyrus got angry; nothing else mattered because Charon wanted to get out of here at any cost. Everything closed in on him and every time one of those twisted members visited him, it left a lasting, stinging impression. Those kids looked down on him, mocked him and ridiculed him.

And they scared him witless.

"Oh! Are you interested now?" A silky voice wormed into his ears and he nodded, "yes, I'll let you out of here if you tell me how the crystals are made. I swear it on the honour of my department!" The aged man sluggishly stood up and swayed on his feet for a few seconds. Coming closer to the bars he spoke:

"Blood..." his disused voice sounded horrible. "The red chain is made from the blood of the three psychic legendries, Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie."

Afternoon

Mahogany Town

Execution's room

Pibo hopped happily around the dusty floor of Execution's common room. Lack-2 watched, his russet eyes glued to the spiky eared creature as it bounced at Gold's heels. The raven haired man played with the baby pokemon, cooing and tickling it in an affectionate manner. Pichu squealed with delight and Pika came over, nudging his son lovingly. The brown haired boy let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding. Getting up from his squatting position, he meandered over to the second floor to see Black and N poring over notes. The black haired boy furiously scribbled something and the two stones sat on his cluttered desk side by side, even in the dim light, they glowed eerily and N, who helplessly stared at all the notes and files heaped on the little desk, crouched down to pick up a document which felt to the floor. The duo worked in companionable silence and the rustle of papers punctuated the otherwise still space. Black, so focused and calm presented a strange sight to see and the younger Unova native thought only Musha could subdue the normally flailing, screaming teenager. Feeling bored because the two ignored him in favour of their research (or whatever they were doing) he hopped back down to see Silver joining Gold on the floor. Now he really felt alone. The two adolescents spoke in hushed tones and looked like they didn't want to be disturbed. Climbing down the ladder, he swerved past them and busied himself with staring at the kitchen set in the back and the still swinging punching bag. Half an hour earlier, both Sapphire and himself were called by Ruby to join him in Constellate's room. The female lazily kicked the punching bag as the Hoenn native appeared, welcoming the distraction, she smiled widely at Lack-2 and held her hand out, for a brief moment, he reached out and then something jolted in his mind and he retracted his hand. The two older teens waited for him and he waved them away.

"Sorry" he shrugged, "I want to stay here for a while." His mentor wasn't in the room and once the area became totally deserted, he set about scouring every nook and cranny. Still no sign of an escape route. But then again, he wasn't searching seriously, no matter how impregnable a fortress or building, there is always a chink in the armour and all he had to do was find it and bail himself out.

Alas, things had changed. He felt more and more comfortable with them and eventually gave up on escaping all together. Few minutes had passed and the golden eyed adolescent swaggered in with Pichu at his heels. Involuntarily, Lack-2's muted visage lighted up and he was about to approach his older brother figure when Crystal walked in with him. Gold made some sort of a ruckus and the indigo haired female first endured him with a sufferable expression before outright kicking him altogether. She got up to leave and he observed, from his position on the sofa as Gold looped his arm around her and brought her close to him.

She left and Lack-2 felt empty for some reason. He ignored Gold who played with his pokemon and opted to prowl around the room instead. The brown haired boy was acutely aware of his mentor following his every move and in a few seconds he would call out.

"Lack-2! Come sit next to me buddy!" Giving up and feeling rather lightheaded, he dragged himself over and slouched. The moment he sat down, Pibo was dumped into his lap. Lack-2 stared at the wide, innocent eyes of the baby pokemon and found his own, tainted innocence reflected back at him. Reaching up, he ruffled pichu's head and the little monster rewarded him with a satisfied squeal.

"You can have Pibo" Gold announced and ran a hand through his matted hair, "he is one of my most precious pokemon but since I don't use him, I decided to give him to you. I bred and raised Pibo up by myself and since he's Pika's child, I can assure you that he's got some very good stats. Hopefully you will take good care of him Lack-2; this pichu means a lot to me."

Something inside the Unovian broke; he couldn't do this any longer.

Gently, he picked up the tiny rodent and cradled it to his chest. "Thank you..." he whispered and tightly hugged his new treasure, "I'll take care of Pibo, I'll take very good care of him, I promise." To him, it felt like Gold gave part of him away; a living memory and the boy made it a mission to protect it at all costs. Once again, he questioned if he'd done the right thing. He knew he was dreadfully attached to the grinning, perverted man before him and one day it will cause his downfall. After his parents' death, he chose not to get close to anyone.

Unfortunately people can't be alone forever.

Face splitting into devious a grin, Lack-2 tackled the amber eyed trainer into a hug and thereafter picked himself up. Waving Gold's nicked coin case in the air; he delicately scooped Pibo in the crook of his right arm and hightailed from the room with a furious Johto native at his heels. The cinnamon haired boy took a moment to flash strategy's murderous looking commander a wink and then he tore off, dashing down the corridors and trailing laughter. Silver and Crystal saw him blur pass with their best friend screaming behind. The two took no notice as Yellow squeaked and flattened herself against the wall to allow them through, they ran past the infirmary and here Gold broke away and entered the stark place. Red slouched on the bed with a look of utter boredom on his face. Once again, he held a thick, ancient book which pointed the wrong way up; on seeing his underling, the man smiled and beckoned him closer. Pulling up a chair, the younger man sat near the steel framed bed. The chamber smelled unpleasantly of disinfectant and his superiors clothes seemed to reek of the same.

"What's with all the noise?" Red drawled, "and I think I'm going to spend the next few years of my life in here...Decreed by Doctor Green. I feel perfectly fine and he still insists on me staying here."

"You always look tired senior" the gold eyed trainer mildly intoned.

"Well you would too if you had nothing but a boring book and white walls for company! I mean come on! Will it kill me to get out of this place? He he he, actually it won't, I'm really fine and comfortable in here..." Saying this, the crimson eyed trainer feebly slid downwards and brought up the covers till his chin. Gold was puzzled and his confusion dissipated when a set of footsteps echoed behind him. Half turning, he saw the homicidal visage of Green. The man walked in with clenched fists and anger mapped on his face, he was not wearing his trademark lab coat. Gold felt torn, on one hand he really wanted to leave, on the other, Red looked at him pleadingly; clearly the older trainer did not want to be left alone with his best friend. Grimacing, he took his stool and scooted a bit further from the commanders. They needed some...Space.

"How are you feeling?" a taut voice asked Red and the raven haired quickly replied:

"Great!" he grinned, "I'm ready to roll."

"Good, then you can get out of here." The spiky haired brunette crossed his arms and stared out of a black window. Silence hung in the room.

"What? Seriously? I can get out of here?" the ex-champion was already throwing off the heavy cotton sheets and one leg dangled off the bed, away from them, the Johto trainer noticed a feral gleam in Green's jade irises.

"Yeah" the professor's lips morphed into a humourless grin. "We have a meeting to attend to, let's go." Saying this, he spun around and slinked away whilst Red halted in his actions.

"Sometimes...I hate your guts" he grumbled and pulled himself out of bed.

Around the same time

Dex criminal's hideout

Constellate's room

Ruby sat on the grey floor in front of a large mirror and examined his delacatty. The fur was smooth, dense and glossy. Using a pair of sharp scissors, he carefully snipped away at the excess hair that grew haphazardly around its ears. Taking a fine toothed comb, he brushed the top of his pokemon's hair and set about measuring the tips of delacatty's ears. The fur on the left grew a few centimetres longer than the right and so he pushed up his spectacles which were sliding down the bride of his nose and set about remedying the situation. Spraying the fur down with a mist of water, he leaned closer and clipped away, admiring both himself and his partner's reflections.

Snip snip.

A few paces away from him, the holographic coffee table was gingerly moved to the side of the room and three females sat on a plush black leather couch before a moderately sized flat screen television. Whi-2, Sapphire and White watched a movie and what better place to relax than the well decorated and lavish common room? The trio's hypnotized gaze locked into a world of flashing lights, flying kicks, stunts and love confessions. Discarded snack packets lay at their feet and littered the sofa's arms and when Ruby took a moment to look up, his handsome features distorted into disgust. Shaking his head, he returned to his work whilst the girls sighed when the male leading character professed his undying love for the female one. The credits rolled and the screen went blank. In the middle, Saph moved first, she uncurled and moaned, White sighed blissfully and slumped further in the comforting couch whilst Whi-2 kept on staring at the screen. Her thoughts strayed to home and a certain spiky haired individual. The young girl kept on gazing at the black monitor with a blank expression and she did not notice when another boy slithered into the room and began twirling her long hair in between his fingers.

"Thinking about me?" Her female seniors laughed when she startled out of her daydream by a silvery tone. She looked up to see Lack-2's fingers in her hair and a yellow rodent snuggled in his right arm. It took her a few seconds to return to the realm of reality and once it registered that Lack-2 was grinning at her, she shook herself free and turned to her seniors. The older girls were giggling at her expense and the fact didn't sit well with her. Shooting them a somewhat fierce look and scowling at the simpering pervert, she voiced out in a clamorous tone:

"And what about you senior White? I'm pretty sure you like Black! And senior Saph is no better; you have the hots for Ruby!" Triumphantly, she watched the older females' visage crumble and pale a few shades. Sensing drama unfolding, the brown haired boy tactfully made himself comfortable on the arm of the sofa. A peek at his newest companion told him Pibo still slumbered sweetly. On the other end, White's face transformed into dismay and she denied ever having any feelings for an obsessive guy such as Black. The only thing the teenager dreamed of was conquering Unova's league and becoming champion and she would rather spend some time with a person who actually took note of how she looked. Sapphire had a different reaction, similar to an animal raising its hackles when threatened, she too, bunched on the sofa and hissed audibly.

"Me liking that prissy boy?"

"Don't bring me into this!" Ruby cut in sharply and sniffed, "if you three want to argue, do it somewhere else!"

"Why don't you take your saloon business somewhere else?!" the wild trainer turned on him, the crimson eyed male simply ignored her in favour of cooing over his Nana. Seeing his offhand response, Saph calmed down a bit but like White, furiously denied ever having an ounce of feeling for the flamboyant moron sitting on the floor.

"So...This Hugh..."

Lack-2 jerked involuntarily. Thinking of his classmate took him almost two and a half years back. He was at school, a mischief maker, a flirt and something else. Even though he stood heads above the lilac haired trainer in terms of raw skill, there was something about Hugh that made his blood boil. Perhaps it was the latter's spontaneity or perhaps it was because Whi-2 favoured him. To be honest, he didn't have any romantic feelings towards his female classmate, in any case, watching her admire the quilfish made him mad for some utterly nonsensical reason.

"Yes..." Whi-2's giddy tones forced into his deep musings. "I...Er...Do like him. I'm sure he'd be an excellent addition to the organization. But..." she bit her bottom lip, "he'd probably try to tear the place down. Hugh is very forceful." On the grey floor, Ruby stopped grooming his partners for a moment and he took a quick glance at his junior, the mere thought of her wanting Hugh to join was a testament of how much she ingrained herself with them. Scarlet irises slid to the boy perched stiff on the black leather couch. The younger child grimaced slightly as if he couldn't believe what his friend had said, nonetheless, he too was being tamed by the organization and very soon the last vestiges of rebellion rimming his copper tinted eyes would've faded into nothingness. The fashionista never met someone as enigmatic as Lack-2, the boy kept a carefully guarded expression, however, the facade had long since melted and now he participated in their criminal activities without openly showing disgust. Gathering Nana into his arms, Ruby buried his face into the creature's sable fur and sighed. He wondered how his semi-paralyzed father fared. Unbeknownst to him, his blue eyed comrade took a peek at him. A look flitted over her face but when she turned back to join the raucous conversation, the concern already vanished under a cheerful mien.

* * *

Evening

Johto

Dex criminal's hideout.

"Blood."

Two male voices droned and Blue peered at them. True to what she thought, her co-workers were rather hesitant to create the chain via such brutal methods. After she heard the material needed for the red chain, Constellate's leader vigorously interrogated Charon, alas it seemed like the old scientist wasn't lying. When she thought back to the myths surrounding the three psychic legendries it suddenly dawned on her that it might be true after all. The crystalline restraint was fashioned from emotion, knowledge and willpower. Obviously it is improbable for it to be manufactured from such abstract components, then the only remaining option would be to use the essence of the creatures...Their blood. The idea made her sick and since it was not her decision alone, she decided to hold a meeting. A furious Green tersely replied that he will relay the information to Red. The black haired adolescent was supposed to arrive quite some time ago and when he finally appeared, Blue understood why he took so long. Released from the infirmary, the fighter first went to scrub the awful stench of disinfectant off his person. He walked into the small, quiet room wearing a new pair of jeans and a tight fitting long-sleeved shirt, none of his pokemon were with him.

"It doesn't feel right, are you sure he said blood of the three legendries?" Red queried for the umpteenth time and Blue rolled her eyes.

"Yes Red. My ears aren't blocked you know...Not sure about you though." she snidely added in an undertone. "I even went back to re-read the myths and...It makes sense. You can't make something out of nothing, which is to say the abstract concepts. We need proper living material to create the chain and if you think about it, blood is the perfect material. It embodies our life." She spied the vacant look on her best friend's face, "do you understand what I'm saying Red?"

"He's not _that_ dumb." Green retorted and then whispered, "or maybe he is."

"I...Just don't like the entire idea of it. I mean, it's..." he broke off, unable to find the right words to describe how he felt.

"It's ludicrous." The spiky haired brunette finished, "I wouldn't want to cut open anything to make that chain. Have you researched other ways Blue?"

"Yes, I've trawled through numerous amounts of data and found none. Seriously, do you think I'm that incompetent? If there was another way, I'd be proposing it to you already!" she huffed and turned away. Clearly none of them were happy with how things turned out. Letting a pokemon bleed to death for their own desires did not suit them.

Unfortunately it had to be done, for the sake of their goals.

"I'm pretty sure those Galactic people didn't give this information very easily." Red pushed his still damp hair away from his forehead, "what did you offer them Blue? I hope it's nothing expensive...But then again, knowing you, you'd never offer them anything that will detriment you."

"Of course not" she winked, "who do you think I am...Anyway, back to the topic, what are your thoughts, Green, Red?"

"First give my lab coat back!" strategy's commander spat and the other two blinked, for him to act childish in the middle of a serious debriefing was farfetched, "and take that brooch off, I don't want to go around wearing it." The woman stood up from the snug couch and shrugged off the coat and on taking it Green wrinkled his nose. "It smells of your perfume..." he forlornly stated and opted to dump the article of clothing on carpeted floor. "Red, this is your decision." he crashed back down to his seat.

A heavy decision and privately the ruby eyed adolescent loathed how he was supposed to make it. Sure he might be the supreme head of the organization but he never acted like such. Now of all times he was subtly reminded of the weight he shouldered. He scrutinized his friend's faces, Blue examined her nails, however her eyes were far away. Green resolutely stared back at him, a hardness swirling behind the glassy jade irises. If he pulled out now, what will happen? Will things go back to normal? What will become of Gold and the rest of his team should he disband the organization?

"I say we go ahead." Two sighs of relief were heard, "although, I don't want to do it, someone else should take care of making the chain."

"Red...Who'd want to do this anyway? If the rest of our juniors get a word of what we are saying, they'd get a shock. None of us wants to do this..." Blue broke off as a figurative light bulb went off above her head. She did a fist pump. "I promised Charon and Cyrus their freedo-"

"And why did you do that?" a sinister tone quizzed.

"Listen to me Green, once Charon and Cyrus are free, they can work for us. They'll be in charge of creating the crystals needed to make the chain and I'll handle the monitoring and motivation. In this way, we won't need to dirty our hands. I've already salvaged all the equipment and other stuff from their airship. I'm sure they will be able to do something. If not, Red can fry them.

Night

Dex criminal's hideout

Charon watched disbelievingly as Blue began unlocking the gate. Those criminals actually kept their word! The female leader was alone and she wore a furry hood to ward off the chill seeping in the air. Cyrus, who preferred to stay in the gloom, slowly got up, his joints creaking with effort. The brown haired woman motioned them to step outside and they did, crossing the steel threshold cautiously. It was still surreal and grudging respect bloomed in Charon's chest, thanks to this, he will consider not reporting them to the police. The two males were led outside of the room and down a set of twisting, metallic corridors. While they traversed, the galactic executives met no one else. An eerie atmosphere hung in the air like an oily film clinging to water

A trap.

His instinct screamed a moment too late when they entered another larger room. Fortunately, another cell did not wait for them, rather a nasty surprise. The interior of the spacious, well lit chamber was bedecked with equipment stolen from their base in Veilstone and their airship. To his growing horror, he saw three machines clustered in the middle of the room. These were tailor made for the three psychic legendary pokemon, the machines will extract their blood and coagulate them into a solid crystal, from there, these crystals would needed to be joined together to create a chain. Why did the vile woman bring them here? To gloat about her victory? The silver door set into the otherwise stark white room opened abruptly and two other individuals walked in. By now, the diminishing hope in Charon's chest depleted rapidly.

"You are free..." Blue flipped her hair back and genially grinned, "...to work for us. See, we have all the equipment you'd ever need to create the chain and once you are done. You can go, I'm serious."

Cyrus graced her with a look of pure hatred and Charon had never seen his dispirited superior look so angry. Wordlessly, he trudged over to Red who held two of the three mythical pokemon in his hands. Snatching all three masterballs, he went over the machines and fired them up. A series of lights flashed into existence along with metallic whirrs, crunches and electronic beeps. The device was shaped like an electronic pedestal but with a covered seat built into the top. The glass covering hissed open and after releasing Azelf, the cobalt eyed man rudely thrust the tiny beast into a machine. Two plates immediately bordered it and released an electric charge; the blue pokemon went limp instantaneously. With another whine, the glass re-covered the comatose creature and that's when the real nightmare began. The three commanders beheld, with revulsion on their faces, as a paper thin blade came out of nowhere and sliced Azelf's forelimb. The crouched creature jostled and its body jerked with pain, a thin trickle of blood ran down and collected on a ceramic plate set underneath the psychic. It pooled and began to solidify. Above, the cutting process repeated.

N ambled down the corridors with bare feet when a paralyzing screech played out in his mind. The source came from deep within the base and he stopped. The king knew he was not allowed to walk around night and after admonishing him severely, Black stopped caring. Once, he met Gold in the passages, the amber eyed adolescent leant on the walls along with Silver and Crystal. When he saw N walking down alone, he invited him in to stay in the room. A bit repulsed by the thought, he stared at the black haired adolescent and denied the offer. Now his feet carried him to the sound pervading his mind. An awful screech of pure agony.

Fifteen minutes later he came by a silver door, the whine of machines leaked out and he wondered if it was safe to go inside. What were his seniors doing and who was in there? Pressing his ear closer to the door, he only managed to pick up the drone of machines, if there were people in there; they were doing a good job of keeping quiet. Another gasp of pain went through him and N slid down helplessly, tears were leaking from his eyes. The intense pain darted through his body and he curled up at the threshold. Sniffing, he tried to keep his breath in.

Torture. Unadulterated torture.

* * *

A/N: Much thanks to Kanarazi, XingStyx and shadow of balance for favoriting and following my story. I hope the story will keep being an entertaining read. The previous chapter is set into the distant past and the near future, hence all the confusion. At Eevee: I'm still using Mindy's laptop since I'm starting to think that mine will not recover. And my sister's laptop is also experiencing keyboard malfunctions :( Lol for your Green analysis. I suppose it all makes sense. At Silver: I chose this specific poem due to its ambiguous meaning. You already cracked the first part (Regret) by the end of this arc, you will understand the hidden meaning. More like, I'm so glad you actually took note of it :) Who says there is no after life? *grins* As for how the universe works you will have to read to find out. At AceTrainerLeaf Thank you for the warm compliments. My accident is all okay now, thanks for asking. The rest of the arc will go about explaining the events leading to Chapter 42 so look forward to that. At GrotesqueChimera: What happened to Red? (The question on everyone's minds!) No you didn't skip anything. I deliberately left it out. It'll be explained I promise, but much later. In the meantime I'll welcome any theories explaining his (and the other Execution members) disappearances. At Jack54311: Your review made me laugh! Why would you want everything to go wrong?!

Thanks to all those who reviewed. Virtual chocolate cookies and cake people! Please keep on reviewing and feel free to send in theories! I'd like to see what the readers think!


	44. Restless minds

**Chapter 44: Restless minds**

A few weeks later, mid afternoon

Johto

Strategy's common room

The intense heat baked the surroundings. Johto writhed in the vice grip of a sweltering summer and it affected everyone. Execution, the rowdy group famous for brawling, screaming and fighting all lied around, sucked dry. Thanks to Platina, Team constellate had gone on vacation, Sinnoh was pleasantly warm this time of the year and the members were invited to the Berlitz family's private estate. As soon as they were called, they vanished without a trace. The monitoring of Cyrus and Charon fell on the other commanders who stayed at base and to the surprise of everyone; none of them done a good job. It was expected of Red; the man showed more interest in his team's battle prowess and spent much of his time with his pokemon or training with his team mates. The shocking factor turned out to be Green, despite the professor's diligence; he often neglected to look after the duo and instead sent Emerald. On top of a wobbling pile of books, the spiky haired brunette's face lay squashed, his precious lab coat half hung off his shoulder, exposing a pale arm and he was fast asleep, deep breaths echoing even louder than the sound of machine. Both Crystal and White watched as his chest rose and fell, it was an uncommon sight to see him clonked out in their common room, yet this particular scene happened more and more often.

"I guess it's the heat." White offered unhelpfully as she dropped an armful of books on the table and began sorting them out. Genetic experiments, the red chain, composition of blood, psychic beasts, all the books towered under Green's head ranged in those topics. He suddenly had an interest in them and spent all of his energy and effort into reading and researching. Not that their commander was particularly filthy (Red was fine with walking around in a sweat drenched shirt) Crystal noticed that more and more coffee stains began to show on his clothes. Once he was caught with a pen stuck behind his ear and his fingers stained with so much ink, Yellow threw a fit and outright commanded him to go wash himself. And he did so without arguing in return.

"I don't know...I mean, his behaviour is getting worse. He seemed obsessed...Almost possessed by something." The indigo haired female paused to take a good look at her superior, it won't do if he suddenly woke up and heard them gossiping, "it started a few weeks ago, we saw N walking down the corridor in a daze muttering something about horrible experiments and pokemon torture. There must be some misunderstanding though, but from there onwards; all three have been acting weirdly." Shaking her head, the Johto native began dusting the pictures and portraits displayed on the wall. She liked to keep everything clean and properly organized.

"All three of them? Even senior Red and Blue?" The books were packed and the glass doors slid shut in the small oak book cases dotted around the room. White looked around and spied more tomes peeking from underneath the central table; she sighed, tried to ignore them and eventually gave up. Picking them up, she scanned the titles and returned them to their proper places.

"...I'm not sure, however Gold and Silver told me that their superiors are also acting uncanny." Crys broke off.

"Do you know what the Red chain is made up of Senior?"

"Hmm? No, I suppose some type of mineral?"

"It's made of blood. To be more specific, blood of the three legendary pokemon, Azelf, Uxie and Mesprit." Emerald walked in and halted in his tracks, the short boy wheeled a cart befitting his size. The trolley brimmed with a variety of tools, gadgets and discs. Rald had decided that today seemed a good day to give the organization's computers a complete overhaul. In this way, it would be impossible to trace them electronically, but on hearing his leader's rasping voice, he stopped entering and stood agape on the threshold. What was Green talking about? In the corner of his vision, he saw Crystal turn; the duster fell out of her hands as she stared at superior with visible scorn. Behind the short boy, Yellow had also stopped and her visage had morphed to horror.

"Why?" Crystal broke the tense silence by hoarsely wording out her question. Green had fully roused and was busy tidying himself; he smoothed out his olive tinted shirt, hitched his black combat pants up and took off his coat. A hand ran through his brown locks, making them more dishevelled.

"Why what Crystal?"

"Why are you doing this?" Yellow stepped in and fiercely demanded, her hazel eyes displaying uncharacteristic fury. "You didn't tell us anything about this! We all thought the Red chain was created from some mineral found in Sinnoh! You said the Galactic people might have it and we could send Constellate and Execution to retrieve it...pokemon blood...Why Green?"

"Red approved of the idea." The brunette snapped as if telling his aide this bit of information will manage to calm her. Maybe it would, Red was her idol, the person who the sun shines out of, recently Green noted changes in her and no longer will the name of his best friend light her pretty face up. Privately he felt glad.

"But-"

"There's no other way." Tired of standing in the entrance, Emerald finally made his presence known and forcefully pushed the cart inside, he had also picked up on his commander's unusual mannerisms and being the hacker of the group, he decided to try and find out what exactly gnawed on his superior's brains. One night, he diligently went through all the camera records in the base. Every main room was monitored with a few cameras and although Rald would've happily bugged all the members' rooms, Green forbade him to do it (what a spoil sport!) Privacy must be respected. Anyhow, he sifted through the records, spending the entire night inside this very room with only coffee, energy biscuits and the dim glow of his monitor as company. Eventually, a certain event, taking place a few weeks ago caught his attention. A private meeting amongst the top trio and it showed them using the Galactic executives to create the Red chain. Emerald was shocked, flabbergasted and appalled. He forced himself to re-watch the video till the events imprinted itself in his brain. Only in the coming weeks did he realize the decision proved to be quite damaging to his seniors. Of course, if they had another way, they would make full use of it. The leaders bore the full brunt of the horror they saw and inwardly, the Hoenn native admired their tenacity. They would go to any lengths to fulfil their goals.

"Dex-criminals" Green's monotonous voice rang in the air, "It's by time we live up to its name. Besides, the other groups are engaged with things far sinister than what we are doing."

"Is that your justification?" Yellow spoke up again, "...You created a clone and none of us said anything because we understood it was a needed experiment. Besides Mewtwo is generally destructive so we had to get rid of it. And now you are draining the legendary psychics of their blood, tell me Green, what exactly is going to happen if they are crippled for life? They govern our emotions, willpower and knowledge..."

His mind whirled, the rest of the blonde's words were drowned out by the noise of blood rushing around his ears. Yellow often admonished him or told him off when he did something unfavourable but her arguing against him was something new. She had a point and that is exactly why the three of them decided to keep the making of the red chain a secret. Harming legendary pokemon always proved to be a grave, fatal mistake. But it had to be done. They wanted a new universe and if this was the way to do it, then so be it. Perhaps his scowling underlings needed a wakeup call. He was the boss around here.

"If there we had another option Yellow, don't you think we would've exploited that chance already?" Instead of something harsh coming out of his mouth, he explained his thoughts gently and it embarrassed him. In the periphery of his vision, he saw Pearl flash him a grin and knew the male blonde was well aware of what they were doing; Pearl was present at the scene when Charon announced the materials of the red chain and the boy didn't bat an eyelid. In a way their hearts had hardened, despite everything, they were no longer moved by events that should, in a manner of speaking, shock people who had good conscious.

"Yes...I'm a bit disturbed that's all. But, like you said, I'm sure you researched other ways and since there were no other options...I understand." Yellow fidgeted with her hands and quickly veered to the left when Green approached her. The jade eyed male blinked and turned to look at her, there were a couple of documents in his hands and he needed to get these to Red. Unfortunately his secretary moved away from him with crimson dusting her cheeks. Was she so angry with him that her whole face turned scarlet? Shrugging, he ordered Pearl to get those papers to Red pronto and knew the Sinnoh boy will spend the entire afternoon goofing away with Diamond. The rest of his team resumed their previous tasks. Emerald's stubby fingers flew over the keyboard as he began his operation. White busied herself with organizing the filing cabinets and books whilst Crystal vacuumed the floor. On the far end of the table, Yellow sat stiff in a wing backed chair, her face still flushed and her tiny hands poised over a document with a pen. Green glanced at her and noticed her ponytail becoming loose, several strands of corn-silk hair trailed down her face. His blissful reprieve shattered when a clamorous tone broke into his thoughts and he contemplated on giving the offender a piece of his smouldering mind when he noticed his own gear played the sound. Digging a hand into his pocket, he fished the equipment out and received a mild, pleasant surprise when he spied the caller ID

Professor Sycamore.

And just like that, the whole moral fiasco with the red chain was forgotten.

"Hello? Is this Green Oak from Kanto, Pallet Town?" An affable voice with a slightly lazy drawl enquired. The visage of the man was one who did not care about his looks but still appeared handsome anyway. A thin stubble outlined his jaw and deep grey eyes peered inquisitively out of the tiny screen. "I have a proposition for the pokemon professor." and Green replied.

"Yes this is Green Oak," the trainer smiled genially; "you said you have a proposition for me? And I'm honoured that you know of my name." The other members of the strategy department briefly paused in their tasks to listen to him, who was their leader acknowledging? Whoever the person was, they must be pretty important because certainly Green won't be smiling like an idiot if the caller happened to be some common individual. Yellow stopped writing in order to see the huge, zany grin decorating her senior's face. It is a rare treat to see the normally brooding trainer smile so widely but here he was, nodding his head like an excited school boy and thanking the caller profusely.

"I'm currently researching a new type of evolution called mega evolution." Strategy's team leader bopped his head several times per second, "Green, it would be my utmost honour if you could help me with my work. I've already contacted Samuel Oak but he referred me to you and since you are his grandson I feel even more delighted!" Sycamore's eyes crinkled, "currently, I've already established everything and even done a few experiments...But you know the scientific community, they will never accept anything unless the same trial has been conducted by at least another professor. Mega evolution is something concrete and if I could show you the evidence, I'm sure you will understand. Unfortunately, right now this is highly confidential and all under wraps; imagine if people found out that their pokemon can evolve one stage higher than their final form. If criminal organizations find out, I shudder to think what could happen." The Kalos professor laughed heartily and continued, "please make your way to Kalos after two months and feel free to visit my laboratory!" The spiky haired brunette sincerely thanked him, "oh yes, I've invited Steven Stone as well." and on hearing the last statement, his eye involuntarily twitched. Nevertheless, anticipation shone in his emerald irises and he snapped the poke-gear shut dreamily. The opportunity is a dream come true. Out of all the other competent professors, Sycamore invited him to see the ground breaking research of mega evolution. After the call ended, Green realized that he had no idea what mega evolution was. The professor merely mentioned it was another step of evolution, but did a possibility of a new stage of evolution exist?

His brain already began processing several theories and when Yellow sat down next to him, he still reeled on excitement. All this simultaneously crashed when his secretary called his name.

"Senior Green? Who was that person on the other end?"

Yellow, Crystal, Emerald, Pearl and White...He had a huge responsibility right here and he totally forgot about them. He knew his team was capable of taking care of themselves. The thought comforted him somewhat as he absolutely wanted to go to Kalos, even if Steven Stone also attended the event. He had to go! Green was the grandson of Samuel Oak, arguably the most prestigious researcher and professor in the pokemon field. All sorts of questions would be thrown at him if he failed to show up. On the other hand, he had a little group to look after and he knew Red would not be pleased if he simply decided to leave everything and go.

"A professor from Kalos, his name is Sycamore. He wants me to help him with a type of evolution research." Happiness gave way to distress and he tugged at his hair helplessly, the blonde's irises grew wide with wonder.

"You have to go don't you?" She shuffled closer to him and he felt slightly euphoric and uncomfortable by her attention, "I mean, the facts you learn there might help us eventually."

"...Yes," an unsure smile graced his lips, "I really have to go."

* * *

Afternoon

Sinnoh

Sandgem Town, Berlitz mansion

Whi-2 sighed contently and sipped on a lime green juice as she lay sprawled on a deck chair before an outdoor swimming pool. Even if the holiday arrived a few months late, the young girl happily pushed thoughts of her work aside and enjoyed the current leisure. Sweeping her hair to one side, she looked across and spied her commander who also lied in a similar fashion, her leader's frame was wrapped in a fitting royal blue dress embroidered with white opaque stones which Platina gifted her and Whi-2 agreed that it flattered her already beautiful from. The two males in their department were currently in the water. Ruby looked like he was shooting a film; the teenager floated on an orange water bed wearing swimming trunks and with sunglasses obscuring his face. One hand indolently trailed the surface of the crystal blue water whilst the other held a glass. He appeared perfectly at ease, the sun glinted off his shades and pearly white teeth. Submerged in one corner of the gigantic and rather elegantly designed pool was Silver. His adopted sister dragged him out of the room after he shut himself in and decided to while the holiday away watching his favourite animation. Blue pulled him out, forced a pair of swimming shorts on him and slapped his hands away when he tried to cover his gaunt form with his hands. She patted the scar on his stomach, hauled him throughout the mansion and eventually dumped him in the pool. When he hit the water, he gasped and came up for air, pulling strands of his crimson hair away from his face, barricading himself in one corner, he stood and shivered. Several of the maids who came to deliver drinks and other refreshments eyed him with a mixture of emotions and one young lady became so engrossed on his vibrating self that she tripped and spilled the contents of her tray on the sidewalk. He wondered what they found so appealing, he is just a scrawny guy, shivering and wet with hair plastered all over his face. What's there to like?

"Are you having fun Silver?" Blue sat down next to him and dangled her legs in the water. Seeing her, he got out of the pool, walked a few paces and then sat down. Immediately a man wrapped him in a fluffy towel and he eagerly accepted the warmth. Silver tinted irises took in the opulent view around him. The scene could've come out straight from a holiday brochure. The pool was situated on the roof, a giant oval framed by palm trees and exotic plants on one side, the other area had no decorations and he could see mount Coronet rising out in the horizon. The rest of Sandgem seemed small and insignificant to the giant palace they currently stayed in. Silver would never get used to such grandeur but his adopted sister blended in like she belonged to high society. Perhaps she was before Team Rocket whisked away everything. A pair of platinum earrings hung underneath her ears, catching and reflecting the diluted light of the afternoon sun. Blue enjoyed herself and seeing her so care-free, he too smiled.

They deserved this break, especially her after what she went through to retrieve him. The horror continued as she watched Azelf, Uxie and Mesprit get drained of their vital body fluids to further their goal. Blue sunk in a depressed mood for some time and when Platina proposed a getaway, they eagerly fled for a brief time of luxury.

The moment they arrived at the insanely huge doors, Whi-2 bounced with delight and then tamed herself when the butler looked at her sternly. In fact, all of them were given a once over before being politely escorted in. The youngest gasped at the marble tiles, pillars wreathed in ivy and a chandelier so huge, she could've gotten lost in it. They were shown their rooms and a few minutes later, bell boys brought up their luggage. Whi-2 was blown away by the sheer size of the place she would stay in. A huge oak bed completely dominated one side; a Persian rug covered the floor whilst a full body sized mirror reflected her form. Here, she scrutinized her appearance and decided that the maids dressed better than her. A walk in wardrobe offered nothing and sheepishly, the young girl started unpacking her casual clothes and filling it in. The scenery from her French windows was breath-taking, clear skies broken by snow-capped mountains. A knock on the door had her scrambling up from the floor and when she opened it, a woman stepped in. She took in her shorts, sneakers and printed t-shirt with mild displeasure, handed her a dress and stepped out. The dress was made of black velvet and lined with gems at the collar and around its short sleeves. After putting it on, she experimentally twirled and rewarded by the midnight fabric swirling around her. At seven o'clock sharp, a servant escorted her downwards to dinner.

She had to pick up her jaw from where it hit the floor. Both Ruby and Silver were also forced into formal wear. The fashionista wore it proudly; however Whi-2 saw that the skewed bandanna covering his forehead didn't agree well with the head maid. Platina, resplendent in a frilled blouse and pencil skirt, ushered them all in. The rest of the event passed by in a blur but the young girl remembered eating with the delicate chiming of china ringing in her ears. Fatigued by the out of world experience, she was ushered back up into her room and fell asleep almost immediately, the soft silk sheets providing an irresistible cocoon.

When she woke up the next day, bright and early thanks to the butler, Platina outlined the week's events. To their dismay they were informed that the heiress would not be able to join them.

"I have some occupation to attend to Ms Blue," they were sitting in the noble's room which looked like the size of Whi-2's entire house, "I'm sorry, but it is crucial."

"Hmm..." the older female picked up a cherry from a nearby fruit bowl and ate it with deliberate slowness, "work with the nobles of Ransei perhaps?" a knowing gleam entered her eyes and her subordinate stiffened visibly.

"...Yes." she hesitantly replied, "I have to do some correspondence they sent me, due to my activities in the organization, I've neglected it and they are not too happy."

"Then we'll just relax in your mansion!" Blue chirped, "I wouldn't go anywhere and leave you behind, that would defeat the purpose of this vacation, so don't mind if we go all out." Nearby, Ruby trailed his hands down yards of cashmere and other rich fabrics. Next to him, Silver ignored the world and buried his nose in an epic novel. His hair was shoved underneath a grey beanie and somewhere, the head maid suffered from a heart attack at his unkempt looks.

"Please enjoy yourselves...I wouldn't have it otherwise."

And thus the group spent each day getting to know the humongous mansion. They first explored the rooftop pool and over the course of the week, whilst Platina slaved away with her documents, the rest of Constellate spent their time with idle laughter and fun. Silver spent much of his time in the library, tucked away in an oversized armchair and reading about espionage, disguising and other topics Ruby wouldn't bother himself with. The Hoenn native on the other hand spent much of his time with the dressmakers and the little team was both happy and exasperated with his enthusiasm. Blue and Whi-2 mostly hung out together and bonded, talking about life in general and how things were proceeding back at base. On the last day of their short vacation, everyone's mood morphed into despondency and none of them wanted to leave. As usual, Ruby threw a fit because he misplaced something.

"My sweater!" he wailed as Blue tapped the glazed floor impatiently with her foot. The teenager dove inside the oversized luggage carrier and began to fling things out, a pair of shorts flew into Silver's face and the quiet adolescent forcefully removed the article of clothing and gave it to his trusty weavile so the dark pokemon could tear it into shreds. Seeing this, the flamboyant boy stopped what he was doing in an effort to salvage his already un-wearable pants. Throwing his senior a heated glare (the red head shifted a few paces backwards because when Ruby got angry, he dished out assaults akin to Red) and continued to moan and complain and sift through his clothing. Platina walked and next to her a maid had his sweater neatly folded in his hands. Articulating a hurried thanks, he lunged, grabbed it off the blushing female and crammed it in.

All set.

Platina's parents saw them off at the foyer. The little group humbly relayed their thanks over and over again. Being rich, kind and generous, Constellate was invited again and Blue accepted the invitation warmly. This time, she promised to bring the entire group with and maybe they could talk business. The Berlitz family was interested in the Organization's deeds and their goals were rather intriguing. Thanking them once more, the motely group waked out in the morning sun and on to the train station where they would board a vehicle for Kanto. The members talked about their wonderful experience and unlike when they first came in, they left with wide smiles gracing their faces.

* * *

Several days later, late evening

Johto

Mahogany Town

The town nestled in a valley surrounded by low lying hills. Brown and green dotted the area and it was a relatively small place, out of the way, but linked to the major places nearby. Already the sun dipped and the town plunged into darkness, however the last vestiges of the burning orange light gave a spectacular view. In the distance, the sharp outline of the Bell tower broke through the horizon, its spire gleamed an ethereal gold. The shadows of people on the streets grew longer as they closed down their shops or simply headed back home for a well-deserved rest. Soon, street lamps were lit, dotting the roads with pools of sickly yellow light. Mahogany town was very quiet now as everyone shut their doors and opted to knock off for the night. Squatting behind a brick house, an individual glanced at his watch and peered at the entrance of the famed souvenir shop. An hour passed without a single customer entering; finally, late at night a trio appeared. They were loud and he watched as the three adolescents went inside the shop. He perked and shot up from his uncomfortable posture, looking left and right, he shoved his hands deep inside the pockets of a shabby trench coat and decided to go inside.

" _You will see three of them, aged around twenty two, enter the shop really late at night. One of them you will recognise instantly, the other two are his best friends, an indigo haired lady wearing a puffy white hat and a pale faced youth who is notorious amongst every other police force in the Pokeverse. His name is Silver. Be very careful around them."_ His superior's tired voice bled through the public phone.

"Sir...Where are you?" Looker couldn't keep the tone of desperation out of his words.

"I'm with Anabel in headquarters." the investigator could pick out sarcasm, "apparently I have been sitting idle for a year and now I must handle all the paper work caused by the Hoenn disaster. They are taking me for granted aren't they? Who does Anabel think she is? E-mailing me tons of work when I'm busy tailing the Dex-criminals? And now, come to Kalos indeed, no thank you, I'm fine sitting in my office and doing things I should be doing!" the anger outlined with a snarl. "Keep in touch; I'm busy so I'll see you later." The line went dead and Looker spent a few more minutes listening to the flat, stretched out beep before replacing the phone in its cradle. This particular conversation which took place a few days ago played out in his mind as he stepped over the threshold.

The musky smell of incense and aged wood hit his nostrils. Looker scanned the tiny shop and was surprised to find it deserted save for the elderly couple manning the register. Nodding politely to them, he scoured the store, looking at cards, statuettes of the legendary pokemon carved from wood, marble and various types of stone. Key chains and straps dangled before his face and he trudged to the very back and stared at the wall intently as if it held the question to his life's answers. Aware of the couple staring at him attentively, Looker scratched the back of his head, apologized and exited. Outside there another officer waited patiently for him.

"Well, did you find anything?"

"Not really, but the three people who entered the store simply vanished."

Falkner stroked his chin thoughtfully and narrowed his eyes, "that's a start, let's go in and question the couple, they might be hiding more than a few wanted criminals." The cyan haired man brushed his bangs to the side and confidently strode in with Looker at his heels. The old man and woman jumped in fright when he came in, his dark blue police uniform screamed a warning underneath the well-lit store. Smiling kindly, he walked to the counter and held up a picture. The couple's eyes widened and at once Falkner had his answers, still he worded out a question.

"W-we don't know those people." The elderly man's voice shook with obvious fright and his wife whimpered. The picture showed a newspaper clipping of Gold who stood proud in an arena surrounded by hundreds of people. Next to him was a blurred, black and white shot of Silver. The last showed a pretty female with loose hair curling around her shoulders, she wore an apron and her hands held a broom. "I'm sorry, we are just an old couple selling souvenirs...If you are interested in my wares..."

"We are interested in the people who are obviously hiding underground." The couple quaked and held onto each other, "I understand you don't want to divulge any information because there is always a chance they might've threatened you. Thank you for your information, we will be leaving, I'm sorry to disturb you."

Outside, a muted screech of tires could be heard. Several dozens of people hung in the shadows cradling pokeballs and weapons. If anyone walked down the road, they would've seen nothing, not even the cars. But the place crawled with more than a dozen officers. Light mirrored off their black gear and with the occasional glint, they could've been mistaken for oversized insects with gleaming exoskeletons. The policeman stepped out and a man approached him.

"Armed and ready sir." he saluted and his arcanine growled in affirmative.

"Good," the police deputy half turned and his eyes reflected the store, "we are storming in."

* * *

 **A/N:** Did everyone enjoy the outing with Team Constellate? And more importantly…Green getting chewed out, not something that happens every day. Much gratitude to those who read and reviewed! At Silver: Galactic didn't make the chain yet, they theorized a way of making it and I'm not really sure how the process goes, but deriving the red chain is extremely painful for them, so even though the trio will remain alive, they will be extremely fatigued due to the constant loss of blood. Dead people? Hah! You will have to read in order to find out. Chap 42 goes on way after this. It's basically the ending of the arc. At GrotesqueChimera you are welcome :) At Eevee: Your latest review made me really sad, but if you don't want to review any longer, I understand. Just let me say that I enjoy reading your reviews immensely, I don't find them annoying/insane or anything because I like the feedback you give me and your little scenes and reactions are very colourful. Yellow switching affections? I wrote a bit on her background and thoughts (coming later) as well as Green's interactions with his family. Well, I don't really think there is a 'right way' to review. Trust me; I've seen some nausea inducing stuff written on other stories. At Jack54311: Divine retribution! Why not? You just gave me a good idea and yeah…things will go wrong :)


	45. A grim reminder

**Chapter 45: A grim reminder**

Midnight

Johto

Dex criminal's hideout

A squabbling sound issued forth from the foot of the door and Lack-2 groaned. For some reason, he couldn't fall asleep and a certain strain, a certain tension infused the atmosphere and engulfed his mind. His days were going great, for the past month, there were no outdoor tasks and capturing the legendary pokemon came to a standstill since the commander decreed that they got the most important ones. The mythical creatures of land, sky and sea. Titans who will shift the continents. A traveller of time and granter of wishes, if anything needed to be fine-tuned, they could do it later and thus the entire base quieted down into a hive of mundane activity. There was much cleaning, organizing and rearranging to be done but no one in Execution cared. The brown haired boy did not have the heart to stuff his pichu in a pokeball and it was a common sight to see the little rodent sometimes forcibly carried around in his arms. Alas, the problem started at night. Pibo did not want to stay with him and each evening, when Lack-2 retried to bed, the mini beast could be found squeaking pathetically and scrabbling at the door.

Pibo missed Gold. The black haired teenager spent his entire life caring for the monster and it did not like straying too far from him. Even if Gold refused to use him as part of his team, just being near the trainer calmed the spiky eared monster. He remembered the heavy breaths of the adolescent and once, the electric mouse had to scamper out of the way when his breeder almost crushed him. His master hardly slept alone, this habit remained unbroken even after he left home and pichu remembered how he was tucked into one arm as the Johto native discreetly entered another room and fell asleep in another person's bed. Often, he'd wake up next to his mentor or Silver and one morning he woke up in Crystal's room. The distressed woman gave off an ear splitting scream and kicked him so hard, he passed out. A few weeks ago, his master gave him away to this copper eyed child and Pibo tolerated him. He was wary of the boy whose emotions were clouded and confused and despite being treated so gently by Lack-2, Pibo didn't agree with his new trainer. Every night he kept up the inane scratching, hoping, praying that the thick headed perverted boy would finally get the message and set him free. Alas, there must be something wrong with his brain circuitry because the human would speak soft words of comfort, gather him up in arms and try and to snuggle with him. The rodent endured it and eventually fell into a restless sleep with a vice grip around its furry body.

Tonight however, things were different. Pichu still squeaked and scratched at the wood and his partner ignored him in favour of lying on the bed. Another hour passed and the moonlight filtering through the curtains turned more silvery, washing the room in pale white light. A shaft fell on Lack-2's tossing form and he eventually got up to see Pibo staring at him. Immediately the mouse turned and started it's scratching on the door and the boy moaned as more and more claw marks decorated his rather solid door. He knew the pokemon wasn't too fond of him but his mind refused to believe it. Getting up, he briefly let the cool air circulate around his bare legs before making his way to his partner, the scratching noises increased in intensity and when he gently reached a hand out to scoop Pibo up, the creature electrocuted him.

 _Zap_

So that's how senior Red felt every time Pika vented. The pain came as a nasty shock and the tiny mouse pokemon eyed him with a bit of regret. Lack-2's hair stood up in brown halo and his entire body tingled and numbed.

The world around him broke loose in a deafening cacophony.

At once the base rocked and he watched as the floor cracked and rolled. Pichu gave off a terrified squeak and dove into the rapidly collapsing room. The ground tilted and his table, chair, books and other devices crashed haphazardly into the bookcase and wall on the far end. Instinctively he got to work, first he grabbed a backpack and forced a few clothes in, secondly, he glanced across the room and pinpointed his pokeball studded belt, Xtransciever and other gadgets. Sweeping them all in the bag he made up his mind to leave when he remembered pichu. Hissing in annoyance, he got down on hands and foot and began looking, a beam fell on his head and the pain spread across his forehead almost blinding him. Gritting his teeth, he forced his broken bed aside and moved out of the way as part of the wall tumbled down, revealing a sheer rock face. An anguished cry alerted him to pichu and he set off again, his mind awash with a thousand different thoughts. He eventually located the bright yellow creature, sandwiched between the mess that looked like a bookshelf, mirror and table. In a dangerous tangle of splintered wood and glass, pichu was trapped and terrified.

The boy swore.

Inhaling deeply, he gingerly reached out an arm when noise rattled his brains. An alarm, his room flooded in an artificial red light; the colour stabbing in his eyes. The blare throbbed against his ear drums and Lack-2 thought he would start to go deaf at this young age already. When the alarm rang, he jolted and his arm slid against a jagged piece of glass, blood began trickling down and he forced himself closer in order to reach out to his partner. Pibo whimpered and climbed on to his arm, it shot forward and buried itself in his chest. Delicately pulling his forelimb out, he secured his backpack and was about to rush out when someone tumbled inside the room. His insides got cold and he began praying not to get caught.

"Oi! What in Lugia's name are you still doing here?!" Gold hollered in his ear and a dismal relief blossomed in his chest, his senior's forehead was clipped, his cap skewed and pants slashed. "Lack-2 let's get outta here, didn't you hear the siren...It spells danger kid and it usually means SCRAM!" An ominous purple gas billowed into the room and they heard the thud of heavy boots coming downwards. The boy froze in his tracks and had to be pulled by Gold out of the room. Pushing his lackey forward, the Johto native glanced back to see masked and armed personnel storming their corridors. An ambush. Lack-2 stumbled forward with his mentor screaming encouraging words behind him. Somewhere, a pokemon executed a flash and the passageway burned with an intense light. After his eyes adjusted, he saw the other trainers methodically pouring out and joining a single line as they all tried to escape the police's clutches. He peered back and got a jab for his efforts

"Stop looking back!" Gold admonished.

"I'm scared." Lack-2 said and staggered forward; more hands grabbed him and pulled him to a confusing mass of bodies. He briefly spied the terrified visage of Whi-2 clinging to her team mates, Blue and Platina, alas the young girl was separated from her leader who vanished into the chaos. The girl screamed and clawed at air whilst her senior tried to calm her down. Panic gripped the boy and he tried looking over the heads of his co-workers to see if he could get a glimpse of Gold. Instead he saw smoke, distorted figures and pale terrified faces. The scene brought on a wave of nausea and he retched. Things were not going well and briefly he wondered if he should backtrack and go after his mentor. He wanted the raven haired male to be with him, to comfort him and to tell him that everything would be okay.

And he wanted to make sure that Gold wouldn't join his parents six feet underground.

Blank faced and utterly calm in spite of the vortex of hysteria surrounding him, Black gripped a disorientated Lack-2 and steered him in the right direction. The boy was sweaty and as soon as he faced forward, he doubled over and threw up at N's feet. N looked downwards and saw the child shivering uncontrollably, his irises had shrunk into pin heads and he clutched pichu so hard, the monster had difficulty breathing. Nodding to Black, he comfortingly gripped the younger Unovian and steered him through the semi-organized mass. Sapphire joined him, her face hard in the artificial light. She gave him a thumbs up and sped up to check on the other trainers. Just as the rapidly moving mass of trainers managed to calm down, another magnitude swept through the base along with the deafening echo of thunder. Whi-2 screeched so loud, she fainted and Ruby shouldered himself through the throng in order to pick her up. N looked around to see White organizing the group and urging them forward again whilst Black, with Musha firmly secured on his head, brought up the rear. None of the commanders or the Johto trainers could be seen. Pulling out of his gentle grip, the once king sighed in irritation as Lack-2 stood rooted to his spot.

"Keep moving Lack-2" Black nudged him.

"Where are the seniors? Why did they leave at a time like this? Where is-" he swallowed heavily, his throat felt like a piece of sandpaper.

"The base is surrounded by the police therefore they have to protect it all costs. If our headquarters is completely broken down, or even worse, seized by the police it will spell disaster." the older Unova native replied in a monotone, "don't worry, I'm sure that won't happen. This isn't the first time we are being ambushed but I have to admit...this time they sure hit hard and fast. Even I got frightened."

"Aren't the leaders enough? Why do the Johto trainers have to go?" Lack-2 came close to wailing.

"Seriously, didn't you hear what I said? The entire base is surrounded, you can't have the top trio protecting us and acting as diversion! Besides, you are clearly worried about Gold, even if senior Red bashed a dent in his skull and told him to stay put, he wouldn't listen. Says he needs to watch out for pretty gals and keep an eye on Crystal or something. In any case, we have to get a move on, Gold or the others aren't coming. You won't see them until this is over."

Lack-2 mechanically moved forward, his grip slowly suffocating the present his mentor gave him.

* * *

Late night

Johto

Souvenir shop

"Good." Falkner smoothed out the creases in his uniform, "we are storming in."

The doors flung apart as the entire team exploded inside the shop. Luckily there were no customers but the elderly lady who manned the counter with her husband, passed out from fright. Shelves bearing precious goods were thrown aside as pokemon and their weapon carrying trainers surged in like a wave. A slim cylindrical object was flung at the far corner and with a booming explosion the back wall crumbled down to reveal a hidden space. The cyan haired man threw a disgusted look and continued inside, his predatory bird hovering dangerously close. As soon as the assault team stepped into the corridor, a siren deep inside blared. Falkner allowed himself to relax, clearly they had attacked the right spot and if he could just trap them here underground, it would be easy to capture them. An earthquake courtesy of a pokemon made escape difficult for the convicts and the air was artificially saturated with a cloud of poisonous gas. Putting on a mask, he advanced forward whilst the others crept down twisting metallic corridors. The base stood eerily quiet apart from the din of the alarm and he wondered where all the people were. With a start, Falkner stood still and two vines lashed out right next to his face, almost cutting through his head. A hostile response. Gathering himself, he gave chase but the attacking individual escaped, cloaking himself in shadows, smoke and confusion. A moment later, Looker came up behind and together the two were joined by a small army as they gave chase. They crossed an opening in the passageway and Falkner's hair stood on end. Later, much later, he would've berated himself for not looking but right now his mind narrowed on a single goal. He and Looker flashed past and a torrent of water hit the rest of his forces like a cannon. They were crushed, their dented armour prevented movement and their pokemon partners either dead or in comatose states. The water pooling around them began to freeze slowly, ominously and in the fire-red light, he saw his comrades frozen with anguished expressions.

The vice-chief knelt down to them and thanked them for their services, depression began to sink in but he did not allow his emotions to control him. Briefly uttering a prayer for them, he let loose another feathered pokemon; the large bird hovered in the air, its wings beating on the roof of the tunnel.

"Noctowl, find the attackers and lead me to them." The bird lingered for a while before setting off at a comfortable speed. Both officers followed it zealously.

In another area:

"Did you run a marathon or what? Green quizzed as Red crashed next to Yellow and wheezed.

"Poisonous gas..." Red rasped and the jade eyed adolescent sat up straight.

"I took out the people who went after Red, seriously though, be more careful will you, you almost lead them right here!" Blue sunk down in a chair.

"Sorry" execution's leader apologized but his lips stretched into a wide grin. Clearly he enjoyed himself; the sight of a fight roused him up.

The small group huddled inside one of the dilapidated rooms. Even though the criminals were caught in the middle of a gigantic crisis (they were never surrounded to this state) the leaders and a select few trainers had gathered in order to discuss tactics. Blue bemoaned their trashed up environment, the shredded carpet on the floor cost her millions, she complained till Green growled out that he happened to be the one who paid for it.

"So what do we do?" surprisingly, the crimson eyed male broke the brewing argument.

"Knock yourself out by fighting..." Green quipped and ran a hand through his hair, he was the only one in the little council who didn't have time to dress properly and now he sported a t-shirt with pyjama pants. Thank Mew the surrounds were too dark to enable proper vision or his friends would never let him get away with it. "We have to prioritize the safety of the base..." a scream tore through the air and both Silver and Blue tensed.

"Whi-2" Blue mumbled under her breath and motioned at Green to carry on.

"We have to split up," Green peered through the gloom trying to make out the stressed visages of his friends, "Crystal, go with Red and act as a diversion, keep the police from entering any place they are not supposed to enter. Namely, Execution's chamber, the legendary holding cell and the Red chain creation room. Put them down if necessary." The duo nodded, "next, Silver will come with me, we are to salvage the most important things in our base, the legendary pokemon and other important artefacts scattered throughout our headquarters. Thirdly, Yellow and Gold go with Blue, she has the responsibility of protecting the Red chain creation room a-"

"What do you want me to do?" the commander in question threw her hands up in defeat, "Cut out and freeze the thing? You are asking for the improbable Green! It makes more sense if we simply destroy it and arrange for new equipment!" A pin drop silence seized the assembly as everyone ruminated on her words. Red, who had picked up Diamond's odd habit of eating in the wrong places slurped cup noodles and next to him, Yellow wondered when he had the time to prepare it. "Actually..." a light bulb went off over Blue's head, "it's a good idea. Cyrus and Charon can be ushered out and I'll just separate the compound from the main base and freeze it! Since I'm adept at barrier creating, I'll weave in a barrier as well. Gold and Yellow will cover me." Everyone nodded at the masterful strategy and Green briefly wondered if he was losing his touch. The sight of his best friend slurping noodles in the dark grated on his nerves; however he welcomed the distraction from the morbid thoughts swirling around his head. In semi-darkness and amidst wails, crashes and flash bangs, the group dissolved and set about their respective tasks. Red and Crystal went out first; the raven haired man dumped his plastic cup in a nearby bin and sped down the corridors. He kept on running till the duo came to a sight of destruction. Execution's dormitories sported ripped up doors, shattered glass and personal possessions strewn through the corridor. Anger took hold of him and Red pushed forward with Crystal hurrying behind him, they rounded a corner and ran into a platoon.

A minute of confusion and shock hung in the air, one of the policemen lifted his weapon and pointed it at Crystal and she petrified. Furious, Red raised his hand and Pika unleashed a thunder. Recovering from her shaken state, the indigo haired woman ordered Mega to blast a solar beam. The criminals left writhing personnel in their wake. Further on, chunks of rock tore from the sides of the passageway and rained down as aerodactyl mirrored its master's rage and sought vengeance. The two man team made a beeline for Execution's room. Red's main concern was the safety of the fleeing trainers, if they safely made it out of base, then he could go all out. The corridor leading up to the chamber had no people prowling around it and he stationed Crystal at the entrance of the hallway as he went to check the room. The door was bolted tight. Black followed his instructions to the letter. A sense of solace diffused in his chest. His family is safe.

They were safe.

When he came back, Red smiled lopsidedly and a feral gleam took hold of his eyes. Crys inwardly moaned, no doubt they were going to look for the next batch of police so the man standing before he could roast them. Shaking her head, she meekly followed him, kicking things out of the way and landing a few kicks on anyone who tried to slow them down.

The door opened with a pneumatic hiss and hurriedly Green started his duties. The legendary pokemon were all put to sleep, (it was easier to force them back into their masterballs that way) a cloud of chemicals were released into their individual cells. Holding open a backpack, he tossed all the capsules he and Silver gathered. The red head proved to be a wonderful individual to work with; he didn't utter a peep as they toiled together. Shouldering the bag, the spiky haired man stepped over the threshold and was about to commend both himself and Silver on a job well done when they ran into someone. Looker, the investigative officer. The professor panicked, scared of the other party finding out his identity till he remembered the pitch dark environment and that he, Green looked nothing like himself. Bare feet, with striped pyjama pants and a graphic t-shirt he wouldn't be caught dead wearing outside. Whatever, the shirt belonged to Red anyway. Throwing the bag to Silver, the spiky haired brunette took a stance; Looker had to be put out of commission quickly. The beasts were sent out; machamp and toxicroak lumbered in the dimness and slammed into each other, the sound of their bodies hitting echoed down the broken tunnel. With its four arms, the superpower pokemon seemingly had the upper hand till it keeled over. Green narrowed his eyes and saw a thin trail of acid bubbling out of his partner's mouth. It was swiftly recalled and golduck sent out. To the felonious adolescent's dismay, the blue duck fainted within moments of entering the battle. What on earth? Why could toxicroak effortlessly put down two well-honed warriors? Reaching for a third pokeball, he weighed the options on his mind...Time rapidly trickled away and with each passing second, there was the danger of his true identity being discovered.

"I suppose you are surprised by my Toxicroak..." Looker shuffled forth in the gloom, trying to get a glimpse of his opponent, "simply put, he is over levelled. I won't underestimate him if I were you." His opponent on the other end was a smart person. The individual had yet to utter a word.

"I don't underestimate" a smooth, confident voice poured out from the direction of his target. A brilliant flash and a roar announced the arrival of a new beast and the passageway flickered with crackling flames. The orange fire danced, briefly illuminating the area before dying down. Looker cussed under his breath, he couldn't get a good look at the offender, all he saw was a very nasty printed t-shirt...

"Charizard." The tone turned smug, arrogant even, "dragon tail." the poison dart frog tried to sink its claws into the appendage but failed. It was swept up, a few ribs shattered when it collided face first into a wall. Sliding down, it sprang back up and counter attacked, corrosive acid flew through the air, instead of hitting charizard, the flame pokemon blasted the liquid outwards with a flap of its webbed wings. It took to the air and breathed out a stream of flames. Dark pulse negated the attack and the dragon touched down. Toxicroak could see fury flickering in the fire type's eyes. The frog crouched low and bid its time, a command from its trainer had it rocketing forward and colliding with charizard.

Green grinned. Fatal mistake.

Giga impact left the toxic mouth pokemon fatigued. Although it dealt a severe blow to charizard, the fire dragon was well aware that his skeleton had been re-aligned; it didn't finish the monster off. Beating its wings in order to not topple over, the orange monster seized his enemy with steel tipped claws, the grip proved to be toxic and soon the heated skin began to erode. With much effort, charizard heaved the thrashing pokemon in the air and used overheat as commanded by his master. Fire churned deep within charizard's body and discharged outwards, charring the poison type. Appalled, Looker numbly watched as his thoroughly burnt pokemon was hurled at his feet. He bent down to examine his partner and something hot and hard landed a blow to the back of his skull, he could only glimpse a patch of coarse, blood stained vermillion fur before the world turned painfully blank.

The battle was over; Silver crept forward from his hiding place and handed the bag back to his superior. Green breathed heavily and his breaths reverberated through the half destroyed corridor. A damp heat crept in the air and made it difficult to inhale. The commander stowed his charizard away and nodded to the red head, the next target was Strategy's room. They were to retrieve all the hard work and research conducted over the last few years. This time Silver led them as they crept around the walls, avoiding anyone they came across. The floor became treacherous to tread on and Green bit a hiss down as his foot caught something and the skin ripped. Ignoring the searing pain and the metallic whiff of blood as it poured out, he moved, desperate to get to the common room before anyone else.

Outside the sky hid behind thick grey clouds and moonlight struggled to filter through. Funny, just moments ago one could view the stars. Blue sat on her jigglypuff and stared downwards through a pair of night vision binoculars. This was the most irrational thing she ever did but it did the job. When the commanders split and went their separate ways, she pondered on the course of her actions. Freezing the red chain creation compartment seemed like a wonderful idea but how to do so when you were stuck underground? Execution's chamber was already bolted and most probably destroyed as per Red's orders. The first thing she did was get Charon and Cyrus out of their room and order them to stay by her side. Standing helplessly in front of the door leading to the creation area, she ruminated on various possibilities; however in the end Gold, in his drawling voice offered the only plausible solution

"Tunnel out of here senior, I'm sure it'll be much easier to cut the earth and the base up if you were in the air. You have a map don't you?" she nodded, "you can just tear the ground open and then freeze it, easy as that." Saying this, he adolescent got to work, he tore part of the steel coated wall down with Exbo and proceeded to dig his way out. Yellow and Blue watched, partly impressed and a bit afraid that his strategy might not work. Screams, curses and the sound of crumbling bricks and gunfire resonated down the corridors leaving the two women wondering on the outcome of their beloved base, unfortunately they couldn't shift from their position and Blasty trained its cannons at the two Galactic executives should they have second thoughts.

It seemed an age before the young man reappeared with his entire body smelling of dirt. Gold's hair was interleaved with damp soil and when he crawled back in on his hands and feet, he gave a thumbs up. The two females were appalled.

"We...have to crawl through there?" Yellow asked disbelievingly and the amber eyed trainer's grin faded.

"Well yeah...how else would we WHOA!" Gold dived for cover as a nidoqueen charged straight into his tunnel and proceeded to widen it.

"Blue...couldn't you warn me before trying to bulldoze the tunnel? What am I?"

"A very valuable member of the team, I assure you" Constellate's commander quipped, "now let's get a move on, our exit is complete." They flew out of the place and Gold vociferously complained when Cyrus and Charon were saddled with him. Up in the sky, Yellow's hazel irises picked out a small mass of people mingling about near the base. Upon zooming, she saw her fellow team mates, they escaped unharmed. Signalling to Blue, she dived down and landed before them. Black almost lashed out with emboar, the fire pig bore down on the blonde before it dawned that his senior came to take a look.

"Keep out of sight," she commanded in an even voice and her irises shifted to emboar who sheepishly reared back, "yes, seniors Red and Green are still inside with Silver and Crystal...Oh Gold? He's with Blue and I, we dug ourselves an escape route and now senior Blue is going to freeze the base. My duty is not to let anyone get near her. I'll see you all soon enough, please don't worry, we are all trying to keep you safe." The blonde got on her bird pokemon and vanished in the gloomy sky. Ruby and Platina balanced a fainted Whi-2 between them. Sapphire and Black prowled around the tightknit group with their pokemon, keeping an eye out for _anything_ venturing their way. N and White bordered Lack-2 who gulped down all the water offered to him and a moment later the boy leaned his entire body weight on the brown haired teenager and fell into a restless sleep. Flustered and unsure what to do, she positioned him till his head lay on her lap whilst pichu curled up on its master's chest and kept still. The atmosphere surrounding them tensed and when she looked up in the sky, her breath hitched when a dazzling arc of electric blue light sliced through the darkness and hit the ground below. The earth gashed, soil and rocks flying everywhere and erupting from the ground like a mine hit it. Enthralled, White beheld a second yellow-orange beam following the first, the heat emanating from it could be felt all the way here as more earth churned up. By now, they were all watching with the exception of the youngest members.

Gold wiped sweat from his brow, spread muck all over his face and emitted a whistle. He could see the roof of their base, a slab of reinforced concrete, ugly, stained and possibly crawling with all kinds of stuff that lived underground. The compound was cleared of dirt and now Blue had to freeze the chamber. The woman balanced precariously on her balloon pokemon and read a map with the aid of a torch. Nodding to herself she rolled the map up and turned to blastoise. The shellfish pokemon wasn't happy and her jigglypuff appeared livid. The pink pokemon inflated itself to epic proportions so it could allow both typholsion and blastoise to stand on it and now it felt like bursting, those two were heavy and the stupid male trainer didn't even indicate that he would recall his monster in a ball. Puffing out, it deflated slightly and the two creatures plus Blue wobbled.

"I'm really sorry for this, but bear with me okay?" Blue soothed and combed her hair away from her face. "Blasty," the shelled pokemon readied itself, "use hyper beam in a straight line all the way to that spot covered with dirt. Cut through everything okay?" The pokemon let off a growl and a torrent of light exploded out of its mouth and neatly sliced the building like a laser. A loud grinding sound issued forth forcing everyone to cover their ears. When hyper beam dissipated, steam rose from the building but success ensured. Yellow silently gasped as she saw how neatly the cut had been done. A giant sword slicing through metal, concrete and everything in between. Another four beams later Blasty tethered on the brink of unconsciousness, his bulky muscles strained and freezing sweat dotted its reptilian skin. The entire area grew hot and steam billowed upwards, alas his work did not finish and when his partner commanded him to freeze the meticulously cut compartment, he wanted to give up and faint. Nonetheless, he shoved his rebellious thoughts at the back of his mind and forced out every inch of his power. A colossal pillar struck the chamber and a heavy chill descended in the air, chasing away the steam and suffocating heat. Blastoise heaved, the area underneath cloaked in mist and when it disappeared, a wonderful sight rewarded him. A giant ice-cube, perfectly preserving what lay underneath.

"Good job Blasty." Blue gently patted the creature and fondly stroked it, "rest well, I promise to treat you to your favourite things," a soft rumble, a flash of light and he vanished, curled and fast asleep in a capsule. After all the discord, the brown haired leader was surprised that none came to investigate, as soon as she thought so, a movement in the periphery of her vision put her on guard.

"Chuchu, discharge!" Yellow wasted no time in attacking and crackling streams of electricity flew outwards.

"Are you trying to kill us?" the blonde blinked and jolted when she heard her superior's voice. A few moans came from Crystal and Silver.

"Get used to it." Red came into view, soaring on Aero's back, "wow Blue..." his tone turned soft as he eyed the rime covered ground below him, "I must admit, you really outdone yourself this time."

"Yes. It looks rather beautiful." Green agreed and took in the wisps of icy mist evaporating from the cube. In the moonlight, it appeared as something astoundingly attractive. A block of snow white cradled by dark black and brown. The complimented lady merely smiled at her handiwork. A rare smile completely devoid of any devious thoughts.

"Our base is completely destroyed isn't it?" Crystal voiced her thoughts loudly, "I mean, we used it for so long, I fell really sad and unhappy. Where...Where are we going to spend the night senior?"

"...Pallet Town" Everyone looked at Red who answered, "my house is standing empty...we could all stay there for a few days before deciding what to do. And it's right next to Professor Oak's laboratory, the last place the police would come looking for us. What do you guys say?"

"Good idea, I can spend a few days at home with Daisy and Grandpa" Green replied.

"I can go visit my uncle." Yellow put in, "oh...I'm sure he is very worried about me..."

The group chuckled light heartedly as they descended to the ground. On stepping off Aero, Diamond engulfed Red in a hug; the youngster sniffed a few times and then started bawling his eyes out. Blue immediately went to Whi-2 and gathered her up in her arms. The girl remained fast asleep and dead to the world. Platina and Ruby congregated around Silver whilst Emerald hugged Crystal and refused to let go. Gold was about to pick his lackey up when said child opened his eyes and punched him in the face.

"OW! Kid wha-" Lack-2 embraced him so tightly he could hear a few ribs shattering. The boy abruptly let go and sniffed. "Seriously, if you missed me just say so." Gold ruffled his student's hair and the child let him.

"I was afraid...they might get you." he whispered, alas his voice went unheard, drowned by the muted cheers of a relieved and shivering group of people.

* * *

Dawn

Johto

Mahogany Town

Bird pokemon chirped and all over the hamlet, people woke up and prepared themselves for the day ahead. The sun inched up from the east, spilling light and magnifying the magnificent presence of the Bell Tower. Mahogany town was silent save for the rustling of trees and the cries of pokemon. Inside a derelict building, Falkner walked around, trying to make sense of what happened. The abandoned building echoed with the sound of dripping water. Drip, drip...Drip. It trickled in tune with his footsteps as he peered past slashed doors and burnt rooms. Several times he walked past his frozen comrades and eventually stumbled upon the prone form of Looker. The officer lay dangerously close to his toxicroak and the frog, its skin a blistered shade of black, leaked acid from its pores. Looker was roused up and an ambulance sent for him and the other groaning, partially comatose soldiers. Alone, Falkner gave the base one last sweep and knew the criminals had abandoned it.

No, it wasn't just neglected. The Dex-criminals destroyed it and then the occupants vacated in a timely manner. Rooms that held secrets and information were now simply pitch black walls and pillars, the insides charred to grey cinder. Walking around, he eventually came across a perfectly white cube. His instincts told him that it was another very important room; however, going inside the construction deemed to be impossible. A solid block of ice ringed by a barrier, gently, he touched the shimmering surface and pulled his hand back. No luck, he couldn't get in unless they took out the pokemon making it and if the creatures were intelligent, as all psychic types are, it would've hidden itself very well.

Drip, drip, drip.

Falkner shook his hair free of water, somewhere; mud mixed with the leakage and began to spread through the ramshackle base. From the top, sunlight seeped through, throwing into sharp relief just how battered the once sturdy construction was. A sheet of steel floated half submerged in a pool of dirty liquid. Discarded bullet shells lay juxtaposed with glass fragments, a ripped up stuffed doll, clothes and hairclips. The mission ended up as an elaborate failure and he wondered how to face his displeased superior. The lady will be furious. Sluggishly, the gym leader dragged himself out and shielded his eyes from the weak light of dawn. Outside the world began to stir and suddenly he felt fatigued. Were the Dex criminals perhaps aware of their coming? Or where they so accomplished in running away that their presence even vanished? All that were left of them were fragments and it told him nothing.

Nothing, apart from the fact that these individuals would do anything to protect themselves and their crimes.

* * *

 **A/N:** Much thanks to Xenon Rays and Magic111for favoriting and following the story. I hope the story continues to be a pleasant read. Virtual devil's food cake to everyone (now I'm craving the chocolatey goodness) At Lebensmude: I'm so glad to read that the story is getting better, I'll keep on working hard to make it a richer experience, once again, thanks for your constructive criticism as it motivated me to put more effort in my story. At Jack54311: Lol, I get a lot of ideas on reading reviews hence why I like them so much. So is Lack-2 the buster? Read to find out! At Eevee: You reviewed…YAY! Anxiety huh? You don't have to regret anything you post, some of the stuff I've written back when I was younger makes me cringe but that didn't stop my friends from laughing and demanding more. Just write what makes you comfortable and don't think about what people are going to say. BTW, Mindy also has anxiety issues and this is what I tell her. The next chapter delves into Yellow's mind so hopefully that'll answer your questions. Mega evolution comes much later though. The character personalities and bits of the plot are based on the manga, you could say that I simply borrowed the characters and put them in my story (Surge and Lance were never bad to begin with) and Green is actually a trainer, I just think a professor suits his personality as well. Poke-dexes? Yikes, totally forgot about them! To be honest, his lazy part comes from mild depression, he regrets his actions but it does not show outwardly. At GrotesqueChimera: Sorry, I failed to understand your question but if you meant that they have other, outside contacts, then yes. Being a criminal organization, they have a network of people they can use to help them, or get out of tight spots. At AceTrainerLeaf: Ahahaha! Thank you for your kind words :) Happy Green? More of it coming later stay tuned! Knock some sense? Yep, they do need a wake-up call.

And I don't mind questions at all! Keep them coming and I'll do my best to answer without spoilers! Please keep on reviewing and reading, constructive criticism is much appreciated.


	46. Family means chaos and love

**Chapter 46: Family means chaos and love**

"Ahhh! It's good to be back home!" Gold announced and stretched after getting down from his mantine. Hearing his words, Lack-2, still engulfed in a sleepy haze, perked up. It was a sight to see, a whole group of people soaring into Pallet Town in the middle of the afternoon but if anyone cared, they didn't show it. Besides, this town had a famous Professor residing in it so perhaps they were visitors? The bedraggled group were thankful that none came to investigate; they were in no mood to answer to people.

"Home?" the younger Unovian quizzed whilst the older one stifled a yawn. Next to him, Black irritably rubbed at the dark shadows ringing his eyes.

"Yeah home," Gold replied and unlocked the front door at Red's impatient insistence, "I used to live with senior Red when I first joined the Organization...Heh, good times."

 _No_ , Lack-2 reassured himself as they trooped into the house, _he was not feeling jealous._

The interior came as an unpleasant surprise as the owner of said house stood in the middle of the lounge and gaped. There were clothes and magazines strewn all over the dirty carpet and on the couches. The male's eye twitched on spying mouldy dishes and plates in the sink and he scrambled to the fridge to find half eaten food steadily rotting away. Green sighed and after removing a bundle of washed and unwashed clothing from a sofa, he gratefully sat and grabbed something to cover himself with. Hopefully Blue was too preoccupied to notice what he wore. The rest of the motely group milled about, peering at corners and commenting on how their senior Red was an untidy slob. Blue vanished upstairs with Whi-2 in her arms, no doubt to put the girl into a bed. After giving the place a customary glance, everyone congregated downstairs in the living room and found a place to sit, whether they hung off the couches, crashed on the floor or sat on someone else's lap.

"I guess this is a new record..." Green drawled, "I've yet to see your house this filthy."

"...Gold..." Red's voice was guttural and the adolescent scooted further in the pale blue settee trying to bury himself in between his student, Silver and Crystal. "I told you a hundred times to keep my house clean! How do you even live in this mess? This is disgusting! I offered this house because it stood empty and we needed a place quickly, do you think anyone would want to stay in this sty? Get to work and start cleaning...I'll help as well. The rest of you, make yourselves at home."

The older male got up wearily and the amber eyed trainer squeezed himself out of the tiny space he occupied, throwing an irritated Crys a smile, he began to tidy the place up. First he gathered the numerous articles of clothing littering the floor. Several trainers had to shift out of the way as the Johto native dug out sweaters and even underwear from the crevices of the couches. Throwing them an apologetic grin, he barrelled upstairs and Red came down with a vacuum cleaner. He switched it on and began to work; the others all beheld him silently and lifted their feet as he cleaned the grey carpet. A patch of dark grey snared his attention and he scrubbed the area and cursed when it failed to lighten. When his student came down to stuff something in the washing machine, the ex-champion harshly queried him on the stain and Gold sheepishly answered that he spilled his favourite soda one day whilst watching television. Veins pulsing in anger, the raven haired male bit down on his lips and swept the vacuum hose with renewed vigour and violence. From the kitchen, the clatter of plates and dishes could be heard along with the sound of water being poured into a sink. Even though Diamond wanted to help, one look at his enraged leader told him otherwise. Everyone else sat in strained silence, akin to unwelcome guests. Eventually, Green stood up and broke the gloomy spell.

"I'm going home," he secured the black coat around him, "I'll return this to you tomorrow and as much as I would like to stay here, I want to spend time with Grandpa and Daisy as well. This is a good opportunity to catch up on family news and matters."

"I...Would also like to leave as well." Yellow scrambled up and Red switched off the cleaning device in order to hear her better. "I want to go home."

"Really? I understand my place is dirty but you don't have to run away like that!" the crimson eyed male pouted and scratched the back of his head, "wait just a minute, I'll get this house spotlessly clean" he was about to resume his deep cleaning when the blonde shook her head.

"It's not because your house is unclean...I haven't been to my place in a very long time senior Red and I'm sure my uncle is worried about me." In her arms, Chuchu squeaked, "I'll come by tomorrow, I promise." The two made their way out and Red went back to cleaning. Blue watched him with a pitied expression and curled up, exhaustion claimed her and she contemplated on taking a well-deserved rest. The woman closed her eyes and leaned back, chocolate hair cascading over her face and headrest. Seeing the initial tension dissipate, Lack-2 sprung up and declared that he was going out to explore. Before he set a foot outside, Gold came rushing out of the kitchen, wearing an apron and holding a sponge, his hands and chest were full of soap suds, atop his head, ambipom clutched a plate and cleaned it, swiping a soggy sponge and showering its trainer with dirty water. He gave Lack-2 a lecture right there and stressed the importance of not straying too far. The boy shrugged nonchalantly and left. Inside, Diamond began to help his senior; the boy began packing things away when he came across a comic book. Work forgotten, he roped Pearl with him and the duo started reading. Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald fell asleep on top of each other. The underdeveloped boy was unceremoniously sandwiched in between his seniors. Slowly, the remainder of the teams got up and ventured around, helping in their own ways or simply sifting through things. Silver could not quell his pickpocket tendencies when he came across a gym badge. He gleefully pocketed it not realising how Platina eyed him with obvious distaste.

The house was a small double story. The bottom housed a kitchen and lounge and the top floor had two bedrooms and a bathroom. The two bedrooms were vastly different. One sported white curtains, a somewhat neatly made bed and shelves of trophies and accolades. The walls were plastered with pictures of friends and posters of several gyms and their leaders. A little board was also put up to note down strategies and one could see untidy scribbles and maps roughly made in a red marker. A wooden table held a few books and even more pictures. The other room was a complete contrast, the door and walls were decorated with loud posters of famous idols and females. The bed was a complete mess, a saffron quilt half hung off the mattress. Stuffed pokemon dolls littered the floor and bed and if examined carefully, the bedstead had several claw and scratch markings. Gold's room was always dark as the adolescent neglected to draw the curtains, his large wardrobe spilled out with clothes and equipment. The kitchen downstairs was tiled in a pleasant shade of coral and here the coal haired trainer worked, scrubbing the steel surfaces clean. He threw the last of the inedible food in a garbage bag and hauled it outside. A sense of nostalgia overtook him. It would be nice to spend a few days at home watching television and goofing off with friends. The smile on his face wavered a bit, exhaling; he returned inside and surveyed the house.

Maybe he should forget about everything for a moment. Sleep sounded nice.

Yes, it sounded very nice.

Discarding the apron on the floor (Red would not be pleased.) Gold went to the middle of the lounge and knocked himself off. He didn't care if he lay on the floor.

His mentor gave the carpet a deep cleaning anyway

* * *

Afternoon

Johto

Goldenrod city

If this was supposed to be a grand meeting, it sure didn't look like one. The other superintendents all eyeballed him from a bank of screens on the far side of the spacious room and the cyan haired deputy felt like he was the only occupant in the chamber. Claire, Misty, Blaine and Sabrina sat next to him in throne-esque chairs. If the superiors were going to give him a pep talk, they could've all whaled on him in a video call conference; there was no need to embarrass him in front of everyone. Falkner felt his pride crumble as the first person, a brown haired male spoke. Looker's superior officer happened to be one of the best, if not, the most ruthless member of the International police force.

"I failed..." The voice issuing from the monitor held scant remorse and bird type gym leader wanted to bury himself into his hard seat. Even though the superintendent claimed responsibility, the tone of voice suggested that it was anyone's problem but his. "How is Looker? Clunked out and in hospital I take it? Hmm, perhaps I should visit him but thanks to someone..." incensed irises shifted to Anabel, "I'm stuck with work I'm not supposed to do. I'm leaving this meeting, I already got all the information I nee-"

"Wait." Anabel commanded, "maybe you should switch your line of work. I mean we understand that the Dex-criminals need to be brought to justice..."

"Are you implying that someone else can do a better job with than me?" A cold voice hissed and in the bottom left monitor Lt. Surge grinned, he sensed the unfolding of a dramatic drama, "unlike you people, I prefer to do my own work. Don't you dare tell me what to do!" Saying this the screen went blank and the rest stared, shifting uneasily. The room was stark, lit by harsh fluorescent lights. In the middle, a meeting table held several laptops and important papers. One side of the room lacked a wall, instead a giant screen, split into four took up the space. The Goldenrod conference room boasted no ornaments or decorations. A navy blue carpet muffled the sounds of anyone who walked upon it. Clair's whip rested on the ash coloured marble surface of the table and she beheld the screens uninterestedly. The leading officers were engaged in a conversation that didn't matter to her, opposite the blue haired lady, Misty listened with rapt attention, her hands involuntarily clenched into fists. Blaine functioned as the scribe, he meticulously noted down every word exchanged by the officers and Sabrina absorbed everything with closed eyes.

"Speaking of the psychic gym leader..."

"I can't do it." She cracked open an eyelid and responded.

"But I haven't said anything..." Cynthia coolly countered from the other side of the world. Behind her, garchomp busied itself with breakfast, the land shark wolfed down a platter of berries at an astonishing speed.

"You want me to break the barrier surrounding the white cube in the Dex-criminals abandoned base is it?" The psychic blew a strand of mauve hair, "I analysed it already and-"

"You can't do it?"

"No, I can't. I'm sorry. It is of the same type as the one we found in Kanto two years back. They are using a completely different algorithm to fashion their barriers, it is similar to the one mewtwo uses."

"There is something important in there, keep a lookout for any suspicious people entering or leaving the base. That is all I have to say." Cynthia leaned back in her comfortable chair and ended the call. It was futile and deep down she knew if those people wanted to stay out of sight, they will do so. Nonetheless, her duty demanded her to inform and that is what she did. Back into the room in Goldenrod, the chief of police sighed and gave her partner a sorry look. Surge had also left the conversation and the other personnel surrounding him were getting up and leaving. As the doors clicked shut, she imparted a smile.

"Don't worry about it Falkner." she soothed, "they are a tough bunch. You can take comfort in the fact that you forced them to flee and destroy their place. They are out of their home territory. We will put them in their place before long." The cyan haired deputy said nothing. Nodding slowly, he accepted his defeat.

"I'll do my best from now onwards...Next time...I'll have to rely on the Swords of Justice for help." Dangling from his belt, a pokeball wriggled. A quadrupled stag-esque creature with cobalt fur stirred. It lifted its head, slashing the darkness with two yellow horns. Falkner looked down and gently tapped the ball and it stopped shaking.

"Seems like you have much work to do Cobalion." he added and allowed himself a tiny smile.

Late-afternoon

Pallet Town

Red's house

"There's a foot is in my face and it stinks!" Red growled and Lack-2 lifted his head to see someone's white sleeved arm curling around his torso and one of his legs resting on Red's chest, his foot lay inches away from the leader's nose and the ebony haired man seemed highly unappreciative of the gesture

"I'm sorry commander but I can't move properly." The boy didn't even try wriggling, "senior N's arm is around my waist and I think...Black's upper body is resting on my legs...And my arms are trapped underneath Diamond and Gold." From the pile of bodies lying heaped on the grey carpet, an arm rose from the tangle and pushed his leg away from Red's nose.

"Gold, I swear if your hand brushes against me one more time...I'll end you." Silver rasped, his voice thick with sleep.

"Dude...I can't just let my mentor suffer can I? And get your head off my chest! I'd rather have Crystal here with me!" Silver tried sliding downwards but instead came face to face with Ruby. Why the fashionista decided to add to the dog pile was a question only he could answer. Didn't Ruby dislike getting into dirty situations? What was he doing on the floor of the living room then? Somewhere to Red's left, Diamond moaned and turned, upsetting Pearl and further crushing Lack-2's arm. The boy snuggled up to his commander who, instead of shoving him away, gently smiled and ruffled his hair. In the midst, Gold began shifting, trying to extract himself from the mess of bodies. His efforts were rewarded when Pearl, who jerked in his sleep, rammed an elbow in a place where it shouldn't be rammed. The amber eyed trainer curled up in pain and groaned, his foot ended up on Silver's head. Another gasp of pain left his mouth when the red head slammed a hand on his chest.

"Gimme a break will you..." he wheezed, "I am the one who decided to sleep here so who the heck thought it was a great idea to use me as a mattress?"

"I felt really tired Gold, seeing you peacefully sleeping on the floor made me aware of my own fatigue so I decided to join you. Mind you I _was not_ sleeping on you." Red's genial voice floated to his ears.

"Senior Red's tummy is very warm." Diamond garbled unhelpfully.

"Ah...I didn't mean you...I meant everyone else." The Johto native's tone turned sinister, "GO sleep on the couches or somewhere. Anywhere but ON ME!" Everyone tried shifting to make more space, hushed whispers arose from the group as they tried to move out of each other's way.

"I can't feel my legs..." N droned weakly and spread one arm over Pearl.

"For Reshiram's sake..." Black, who awoke partially slurred, "SHUT UP!" The cinnamon haired teenager balled himself up and refused to move even when N pushed him. Ruby stirred and rolled away, Silver and Gold followed the teenager to the edge of the carpet.

"Stop following me!" the red head spat when his best friend sported a diabolical smirk.

"Oh come on Silver...You're really...warm!" The black haired adolescent crooned and tried to wrap his arms around the pale faced trainer. Silver shot up and Ruby, blood red irises smouldering with anger kicked Gold in the stomach.

"...Let me sleep." The Hoenn native hissed and promptly shut his eyes.

Shunned by his best friend, Gold rolled himself back to the pile. Lack-2 had carefully untangled himself from the limbs and legs and he crawled over the other bodies. The older pervert grinned widely and eventually came to a stop next to his lackey.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah…till senior Red's holler woke me up." Something clicked in the young Unovian's mind, "where's Pibo?" he whirled around and saw a lump moving underneath his teacher's shirt. Out popped a cute little face and Lack-2 heaved a sigh. Red, who had several people lying on his legs and chest, cautiously wormed himself out of Black's grasp, N's head, Pearl's body and Emerald's legs. Next came the daunting task of pulling his arms out of Diamond's and Gold's clutches. He managed to get the chubby boy comfortable on the floor but his student on the other hand refused to move. The devil was awake and chatting to the Unova kid and if he was aware of his head resting on Red's arm, he made no signs to move. The arm got steadily numb and Execution's commander waited patiently for another five minutes before deciding to wake everyone up with a nasty shock.

Literally of course.

Upstairs, the females sprung up from their sleeping positions when a collective shriek permeated the house. Quickly pushing her bangs behind her ears, Blue raced downstairs and almost stumbled over when she saw her male comrades had all been electrocuted. In the middle sat Red, on the floor with a wide grin whilst the others around him wore disgruntled visages. Most of them sported halos as their hair fanned around their heads. Despite simpering, Red also sported smoking clothes. Pika would never let an opportunity go to waste.

"I'm going to pretend this never happened...and I'm going back upstairs...so please let us ladies sleep comfortably okay boys?" Several gulps could be heard as Blue smiled akin to a demonic angel. The boys nodded and promised to keep quiet. "Good...Reeedddd." Her mood did a one-eighty and she threw her arms around a positively terrified companion, "I'm hungry...make something to eat! You can't expect me to function on an empty stomach do you?"

"Of course not." He replied and smoothly removed Blue's arms from around his shoulders, in the background, Gold and Silver paled whilst Lack-2 watched with a perverse grin. "I'll get the rest to help out. So sleep well, we won't bother you." Blue drew away and sashayed upstairs. In the lounge, the males sat on the floor and couches and began planning a menu.

"That reminds me..." Black had Musha fixed on his head, "I'm really hungry as well."

"Aren't we all?" Red followed Diamond out of the kitchen with a pot in his hands. "Sit tight people...I'm making dinner."

"Great!" Gold breathed, enveloped himself in the couch and switched the television on. "Get ready to eat tomorrow morning. My beloved teacher can't even boil milk."

" _WHAT?!"_

* * *

The next morning

Kanto

Viridian City

Yellow woke up and stared at herself. The house was very silent unlike the base, since it lacked Pearl and his early morning hyperactive screeching. And she didn't have to hurry and dress up lest someone calls her, or even worse, Gold and his student barge in unannounced. Crystal had a habit of stationing herself in front of her door and it proved to a correct decision. The blonde took her time, shuffling around and feeling the cold wood underneath her feet. Her house was situated on the outskirts of the town, near the forest and was thus shaded by trees and had a brook running nearby. Quiet and out of place. Shambling around, she changed out of her pale nightgown into a belted tunic dress and wondered what to do with her hair. Pulling the long strands into a bun, she completed her simple outfit with a pair of ankle boots. Coming down the stairs of her humble home, Yellow saw a middle aged man sitting at the table in the kitchen, he read the morning newspaper with a stalk of grass clamped between his lips. A bowl, spoon and a box of cereal were neatly arranged before her.

"It's awful...Both the police and those criminals don't know how to hold back." Yellow nodded as the man spoke, he put his paper away and watched her pour a quantity of milk in the bowl, next went in sugar and finally the cereal. Amiable silence settled and after swallowing the first spoon, she muttered.

"Hmm...It's a mess."

"Anyway, enough about that! How are you doing Yellow? Still following the man of your dreams?" Fondly messing up her hair with a large hand, the man gruffly asked and chuckled at his own joke. Across him, Yellow stopped eating and blushed. She scooted away from the fisherman and smiled back.

"I'm doing fine uncle...Geez did you have to bring that up? I'm not chasing anyone I'm helping a researcher with his work." Part truth, part lie and it made her feel a tad bit better about her existence. "I hoped to spend the afternoon fishing with you if you don't mind, in the evening I have to go to Pallet Town." The man nodded at her words.

"Sure you can come with me, just like old times huh?" Another guffaw followed his sentence and Yellow found herself beaming, "aren't you going to invite your friends? Perhaps the red eyed young man who stole your heart? Or the spiky haired brooding brunette who trained you? Which one?" Choking on her breakfast, the blonde washed her morsel down with more milk from the pitcher and tried to send her laughing uncle a heated glare. The effect dissipated as the older man guffawed at her expense. He got up and flashed her a sunny grin and Yellow's mild indignation dissolved, she couldn't stay mad at her family figure. When she was a tiny child, with no parents and wondering around the vast jungle of the Viridian Forest, this man found her and took her in. He graciously raised her and on more than one occasion, Yellow found herself wishing that she could call him father instead.

"Daydreaming again huh girl? Be sure to bring your fishing rod when you come. I have to pop into Cerulean city to deliver the local catch. Be seeing you in the afternoon!" He left, slamming the door and it echoed in the hollow room. Yellow berated herself, she had gotten used to the extravagance at their base and her home seemed tiny and crude in return. Nevertheless it was her house and the pleasant woody, earthy smells of Viridian forest would be more precious than anything else in the world. Washing the dirty dishes left in the sink, she grabbed her fishing rod and set out. Warm sunlight coupled with a fresh breeze greeted her and humming a little ditty, she ventured in the forest. The sunbeams thinned and gave way to shade; overhead the forest canopy shook with the local pokemon who peered inquisitively at her from behind foliage. Birds and insects chirped and buzzed, snakes slithered back and forth on branches. Swinging her arms childishly by her side, the young woman traversed over roots and came to a dappled clearing. A turquoise lake shimmered in the middle and here she suddenly froze as a recent memory drifted to her mind. The picture in Green's pocket. Her leader was not the sentimental type, sure he could have a photo of him and his childhood friends but why her? They didn't even meet till he was past his teenage years and even then; he showed bland scorn at her obvious weakness. Straightening out her fishing rod, the Viridian native cast it into the sparkling pool of water and sat down on the lush green grass. She thought of Red, the person who kindly helped her out of a sticky situation (being pursued by a dragonite was scary)and the adolescent's acts left a lasting impression on her. She fell in love with him.

 _But she was not sure anymore._

There was a time when simply hearing Red's name would send her heart into a tumble, now even his presence elicited no emotions from her. Feeling ta tug on her line, she got up and reeled in a moderately sized magikarp. Placing the flailing fish in a bucket of water, she cast it again.

The wind picked up a bit, and she smelled berries, earth and fragrant leaves.

 _Senior Red likes someone else._

The realization hit her hard and as much as she tried to vehemently deny the truth... reality slapped her hard in her face. Gone was the once kind and confident teenager she met in the forest. In his place was the same person, smiling the same, beautiful smile however the honesty and simplicity of it didn't quite reach his eyes. They seldom lit up with genuine mirth and the brilliant red irises were murky. She knew people changed and despite the fact, she still loved him...the feeling dimmed out when it became apparent that his heart belonged to someone else.

And she happened to be a member of the police force on top of that.

After their fight, Red stopped his impromptu visits and spent his time glued to the television instead. If she came to deliver documents, he'd grunt, flash her a gentle smile and his eyes would waver back to the screen. Granted the man had nothing better to do, Green forbade him to set a foot outside lest his shenanigans get him caught. Since Execution handled most of the outdoor work and jobs, his underlings were seldom around in the base. Yellow watched him turn into a partial zombie as he ignored everyone and whiled his time away inside his room. He neglected most of them and shook himself out of his circumstances only when Blue asked him to stop the disaster in Hoenn. Then he became somewhat normal again, smiling and laughing and talking with everyone else. Unfortunately the special feeling Yellow harboured for him vanished. Red was kind to everyone, he'd put his neck on the chopping block for anyone.

 _Not just for her._

Ironically, the thought brought a smile to her face. He was a complete contrast to Green. Cunning and shrewd, the pseudo professor didn't trust easily and if he grew close to you, you best be someone special. When she asked Professor Oak to help her find a teacher, the old man, instead of sending Red, sent his grandson instead. Moody and temperamental, Yellow quivered when he came in, dressed in a brown travelling cloak and sliding down the back of his equally arrogant charizard. To her surprise, Green had untold patience as he silently trained her and put up with her numerous blunders. He comforted her when she cried. Her rattata evolved into raticate and she thought her pokemon had died and another creature took its place. She was scared of sending her partners in battle but he explained that if she kept them holed up in capsules, they would never grow. In the end of it all, she came to take a fierce liking to the brunette and in turn he warmed up to her. Frankly, she ended up being one of the few people he was unconditionally kind to.

 _She wondered why._

He would often help her in things she didn't understand and always kept an eye out for her. Her group members never teased...they couldn't, Green would kill them if they as much uttered a wrong peep. He hardly smiled and when something angered him...Which was often, his face turned into a mask. If he was livid, he'd utter a string of curses under his breath and swamp himself with work. The sight of texts and books calmed him down. Green was rational and displayed very little emotion.

So, when he did smile, eyes crinkling ever so slightly and pearly white teeth peeking out from his lips, she found him very human and handsome.

 _Eh?_

Wearing a short sleeved chequered shirt, a spiky haired brunette sneezed violently and scowled. His sister looked at from across the table with concern marring her fine features.

"Are you getting a cold Green?"

"Red is probably saying some nasty things behind my back..." he mumbled, "no not Red...that pesky woman." His face mellowed out and he stared at his reflection swirling inside a teacup. The family sat together in the warm rays of the late afternoon sun. Strategy's commander welcomed a lazy afternoon spent with his sister and didn't account for the grinning man sitting next to her. Bill, famous for being the one to lay down the principles of transporting pokemon digitally...And also his sister's husband. Green thought she'd choose someone much better looking, after all, his sister was very beautiful. Long, light brown hair, the same jade eyes as his own and a pleasing voice to match. Yep, he missed his sister's presence very much. When he and Red were younger, his best friend and rival tried hitting on her...And he almost broke the sable haired teenager's teeth. Needless to say, the three of them were now in good harmony.

"You look a bit overworked..." Daisy added and Samuel coughed exaggeratedly.

"He has other...Nonsensical projects which are more important to him than his health." The older Oak answered and Green put his head down...His sister always fussed about him and he didn't like to make her worry.

The family sat on the patio outside their moderately sized home. Pallet Town was famous for its untainted air and Green gulped in a lungful of it. The conversation around the round table flitted to other topics and briefly he wondered if he should drag Red over for extra company, he knew Daisy would appreciate it. Her voice flowed melodiously and he found himself smiling and joining in the conversation. The tension in his body began to dissipate and he relaxed allowing himself to let his guard down and forget about the Dex-criminals for a while. Stuffing another frosted fancy cake in his mouth, he nodded at Bill's dry jokes and reached out for a biscuit situated on the far side of the table when Oak spoke up:

"Did Sycamore from Kalos contact you?"

"Yes Grandfather," Green's voice gained an animated edge, "he invited me to go to Kalos in a month's time, says he there is some new research he wants me to see. Mega evolution it is called," his eyes lighted up and Daisy giggled.

"Are you going?"

"Why Yes...Why shouldn't I go? It's an opportunity of a lifetime."

His sister smiled and clapped her hands and he sensed the conversation would go in a direction he was not particularly fond of. Grabbing the teacup, he gulped the scalding liquid down, alas; he was too late to avoid her question.

"So...When are you going to settle down Green? Is there someone you have in mind?"

He spat out his tea and alongside him, his grandfather comically suffered from an anaphylactic shock. The older man choked and wheezed.

"Wh-where did that question come from all of a sudden?" he hoarsely asked, "and I'll settle down when the time comes." He pushed his chair back and slowly got up, glancing at his watch in the process. "I'm going over to Red's house, I'll spend the evening there and return at night."

"Speaking of Red..." Green halted and half turned, "I haven't seen him in such a long time."

"He's nothing to look at" the younger Oak shrugged, "he's doing well...He...retired from the league actually. Uh, I really have to go I'm running late. See you later Sis and be sure to visit again." He made a quick escape and hopped over the railings setting a bee line for the house opposite the street. Frankly it he found it strange that it wasn't blown up yet. With so many people living under one roof, brawls, quarrels and tempers are bound to run wild. Hands deep inside his pockets, he crossed the cobblestoned street and stood before the door. Uttering a greeting, he stepped inside.

* * *

Evening

Kanto

She stared at herself in the mirror and back to the smiling man standing behind her. Yellow subconsciously pulled the short dress to cover her knees.

"Um...This was really unnecessary uncle...I'm just going to meet some friends. Thank you very much for the dress, it's really wonderful...but it's not something I'd normally wear."

"Nonsense!" the fisherman heartily clapped her on her back and the poor woman stumbled forward, "you look great...I wanted to give you a gift but you hardly come home...At least let me spoil you."

"I'm sorry." The blonde combed her hair and decided to leave it loose, she grabbed a lace beret and fixed it atop her locks, "I'll try and come home more often." The duo made their way downwards and the older man smiled at her with a mixture of emotions.

"You are growing up..." he stated softly as she stepped out of the door. "I understand you are busy with much work, but be sure to visit this old man once in a while okay? Go on now, you'll be late if you linger any longer" a mischievous grin spread across his lips, "and be sure to introduce me to your special friend okay?" Yellow blushed, waved her hands wildly in the air and disappeared into the gloom. Inside the house, the man trudged back to the well-worn couch in the living room and plopped down with a sigh. Gone were the days when he could come home to the smell of delicious cooking and a heartfelt greeting. He felt genuinely happy that his pseudo child had started to become independent but deep down, his heart rebelled. Yellow was a very timid child, she preferred to play with the pokemon in the forest rather than children her age. Her parents passed away when she was still a toddler and thus she developed social awkwardness. Thanks to her friends, she regained her confidence and slowly matured into a capable young lady. He liked the fire in her hazel eyes. The fisherman stared at the blank television for a while, eventually he got up and wearily made his way upstairs and into his bedroom. He had a feeling...That Yellow might not be coming home.

The sun dipped below the horizon and Yellow hesitated before the door. She could hear some sort of commotion inside and it made her stomach turn. Also the clothes she wore...Blue and the others would never stop making fun of her. Once again, she pulled the cream material to cover her knees. Now would be a good time to turn around and hightail back home, but the problem engulfing their organization could not be ignored. The sooner a solution could be found, the better. Taking a deep breath and smoothing the creases out she politely knocked and entered.

"HOLY MEW GREEN, THE PAN IS ON FIRE!" Red shrieked and clutched his hair. The person in question had his face and body beading with sweat as he held out a pan covered in flames. When he came inside the house a few hours ago, he beheld the male trainers sprawled on the floor and on the brink of starvation. Why his best friend refused Dia's help was a question no one could answer. Thus, he barged into the kitchen to see Red wrestling with an onion. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Green decided to help. He refused to put on an apron and instead went to fire up the stoves and heat up the pan. The results ended up a disaster. It seemed Oak was even worse than Red. The professor couldn't even warm up a pan. Blue appeared and howled in laughter. Deflating, he looked around and wondered what to do. The metallic utensil began to get uncomfortably hot in his hands and the skin on his palms reddened. Behind him, a flash of light and a roar announced the entrance of Blasty...Its trainer had an evil glint in her eye.

"One way to put down those flames and give you a thorough wash!" She cackled and declared.

"Blue, please wait!" Red and Green simultaneously shouted together and after a pressurised torrent of water doused them and flooded the kitchen, the raven haired man moaned: "My kitchen..." and sunk to the floor. At this point, Yellow walked into the area and Green subconsciously dropped the pan with a clang and tried to make himself look presentable. Which was difficult considering that he now resembled a drowned human. His shirt stuck to his form and the spiky mane sagged with water.

"Into the living room..." Red got up and squeezed water out of his shirt, "everyone's going without dinner tonight." he poisonously mumbled. In a few minutes, the rest of the Dex-criminals organized themselves around their respective leaders and a meeting began in full sway.

"So...we were struck with a disaster." Blue commented and folded her arms.

"I wonder how they found out...It was a precise, well organized attack." Red contemplated.

"I'm getting wet just by being next to you..." Gold complained, "by the way senior Yellow...You look lovely. Wanna go on a date?" he tried to wink, instead Crystal and Pearl punched him in the face and behind them, Green glared at him with the force of a hundred demons.

"...Forgive me..."

"Our best strategy is to split up into three and separate." Platina broke into the babbling with firm insistence, "if we congregate, it makes us more visible and prone to getting attac-"

"No way!" Black shot up and clenched his fist, " I don't want to be separated from anyone." The atmosphere grew heavy with tension and any moment, an all-out brawl threatened to break out.

"Sit down Black" His leader commanded, "and as much as it hurts me to say it...Platina is right. We should split up and lay low. Hey, not like we're going to be separated forever right?" There were hesitant murmurs of agreement. "So...Who's going where?"

Blue flipped her hair back, "My team will be going to Sinnoh, Platina has arranged for a base in the resort area. If you don't mind, we will be leaving by tomorrow morning. And if you are wondering, yes, Platina has discussed this plan before with us and we agreed."

"I see." Green nodded, "it's...Plausible. The rest of us will leave a day or two later. It will arouse less suspicion. We...Will go to Hoenn...the base in Mount Coronet is out of the way and a perfect place to hide."

"Undella for us..." Red chirped.

"The ship...right?" Execution's members all nodded. A subdued mood hung in the air as friends looked at each other and wondered how it will feel like to be torn away. Diamond squeezed himself into the settee, his azure irises unhappy. He will be separated from his best friend again. Shouts of protests and counter arguments flew over his head as the rest of the organization tried to reason with one another. Pulling out his Pokedex, he stared at it forlornly.

"The morning sound..." he muttered to himself, "I...Won't be able to hear it anymore... _Right?_ "

* * *

 **A/N:** A bit of a breather chapter and some background info on Yellow. Green can't cook and the three departments are splitting. A heartfelt thanks to those who read and reviewed. At Silver: Heh! I knew the cake would lure you back! Jk :P As usual, your reviews crack me right up. The criminals are in a dire state so it makes sense to grab important stuff and scram. At Eevee: My anniversary? Thank you for remembering it :) Since I never remember those things. N couldn't run off because he promised not to betray them (and Red or Green might end him) Green unwittingly charming Yellow? Already done (with help from Blue) so look forward to that. I spend a lot of time planning the chapters and frankly, I write in a daze, I don't stop until I'm done with a chapter before reviewing it. I'm happy that this chapter turned out to yours and everyone's liking (your comment on JK. Rowling made my head shoot up in the clouds) :D At Jack54311: Hugh is making an appearance in chapter 51. Well, their current set up is a temporary solution, look forward to how they solve the problem. At AceTrainerLeaf: You were hyperventilating? No worries, I was hyperventilating too whilst writing it. Ahahaha, you flatter me, I simply write what comes to my mind and the freezing room thing just popped in my head like that. I find that playing games helps me in writing action scenes or even watching movies with a lot of action in it.

Once again, much gratitude and virtual cake and cookies to everyone supporting!


	47. Triumvirate

**Chapter 47: Triumvirate**

It was still dark when Platina heaved herself off the cramped space on the bed and her feet touched the floor. The wood felt smooth and cold underneath and dazedly she stared around the room. It was quite an...Interesting experience for her, sharing the room with other people that is. First of all, Red's entire house was the size of her bedroom and on coming here, she briefly fought down claustrophobia and tried her best to grin and bear it, after all the circumstances demanded as such and it was no time to act like a spoiled brat. The few days they spent in Red's quaint little home were idle pleasure, no one, not even Strategy's team leader seemed interested in discussing future plans. Everyone knew for a fact that they could not return to base, the building was gone, blasted, charred and shut down. With each passing day, Platina's grievances grew and she found herself consulting her leader on a solution. To her delight, Blue immediately agreed but warned that Red and possibly Green would not be happy. A quick fix yes, but a quick fix with a price of being torn apart.

The mattress creaked gently as she got up and examined herself in the mirror, the bruises she suffered from Cyrus had at last faded away however she could still see a faint blemish on her pale skin. On the bed, Crystal moaned something incomprehensible and turned over, White, who also shared the same bed, scooted up further; Gold's saffron tinted quilts hung off her bare shoulders and arms. All the luggage they were able to salvage in the chaotic time lay haphazardly on the floor, strewn amongst the older male's personal possessions. Deep, cadenced breaths were loud against the noble's ears and she let the calmness wash over her. A tiny smile tugged at her lips, she will definitely miss staying here. Despite having to contend with one bathroom and shower, she found the daily fights amusing and it also did not help when Execution's leader insisted on Yellow staying over. The different team mates warred over food, over clothing and sleeping space, thankfully, the boys allowed the females to stay in the upper rooms and Blue, unsurprisingly claimed Red's chamber along with Whi-2, Sapphire and Yellow. Crystal threw a tantrum when Gold suggested he keep her company and that night the indigo haired woman fumed and persisted in sleeping on the floor instead. When she finally calmed down, White dragged her into bed and Platina found herself horribly squashed between them. Nonetheless it was a very warm experience as they talked late into the night about life and other topics she wouldn't ever dream about discussing. They fell asleep and woke up when Lack-2 and Pearl got into a fight, apparently the blonde accused the brunette of stealing his underwear.

She pulled her hair into a bun and fixed a white beanie on top. Glancing at the clock, another involuntary smile spread across her face, in a few moments...

"Ahhhh! I can't find my jeans!" This time, Ruby hollered at the top of his voice. Constellate's departure was in a few hours and as usual, her senior had replaced or missed something. Putting on a short sleeved jacket, she regally made her way down the stairs to see the rest of the males awake and sitting on the carpet in various states of undress. The noble froze, one hand on the banister and the other slowly making itself towards her flushed cheeks. For their part, they were all collected, except for Ruby, wearing shorts and nothing else, the flamboyant teenager hastily wrapped a piece of cloth around his head and flailed, he began flinging clothes and other things out and Emerald grabbed a t-shirt from the air and put it on. The Berlitz heiress stood still on the stairs; her body petrified and demanded that she remove herself from the place. It was odd that Blue hadn't down yet, if they were leaving today, then it was imperative for their leader to be on time. Usually, the cinnamon haired woman awoke first as she took on the responsibility of cooking breakfast for everyone.

"Are you idiots going to just sit and traumatize my subordinate or are you actually going to get dressed?" Drawled a tired voice from behind her. Blue came down, her hair in an elegant ponytail and her lips pressed into a dissatisfied smile, "Ruby darling, I suggest you pack your things as quickly as possible because we are leaving as soon as breakfast is over!" The black haired teen sighed, frowned and resumed his never ending packing. Somewhere in the middle of arms, legs and bodies, Dia who finished putting on a shirt, piped up:

"Do you need help Ms. Blue?" The older woman smiled sweetly at him and accepted the offer, so far, Diamond had religiously offered his services every day and she politely refused, the poor boy needed a break from the constant cooking and training.

"Thanks very much Dia" the boy shot up and together they made their way into the kitchen.

Early morning

Kanto

Pallet Town

Sapphire came down to see Ruby still surrounded by clothes, accessories, his pokeballs and technical machine case, the male was busy counting the discs enclosed in the tube casing and he appeared unsatisfied with the numbers. She peered at the other faces in the room, the couches were dominated by Pearl, Gold, Lack-2 and Silver, those four pored over a game, yelling and insulting each other. Red and Green were off to the side with Yellow and Platina, no doubt discussing the plans laid out the night before. How could they? She wondered, why wasn't anyone fazed by the fact that they were splitting apart? She understood it was a drastic measure since the last attack had been horribly precise, the police came very close to catching them...But still...the thought of being away from her friends, being isolated from Ruby made her sad and lonely. And the idiotic fashionista didn't even show scant remorse, he rifled through his clothes and muttered to himself about what he should wear for the trip. She wanted to protest, alas, protesting will not yield results, besides, the rest of them had accepted it already, or even if they did not agree with the arrangement, no one argued. You can't argue back when the leaders already decided on the course of action. Speaking of which, another thought nagged at the back of her mind, where were the prisoners? She distinctly remembered seeing the two of them sporting ice cuffs and being escorted by Gold and Yellow when the base was attacked. A movement at the periphery of her vision alerted her to Ruby parting his hair. Moving forward, she squatted down next to him.

"You're leaving..." she tried to sound cheerful instead the words came out uncharacteristically despondent.

"Yeah..." he looked up and grinned, a trace of sadness flickered in his scarlet irises, "but it won't be forever...I mean sooner or later the three departments will merge again and then I'll have to put up with your constant nagging!" To his surprise, Saph didn't even swipe her arm at him and he exhaled softly. She was worried and even if he showed no emotions, the decision to fork into three different bases left him torn inside. He will dearly miss Emerald's company and Sapphire...He wouldn't know what to do without her. "Really now, cheer up will you, your unhappy face is going to give me a stomach ache."

"You suck at flirting." Lack-2 grinned like a monkey as he passed by with an armful of snack wrappers. Ruby glared and picked up a pair of balled up socks, he wanted to hurl it in the boy's direction until it registered that it was his socks he almost flung away. Hastily, he stuffed it back in his bag and carried on with his packing, taking things out, folding them neatly and putting them back again. Ruby tried to distract himself, his azure eyed friend kept very still and she watched with an unfathomable expression in her eyes. Finally, unable to take his constant fastidiousness, Sapphire helped him organize the carrier; the duo finished and sat in companionable silence. Ruby was dressed already in a pair of tan cargo pants, a leather jacket over a black shirt and his trusty hat. He smelled nice too and Saph wanted to scoot away from him and get lost in the jumble of her own team mates. Her leader had moved away from his impromptu meeting and perched himself on the settee, he lectured Black and N on war tactics, White hung out with Crystal and Rald the short boy tinkered with one of his gadgets whilst the two ladies engrossed themselves in a clothes magazine.

 _Couldn't this scene, this tranquility last forever? Not forever but at least for a longer time?_

She wasn't there to prevent the disaster in Hoenn. Instead she was forced as a helpless spectator, watching the events unfold like a movie, the entire organization had crowded in Constellate's room in order to watch the news. She saw the two elemental titans, one fake and one very real, roar and fight each other causing disaster, destruction and leaving death in their wake. With bated breath she observed her leader and Ruby brave the two mythical creatures and a horde of police in order to save her homeland. She felt useless, Hoenn was her place and she wasn't there to save it.

"Stop frowning will you...You'll age faster than me." The ebony haired male commented and covered her hand with his own. "I know you're mad at not being able to save Hoenn, at least you got to visit your dad right? Hoenn's safe and sound. Everyone is okay so don't feel down about it." He adjusted his hat making it fashionably skew.

"Where are Cyrus and Charon?" she blurted out and blinked, her mouth was not obeying her will today.

"Hmm?" Ruby's face took on a miffed visage, "Oh...them? Some things are better left unsaid but if you really wanna know, they are back in the abandoned base. My leader saw to that and I overheard that Green is closely monitoring them."

"Right...I don't want to know anymore..." She squeezed his hand and got up, a smile blooming on her face. Blue and Diamond exited from the kitchen bearing steaming plates. The aroma wafting from the dishes tickled her appetite and with forced vigor, she cheered herself up. "Let's eat, I'm starving. I'm calling dibs on Dia's berry grill!" she announced clamorously and was about to dive in the throng of people when her companion pulled her back.

"Keep safe okay?" he whispered and brushed past her, "and call me often." Again, Saph felt something twist in her chest. He wasn't the same person she knew anymore. That Ruby faded. The one who concerned himself more with winning contest than helping his home region, Hoenn, from an oncoming disaster; sure he still shrilled like a girl when he split his nail; however he carried something much more burdensome. The blood eyed teen glanced back and winked and at that instant, the world came rushing back to her. Blushing furiously, she involuntarily punched the next person walking past and stomped over to the table, trying to hide her cherry red face. Behind her, Green rubbed the sore part of his upper arm and wondered what he'd done to make her angry. Perhaps he should stop making Red mad; it was common knowledge that Execution's team members worshipped their leader. Running a hand through his bangs, he went and squeezed himself at the already overcrowded table. This false peace surrounding them felt nice.

Life was peaceful, at least for a while.

* * *

Mid-morning

Kanto

Red's house

"Of all the people in the planet and _you_ get to replace something?" Blue irritably stated and Silver blushed in mortification at her not so subtle admonition. It was close to departure time and when he sifted through his bag for a last minute check-up he noticed something missing and straightaway threw a fit. This action of his caught the rest by surprise as the red head hardly every screamed about something. Gold rushed over and went through his personal possessions since there might be a possibility of the two of them sharing things and forgetting to give it back. Alas they came up short. Steadily, Constellate's leader's expression darkened and she tapped her heel in a semi-irked manner. "Leave it," she flipped her hair back, "I'll buy the thing for you when we get to Sinnoh, for now, let's leave, I swear we're going to miss the cruiser at this rate!"

"Calm down Blue." Green intoned from somewhere to the left and she whirled around.

"I'm PERFECTLY Calm!" at her outburst the spiky haired buried his nose in a nearby book and his best friend clutched him.

"Red...Stop digging your fingers into my arm...She won't eat you."

"Been a long time since I saw her this angry...Man I forgot she could be scarier than you." he muttered back.

"...True..."

Silver still searched through his bag and when his sister suggested that they leave, he slumped on the floor. Gold tried to be as helpful as possible but the red haired adolescent refused to budge.

"Silver...I told you I will buy you a new one. Please, let's get a move on, we have to leave." Blue's voice gained a strained edge, her brother was being unreasonable and bratty.

"You can't." he monotoned, "and I'm not leaving till I find it. It's the silver chain you gave me for a present on my birthday."

"Oh..." the older woman deflated, "in that case let's all look for it together."

And thus the search began, Yellow veered left and right trying to dodge all the stuff raining out of different bags, trolleys and knapsacks. Green stood next to her, his mien going from happy to tetchy and he briefly contemplated on leaving when Red dug out an embarrassing photo of him and proceeded to show it to the rest of the members. Blue snapped and everyone resumed their tasks. The brown haired woman paced back and forth, her designer dress swishing in tandem with her movements. Eventually a shout from Crystal alerted them and the indigo haired adolescent came down from upstairs with the piece of jewellery dangling from her fingers. Muttering a thanks, Silver snatched it up and fixed it around his neck, he zipped up his bag and was ready to leave when Gold asked the question gnawing on everyone's minds:

"Dude...how on earth did your chain end up in Crys's bag?"

"You should be the last one to talk senior Gold..." Black spoke up from the other end of the lounge, "I found your pokemon belt in my wardrobe one day!"

"Shush it Black, that was...A mistake." The amber eyed trainer shrugged and the tense atmosphere dissipated. Constellate's team mates congregated around the door. Clearly none felt happy with the arrangement but it had to be done. Setting down her case with a thump, the commander walked back to her best friends and threw her arms around them, enforcing a hug. Red chuckled and returned the gesture whilst Green sputtered in indignation and unwillingly hugged in return. A few hushed words were shared between the trio and in a flurry of movements the spy department departed. Out through the door, their footsteps echoed against smooth stone as they shouted goodbyes and left amidst shouts and hand waves. Saph blinked back tears and swung her arm back and forth wildly, channelling all her sadness into giving her friends a proper farewell. Dia and Pearl flanked her, the blonde pre-teen was subdued and his arms hung limply by his side, Diamond fared no better, he nibbled on a berry with his gaze glued to Platina's quickly disappearing form. Gold had his arm around Lack-2 and he squeezed the younger boy's shoulder involuntarily when Silver looked back and gave them a thumbs up. Crystal stared at him with a mixture of emotions and Rald, scrutinized her, trying to decipher the meaning behind the obviously yearning look. Lack-2 stiffened, even though he and Whi-2 saw less of each other ever since entering the organization, it still felt like part of him went away. She was the only other person whom he freely associated with and now, she left. Within moments, the posse moved out of the quaint town and the environment became still save for the occasional pokemon cry.

With heavy hearts, the remainder of the teams trudged back inside the house. Gold's face registered concern and confusion when Crystal bolted upstairs, he contemplated on joining and trying to comfort her, but then he remembered that she would rather be alone. Biting down his lip, he looked around the room, trying to find something to distract him. Diamond and Pearl reclined on the floor and read their favourite comic. Tugging a reluctant Lack-2 along with him, he joined the Sinnoh natives on the floor and in moments he lost himself in the fantasy world of giant robots, pokemon and heroes.

* * *

Mid afternoon

Kanto

Vermillion Port

The sun's rays reflected off Whi-2's sunglasses as she surveyed the port, it was small unlike the one in Unova. Kanto was nice, she decided, a quiet place with small to medium towns and all the people were friendly and inviting. The cosmopolitan atmosphere in Unova taxed her so the countryside offered a good change of pace. Sitting on one of the wooden benches lining the seaside, she munched on a packet of crisps and waited for Blue to finish her business at the counter. The young girl longed to visit the curio shops and other cafes along the port, but there was no time. Already she could see the gigantic luxury cruiser making its way in the harbour, a three storey ship of white metal, chrome and glass and it glinted beautifully in the noonday sun. Elegantly dressed crowds exited, chatting excitedly about their experiences. Platina sat next to her and as usual, the noble exuded grace unlike any other, she remained poised, her hair into an elegant bun with a few strands framing her doll-esque face. As the watercraft blasted its foghorn, the heiress got up and Whi-2 followed her on the cruiser. Here, another world of luxury opened up and the youngster groaned. She'd never get used to the high life.

"Relax, it's only for a while...Enjoy it while it lasts." Ruby clapped her genially on the back and passed. Silver followed him after throwing her a smile. Fixing a forcible grin, Whi-2 took off her shades and went down below. They were right; best enjoy it while it lasts.

The breeze whipped her chocolate hair back and forth, the salty tang was not together unpleasant but the woman beheld the sea with a forlorn expression adorning her pretty face. Was the choice to split into three branches too hasty? The three of them were in equilibrium, they all shared power equally and none asserted their rights over the other. In spite of being the smallest group, she enjoyed the same privilege as Strategy and Execution and when the decision came up, they all looked at her with disbelief. Thankfully Red quelled any rebellion from his group and Blue was grateful for that because if things went haywire, those execution members won't let things slide so easily. Their tempers were akin to litwick flame, blow and they will blaze. Sighing, she absentmindedly played with the necklace around her neck and tried to ignore the babble of voices rising around her, there seemed to be some commotion and her ears picked up the distinct sounds of a camera clicking frenziedly away. Not being able to contain her curiosity much longer, she stepped away from the gleaming rail and half turned.

And her breath stilled.

Silver flipped through several pictures on his phone and contemplated on the ones to delete. His biggest headache happened to be the fact that his adopted sister would 'borrow' his phone when she went on her missions. And the photos she came back with would constantly crush any hope he had for her. Sure she was savvy and a bit flirtatious but would it kill her not to string along a bunch of unsuspecting and innocent (?) guys every time she wanted to do a solo mission? For once, he agreed with Green, she liked drawing too much attention to herself and even if those guys declared their undying love for her (he highly doubted their feelings were sincere) she'd just giggle, toss her shock of hair backwards and vanish.

Delete two hundred and thirty four pictures?

Yes/No?

Deleted

He exhaled and lay back on the fluffy pillow, the members had an entire room to themselves which suited him rather well. Sleeping in the cramped space made his muscles sore not to mention Gold and his lackey were being constant nuisances by clambering over him. The red head was sleep deprived and already shadows could be seen underneath his eyes. He thought of leaving it so but Blue wouldn't want it, if his complexion turned healthy, he garnered attention and by all means Silver loved living in the shadows. People can forget him and he preferred it that way. Thoughts straying to Blue, he wondered, embarrassingly if she'd ever find someone worthy enough to be her spouse. Truth to be told, he was a bit worried, Red is dense and Green has the emotional state of a mecha, yet even they show signs of interest in the opposite gender. As for his sister, none, she'll laugh merrily, whisper all the honeyed words but when it came to serious consideration:

"Are you crazy? Don't you want to stay with your darling sister forever Silver? That's so mean." And she'd shed a ton of fake tears and engulf him in a hug. Obviously they'd remain brother and sister forever, however it would be nice to see her genuinely happy instead of the saccharine smile she always put on. With this whole organization thing, she found it difficult to trust people and by all means, and his sister was not someone who trusted easily

 _I hope this verdict makes you happy sis, take a break from your best friends for a while and search for your own happiness._

Trying to stay awake proved futile. It was mid-afternoon, stumbling to the windows, he drew the heavy velvet curtains and plunged the room into semi-darkness, shrugging his shirt off, he flopped to bed and fell fast asleep.

Team Constellate's commander prided on her stable emotions. A heart wrenching story may reduce others to tears and sniffles, however she could swallow those tears and proceed to go about her business with a serene face. Sure, if the situation needed a few crocodile tears, she could pour a few, realistically and often she fooled Red many times. This one particular instance, she stole his badges and even though the ebony haired male knew his comrade faked it, he relented. Now, she pondered if there was something wrong with her because surely a person...A guy should not, under any circumstances, make her feel this way. She hung out with Green and Red for a good portion of her life and she found the former handsome. The latter developed gorgeous looks only if he dressed up and took care of himself, which he doesn't. Never did it cross her minds that her two best friends would be good dating material. Rocks were a better experience. Turning around, Blue prayed that the man standing in the middle of the deck did not see her flushed face. Blue blushing...this was a first.

"Ace...Pay attention will you?" A woman snapped in his face and he fluttered his eyelids. Since boarding the ship from Unova, the cyan haired actor has been bombarded with requests from fans, fellow actors and his own company to take photos, sign autographs and sit with them for meals. An aspiring starlet even asked him out on a date and when he turned her down, his manager glared at him with the fury of Arceus. Simply put, he grew tired of showbiz and all the pretence. Acting is his passion, although it could also be a royal pain in the head at times.

"...Sure...I should've just stayed as an ace trainer..." he grumbled under his breath and smoothed his pinstriped vest out. Another stylist broke the boundary of his personal space and arranged his bangs over his forehead. The little group finished with the photo shoot and now ushered him below deck where he'd have to smile from ear to ear whilst listening to how handsome he looked and how much potential he had for acting. He lingered behind, trying to catch a glimpse of the beautiful woman standing by the railing. She stared at him intently for a few minutes before going back to sea gazing. He first thought she might be a fan; however there was something very off about her. A hit woman? He shuddered. People in the entertainment industry were equally adored and abhorred and he was no stranger to the experience of some rabid human trying to harm him. As he descended on the stairway, he stopped, one polished shoe hovering over a step. Slowly he looked back to see her gazing at him again and for some inexplicable reason he felt pain. Her hair, a deep, dark brown, complimented her lazuline eyes perfectly and her visage was masked with suppressed emotions giving her almost a carved appearance. He rotated, trying to take in her fully, alas, he blinked and the woman disappeared.

He felt empty. Shrugging and making sure he looked his best, he walked down below. Blue watched him, her cheeks still aflame as the man moved away with deliberate slowness. Shaking her head and smacking her cheeks lightly, she traversed the softly lit corridor to her chamber. Sitting with a novel might bring her back to reality because no way, she, the trickster was going to fall for some good looking actor dude she only glimpsed today. Right? Time to focus on work.

 _Right?_

Late afternoon

Kanto

Red's house

It came as no surprise. The house was a mess. Again. Red ignored everything around him, he chewed on a chocolate covered stick and focused his attention on the video game before him. Pressing the buttons furiously, he managed to gain the upper hand on the boss and defeat it. Giving a whoop of victory, the rest of the occupants, who lazily lied around or indulged in other mundane activities, spared him a listless glance and went back to what they were doing. Diamond, Pearl and Saph sat on the couch next to him, the two boys were trying to entertain her with the comedic routine and so far it was a blast. The wild girl rolled on the floor clutching her stomach and laughing and when Pearl pinched Dia's chubby cheeks, she sprang up and squeezed them as well; only stopping after the boy complained of pain. Green sat next to Red with a science magazine open on his lap. Once in a while, his jade irises would slide to the person next to him who was completely engrossed with the game. He contemplated on how to deliver the news of his trip to Kalos and he knew Red would throw a fit, he will scream at him because now the situation reversed. True to his word, the sable haired trainer stopped going out after that incident and his conduct improved. Now the professor was the one doing the rule breaking. He inwardly snorted, how ironic. A thousand excuses and counter arguments floated through his head and he wondered on how to best break the ice without shattering his friend's trust and faith.

 _Coward_

The self-satisfied curl on Red's lips that day was still imprinted in his mind, the poisonous whisper ringing like a broken record in his ears. The brunette shivered although the temperature in the lounge was hot, collecting himself, he pushed the morbid ponderings at the back of his mind and went for the plunge. If the research succeeded, the Dex-criminals will also benefit from the knowledge.

"Red..." he began, the ex-champion had his face screwed in concentration, apparently, the avatar on the screen did not swing its sword fast enough. "I'm going to Kalos in one month's time. The professor from the region called me up and asked for assistance...And I'm in no position to say no, you know my Grandpa's reputation; it was actually grandfather who recommended me. Besides they were investigating this new method of evolution called mega-evolution. It seems our pokemon can evolve one stage higher. Pretty neat no? It could make your battles much more thrilling." The emerald eyed man took a quick peek at his friend, "My team can take care of themselves no problem and they already encouraged me to go...I'm not running away, this is important to the pokemon community as well...So...Are you even listening to me?" This was the longest ramble of his life since he preferred to be tight lipped. All the talking made him breathless and his voice distinctly rose an octave as he barreled through his words.

"What?" Red dropped the controller on the grey carpet and faced him, the monitor showed a game over and the main character could be seen floating in oblivion. "WHAT?" he repeated again, his voice growing deeper with rage. "You are going where?"

"Kalos...Weren't you listening to me?" Green asked plaintively.

"Well yeah, I was. Just making sure my ears weren't fooling me or something." The man leaned back on the sofa, "so let me get this straight, you are leaving...to the other side of the world when we...Decided to split apart and your department will be functioning without your guidance is it? Did I misunderstand something because I'm not the brightest tool in the shed am I?" Red queried in a completely normal tone. Green felt even worse, he hoped for an outburst of screaming words and insults, at least it would justify his arguments but his companion simply talked normally as if Green's actions ceased to astonish him any longer. The brown haired man swallowed, something hollow expanded in his chest and it made him feel rotten.

"Yes, I'm leaving...For Kalos."

"Good luck then." Red pushed himself up from the pale blue faux leather, "and bring me souvenirs." Saying that, he exited the house after throwing on a jacket and putting the hood up. Oak merely watched, a tiny voice inside his head assured him that his best friend was livid. Crystal came out of the kitchen holding a glass of water, she was about to drink it up when her commander's crushed expression prompted her to pass the water over to him. Accepting it with a solemn nod, he drowned it with one gulp and kept on staring at the carpet.

"Sir...Is there something wro-"

"I'd feel much better if Red yelled at me for doing something wrong..." Green uttered and clenched his jaw. His lips twitched briefly before morphing into a bitter smile.

Dinner happened to be an elaborate affair thanks to Diamond's efforts. The crowd around the table became much smaller, nonetheless it didn't stop anyone from screeching at each other to get out of the way. Pearl was being the noisiest and the others waited for Green to say something to his hyperactive subordinate. Instead, the man stared at his plate and pushed the contents around with a spoon, the noodles went one way, the berries went to another corner and he tried in vain to separate the sauce from the noodle strands. Everyone else dug in the delicious meal and Dia spied the stiff faced commander playing with his food. The Sinnoh trio mused that his food didn't taste so great today...but the rest wolfed it down and N had to force water down Black's mouth because the latter shoved in such a big mouthful, it became difficult to swallow.

"You gonna eat that?" Red quizzed and stole a berry from Green's plate. Why did he act so nonchalant? No wait, the man sucked at acting so this was all real? His co-worker seriously did not care if he left in the middle of a crisis?

 _Of course he cared._

"I'm not feeling very hungry..." the brown haired adolescent got up and saw his team mates looking at him with concern. "Daisy is leaving today so I'm going to see her off. Take care the rest of you." For an inexplicable reason, he found himself dipping his head as he said goodbye. Outside, he stood still and looked up at the sky. Three bright stars seemed to jump out at him. Burying his face in his shirt collar, he walked down the short path and back to his home. Inside, Red slung his arm around Diamond and ushered the indolent boy to play a game with him. Blue eyes sparkling, the duo sat together on the carpet and booted the game device up. The younger boy failed to see distress swirling in his idol's crimson irises.

"And so we are going to be disconnected. Prez! Don't worry; I'll be sure to call you every single day!" Black grinned widely and assured his friend for the umpteenth time, the first few times, he grabbed her shoulders so forcefully, she winced in pain. She was really grateful for his optimism though, the parting would not be such a depressing affair.

"In that case...I'll also call every day." N intoned next to them and they both grinned. The leaf haired adolescent reddened and looked away.

The three shared a chuckle; they assembled away from everyone else in a little corner of their own, surrounded by chip packets, handwritten notes and stationary. The two dragon stones were also next to them and White plopped down on the carpet with a blanket around her shoulders. Her thick, curly mane of cinnamon tinted hair hung loosely down her back. Black lay on the floor, a pen behind his ear as he frantically typed away on his phone and researched. N either gazed out of the window or read Black's notes whilst White busied herself with penning down ideas for musicals and block buster movies. She was part of the Dex-criminals now, however; she never gave up on her dream of being a movie director. Her friends made for some very interesting characters no doubt. Lack-2 bounced pichu on his lap and near him, Crystal shoved a grinning Gold away from her. Letting out a breath, White looked down to see messy handwriting and her friend smiling in her face. For the hundredth time that day, she consoled Black. His strategy was sound and solid, she said and yes, he would win the league without a doubt. This brought on an ecstatic gleam in his eyes and he took a deep breath. A cue for everyone to plug their ears. In the next instant Red and Gold collectively swore as the older Unovian tore the roof off with a bellow. Laughing loudly, he collapsed on the floor and rolled around. White's eyes softened at his antics, his hat fell off and messy brown locks were plastered to his forehead.

"I'll miss both of you..."

"What are you saying?" Black shot up and poked N who lost himself in a daydream, "we'll both call you so often you won't even notice our disappearance, right N?"

"Of course." The leaf haired adolescent nodded.

"Please don't..." White chortled and patted her Amanda, "you two are unforgettable even if you aren't there. Thanks for cheering me up Black, N. I'll be looking forward to your video calls...And please don't spend your entire time talking about gym battle strategies."

"Kyurem NO! I'll be telling you how much I'm missing you!" Another grin danced on the male teen's lips and White fought down a blush. Black was absolutely beautiful when he wasn't screaming or flailing around and she admired his thinking prowess when Musha sucked his extra brainwaves in. As for N, the green haired individual exuded a certain harmony. Most of the time his pokemon all snuggled up to him and it presented a very endearing sight. Right now, zorua snoozed in his lap and a pale, bracelet wearing hand gently smoothed the fluffy fur down. White pulled the blanket closer around her and leaned against N.

"Sorry for that..." she apologized sweetly, "but I feel like spending the night here today" she pointed around the room and saw the others knocking off where they stood. They all wanted to stay together and the desire showed clearly on everyone's faces

* * *

 **A/N:** Much gratitude to im-probably-sleeping and Lucycrossan for favoriting and alerting my story. I hope Blaec Iustise keeps on being a pleasant read. At: Jack54311 I think Red would be a better cook, at least he had to fend for himself for a while whilst Green probably never set foot in a kitchen thanks to Daisy and his Grandpa. Red is messy, but Gold is messier. Heh, foreshadowing :) I'll leave the interpretations up to you readers! At AceTrainerLeaf: I made you laugh? :D so glad to hear that because my sister accuses me of being the most boring person on the planet. Ahhh, I can't really write humor though (I try). Thanks for the motivation, next time I decide to write, I'll try including funnier elements. At Silver: Hilarious? Should I start becoming a standup comedian? :P I bet you'll be the first one to pelt me with chocolate (not that I'd mind Lol). Glad I could make the readers chuckle with this chapter, please keep on reading and reviewing. Virtual food for everyone!


	48. Fissured bonds, fissured hearts

**Chapter 48: Fissured bonds, fissured hearts**

Dawn

Johto

Mahogany Town

Cyrus wearily opened his eyes when the weak, warm sunlight filtered through the dilapidated roof and spread across his body. The room he and Charon stayed in was musty and wet. Grey and olive tinted mold grew on the damp walls and slimy green moss carpeted the floor. One corner of the chamber was cordoned off and this place remained marginally dry. Two beds were placed on opposite ends with a small cupboard and a television. The TV did not provide entertainment nor could he use it to watch the news, instead, every single day at precisely two in the afternoon, it would switch on of its own accord and he would lour at Blue's sardonic smile and curse himself. Lately Green started making an appearance and the spiky haired brunette fared no better. All they wanted to know was how the making of the red chain came along. If Cyrus' spine got glued together from exertion, it was his problem not theirs. Running a hand through matted hair, he glanced next to him to see Charon waking up, the older man fumbled around for his spectacles before finding them and putting them on. He took a deep breath and wheezed when the unpleasant smell of damp hit his nose. Staying in such disgusting conditions did not befit a scientist such as him.

"Sir...I suggest we break out of here and tip the police off..." Charon eyed his filthy coat disturbingly and flung it back on the bed. His commander had already got off the thin mattress and rotated his arms and legs to lessen the aching. A few joints popped and the Galactic leader stared at the opposite, mold encrusted wall.

"We can't..." he muttered, his dry voice barely carrying over, "the police will believe us but in the end, it won't save us from going to prison. It's where we belong after all." Hands laced behind his back, he walked out of the broken down chamber and down the twisting, barely recognizable corridors. His boots echoed mutely on the dried mud caking the floor and after a series of turns he came across a room. The only part of the once glorious base that remained fully intact. The sheer ice coating the surface steadily begun melting but it was still there, wrapping the room in an icy grip. Blue thawed out the entrance and Cyrus opened the door and shivered when a blast of glacial air hit him. Shrunken irises swept the room. It was hospital white, with metallic machines and three pedestals situated in the middle of the room. Leaving the door open, he strode inside and peered into the glass topped devices. Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf were too tired and drained to spare him a heated glare. They lay limp, their white fur stained a dirty, rusty brown as blood steadily dripped in fine droplets and collected in a plate. Nodding, the man's spacesuit-esque uniform crinkled as he surveyed the rest of the room. Everything still functioned in an orderly manner. The din of humming machines grated his ears and after throwing one last look, Cyrus exited the chamber and locked the door securely. He went back to the dingy room he and Charon shared. Fortunately, the criminals imprisoning them were kind enough to supply them with non-perishable food. Crouching in one corner, he sifted through several packages and lastly tore open a packet of salty biscuits and forced them down.

The sunlight crept across the carpet of moss and threw the dismal environment around him into sharp relief. Cyrus found himself thinking about Jupiter and his other underlings, he wondered if they were doing well and the contemplation amused him. Somewhere, on the outskirts of the abandoned building, he heard the sound of an object rebounding from the barrier surrounding them. A sigh left his withered lips, those police officers would never learn...The encasement was fashioned with strength in mind and he doubted whether a legendary pokemon would be able to break in. Mewtwo, one of the ultimate psychic monsters used this very same arrangement to keep intruders out when he fought with the Organization almost three years back. When Pearl, Dia and Platina were discussing the topic, he listened to them intently and grudgingly, respect bloomed in his chest.

Respect for those brats be damned. They made his life a miserable mess.

Outside police prowled around the ramshackle building and glared at any unsuspecting persons who veered too close. Claire the dragon tamer, stalked around the invisible barrier with her dragonair and the pale blue serpent's neck jewel pulsed with an intense electric blue light. The energy signatures of the barricade reached epic proportions and every time someone touched it, the surface shimmered, scattering multiple ripples across. There was no sign of the creatures who maintained the marvelous blockade and this served to irritate the police members further. Whipping around, Claire spied Falkner nodding and speaking into his poke-gear, the vice chief snapped the device shut and stretched out his arm. Instantaneously, a large bird plummeted down from the sky and gracefully curled its talons around his limb. It had a bug dangling from its beak.

Falkner eyed his pokemon and wearily closed his eyes. "Any sign of suspicious people Pidgeot?" he queried and the bird took a moment to swallow its writhing morsel and squawked in return. It pecked its trainer affectionately on the head and unfolded its huge wings. With another cry, pidgeot launched into the air and began circling the area from above. The flying type gym leader shook his head when the dragon tamer enquired...no suspicious personnel around and the top of the pyramidal construction is as sturdy as its base. An insistent wriggling at his belt alerted the cyan haired man to his pokeball and before he could even reach up to release the impatient beast inside it, the capsule ruptured at the seams and emitted a flash bang. When the area cleared Claire inhaled sharply. Standing before her was a sword of justice. The regal stag-esque beast radiated an aura of power and authority. Lowering its golden horns to the ground, it pawed the dust and shot off like a bullet. Falkner's calm visage betrayed nothing as he beheld his pokemon slam jagged horns into the barrier. A shower of sparks and a bang rang out but when Cobalion retreated, its effort was for naught...The encasement remained undamaged save for a thin white wisp of smoke.

* * *

"What on earth WAS that?" Gold sputtered and next to him Red and Green sported horrified expressions. The acting professor pulled out a Pokedex from his person and peered into it.

"Cobalion...presumed leader of the four swords of justice...It's a...A legendary pokemon." The brunette's voice failed and the other members huddled around him with puzzled looks. Legendary pokemon could not be commanded so freely by humans, nor did those ancient creatures associate with mankind.

"Are you sure?" Yellow asked, the group pressed themselves down into the soil and kept still as a pidgeot screamed overhead. This morning, Red abruptly decided that his team would be leaving in the evening and at his announcement the rest of the members lost their appetite. To cheer up the gloomy mood, the adolescent suggested on taking a trip to Johto and trying to salvage memories from their base. With nothing to do, the team welcomed the distraction and set off immediately. On arriving at Eruteak city, they were informed of intense police activity in Mahogany Town. Wary of the officers, the criminals traversed the hills ringing the town and hid themselves in a valley quite a distance from their base. Even from here, one did not need a pair of binoculars to see the way the uniformed officials roamed. Black batons and metal cuffs clinked together and arcanine strained on their leashes. Sentret and furret darted here and there, keeping a watch for intruders and relaying information. In the sky, Red picked out the form of a large predatory bird and knew if the avian spotted them, their little excursion would be over. "Legendary pokemon don't really like humans do they...or maybe they are like Suicune, Entei and Raikou? Those legendary beasts are okay in human company aren't they?" The blonde raised her head up to see if anyone confirmed her theory. Green scowled furiously through his binoculars and he began to speak after everyone turned to him.

"This is different...the legendary beasts were revived from the dead by Ho-oh and it is speculated that they were once normal pokemon. They serve as a remainder of humanity's selfish actions and I'm sure they won't hesitate to leave if their trainer is being unreasonable. These swords of justice on the other hand are different. They were created to maintain order...Ah, that's it. They catch criminals and if teaming up with humans prove to be effective; those monsters will be willing to work together. I read that they can communicate with each other via telepathy."

"Those beasts sound really intelligent."

"Yeah, unlike you Red." Green quipped in an effort to get his best friend to interact with him.

"...Do we have to go down?" Lack-2 feebly queried, pichu peered from beneath his shirt and the child appeared to be positively sick. "I don't wanna go...Gold..."

"We are going...Think of it as an adventure." His crimson eyed leader commented and grinned.

"Only you will think of it as an adventure!" Lack-2 spat, a complete turnover from his previously pathetic expression, "I don't want to go there, the police..." he moaned and looked at the town, "besides, most of you disguised yourself! It's not fair!"

"Lack-2 pipe down." Black admonished, "if you talk so loud, the bird above us will pick up your screeching. And if I recall correctly, you were the one who refused to be disguised."

"I don't want my hair up in a ponytail...And I'm sure lipstick won't suit me." Behind him Crystal and Gold chuckled and Yellow giggled as well, soon he could hear snickers from the rest of his team mates and his expression darkened. "I'm staying here!" He stomped his foot on the ground, crossed his arms over his chest and looked away with a hmph.

"Sometimes...I forget you are still a brat. Hey Crys, help me out will ya" The brown haired boy jumped as his mentor sprayed dye in his hair. Crystal lathered something cold and sticky and in moments his fluffy locks turned stiff. A mirror was thrust into his face and stared at his reflection.

"I look like...a blonde you..." He stared at Gold who grinned. The amber eyed male styled Lack-2's hair in a fashion similar to his own and took great pleasure in the way the boy blushed. Patting his stiffened hair one more time, the copper eyed child took in the rest of his companions. Red, Black and Gold were dressed in oversized hoodies as they were the most conspicuous. Green and Pearl switched hair colors and clothing styles and when Oak arrived wearing a striped polo neck, the males in his department rolled on the floor howling with laughter. The females on the other hand, all lined up and stared at him. White even took a picture and the leader huffed in mild annoyance. N vehemently declined dying his hair and thus had to tuck the mane of acid green locks under his shirt. A black knee-length trench coat, slacks and boots were forced on him and the older Unovians stared. Dark colors did not suit the pale adolescent; nonetheless, it did a good job of covering him up. As for Red and the others, Diamond mildly pointed out that even if they looked different, the three of them were well associated with the Pokemon league and as soon as their partners came out in the open, the police can merely cross reference them and find out their identities. Pearl stood agape at his friend's sudden flash of insight whilst Green smiled and clapped. At least _someone_ in the rowdy group thought before acting.

"You look like a cute potato Diamond..." Crystal giggled and the boy frowned.

"I'm not edi-ble." he added and smacked his cheeks. Dia piled on so much clothing in his person, it looked like he was going to brave the snowcapped peaks of Mount Coronet.

"So...How do we go about entering our base? Bypassing the barrier is easy since Blue done it before, but she was alone. We are in a large group and therefore more visible to the police. I'm pretty sure having a war with them is not an option...Even though I want to tangle with them..." Several members noticed how Red flexed his fingers involuntarily and Green opened his mouth to reply when a robotic voice stole his thunder.

"Create a distraction." Black chanted, "I'll set Reshiram free and the unexpected event will confuse them. Most likely, they will have to leave their posts and come over here. To make things extra complicated, I'll ask him to attack that bird." The brown haired teenager pulled Musha off his head, "when we are safely inside the base, I'll ask Reshiram to return to me. Deal?"

"Cool...Let's get started." Saph threw a fist pump in the air and Black dug out the pure white stone from his back pack. For a full five minutes, nothing happened and the two groups stood around the sphere cradled in Black's hands and regarded it with a mixture of impatience, awe and apathy. N reached out and placed his palm against the smooth, cold surface and in blinding flare of light, the snow white dragon materialized and nuzzled affectionately against its trainer. Pidgeot's keen eyes picked up a huge creamy something and with a screech it dove down, its head plumage trailing a red blur in the sky. Reshiram, too preoccupied with Black, sharply angled its head upwards when the bird dipped too close and fired a stream of cobalt flames. Tumbling elegantly, the avian let loose a cascade of brown feathers with the aim of slowing its opponent down. The dragon roared and the humans scattered, their forms running down the hills. Wings heaving, Reshiram shot up in the sky and pidgeot followed it, the predatory bird extended its talons, the razor sharp appendages glinted in sunlight.

There were two pokemon tangling with each other in the sky. One happened to be a beautiful white dragon and Claire couldn't help but lower her whip in admiration. Instinctively she gave chase, her cape fluttering out behind her as she mounted on dragonair and commanded the serpentine creature to move. Falkner, also disturbed by the proceedings, felt conflicted, if Reshiram appeared, then it means that those Dex-criminals were also here. Perhaps this was a distraction measure to force them away from their abandoned base. This suspicious thought took root in his mind. Unfortunately, the vast white pokemon blew blue fire and charred the landscape below. Uttering a terse command to Cobalion, who simply stood still and watched, both master and beast hurried to the site. The only people left guarding the barrier shook their heads and glanced at each other sheepishly. One of them jumped when an arc of lightning arced across the morning sky.

"Those...Criminals won't come here right?" A rookie officer quizzed with a trembling voice as a shadow blurred past the edge of his vision.

"Be on guard..." his senior intoned and closed his eyes against a violent gust of wind. Those two airborne beasts fought some miles away but the intensity of their moves reached all the way here. Heat seared the surface of his skin.

Mid-morning

Mahogany Town

Abandoned base

The sound of heavy breaths issued from a group of people who collapsed on the boundary of a dilapidated building. Diamond wheezed and Pearl had to rub his back. Emerald pulled strands of hair away from his sweaty face. No doubt this had been the longest and most intense run of their lives as they parkoured over rough terrain and eventually stampeded down to town. Thank Lugia the streets were partially deserted or else the law breakers would've been smacking into a lot of people. Crystal, White and Yellow slumped against the barrier and the latter roughly pulled her long hair into a messy bun. Those wearing hoods threw the coverings off and gulped air, chest rising and falling in a rapid manner.

"H-how do we...Get... in?" a voice rasped and Green held up a hand. He couldn't speak yet. Tension hung thick in the air, they were fully exposed and if some local policeman decided to give this area a sweep, their adventure would be over before it started. N mopped sweat from his brow and his slate grey eyes shifted calculatedly. Saph joined him in keeping an eye out for movement.

"Red, hand me your Pika." A lump wriggled underneath the black haired commander's jacket and the rodent popped out and jumped over to Green's shoulder. "Good, Pika, use double team, try making only one copy of yourself." Nodding, the electric mouse focused and managed to make a faded out version of himself. The duplicate twisted and distorted and when Saph tried poking it, her hand went right through and the image dissipated. Throwing the abashed girl an evil glare, the monster made another one and stood patiently before the jade eyed male. "Excellent, send you copy through the barrier and make contact with my Golduck, ask him to come here, we need to enter." The copy nodded, hopped over to the barrier and to the surprise of everyone present, it phased perfectly through the barricade and streaked out of sight. Every one held their breath when a shadow of a human fell on the far end. Gold clutched Lack-2 closer to him and the young boy buried himself in an effort to become invisible. Crystal began quivering and Yellow put an arm on her shoulder to calm her down.

The silhouette on the pavement grew larger and came closer. White bit down on her lip and Rald squeezed himself next to Crys, he pulled Saph with him and huddled. Red got up from his slouching position on the floor and Green hissed at him to lay low. The ex-champion ignored him and instead pulled off his hood.

"Are you insane Red?" The professor asked and tried to keep his hitching voice even. They could see the uniformed man already, steadily making his way across the corner. "Sit down, with-"

A pause descended on them as the two oldest males realized that Red left his pokemon studded belt at home. The commander patted his empty waist and looked up at Green, his visage morphing from deadly serious to comically clueless.

"Oh...I...It's your fault! You insisted on leaving them at home!"

"Senior...The man...is coming over" Yellow whispered whilst Green suffered a poke to his chest and gritted his teeth. Red flailed on hearing this news and Pika hopped on its master's head, its cheeks sparking with electricity.

"Let's take him down." Red's blood tinted eyes took on an obstinate gleam and his best friend breathed out slowly.

"Are you daft?" he growled, "what are you going to do?" Punch him with your hands and fists?"

"You practice martial arts don't you? Give him a flying kick or something; Saph will lend you a hand." The disguised blonde's face took on a dusky hue due to anger and at the very same moment, his golduck quacked and a piece of the barrier folded outwards. Grabbing his comrade's arm, the motely band rushed in just as the man passed by the spot. He stood still for a while and looked at the broken down construction standing behind the invisible screen. Was it his imagination? He definitely heard human voices. Shrugging, the officer continued on his rounds and behind a cracked pillar, the Dex criminals heaved a collective breath of relief. Red roughly wrenched his arm out of Green's grip and peered around. Somewhere, a slashed drain pipe gurgled out a quantity of muddy water and it pooled near their feet giving off a foul stench. Nodding to each other, the group cautiously made their way past cracked cement flooring and into the main part of the building. Blackened pillars and grey rooms greeted them. The steel lined corridors sported rust, fungi and dents. Underneath their feet, the ground baked into an uneven slab of earth. An object, half submerged in the dirt glinted and Emerald got down on his hands and knees and began digging with his bare hands. After much scraping, he retrieved his prize, a tiny golden egg of sorts. Gold crouched down and gingerly took it; he examined it from all angles before declaring the object as his. A grim realization hit them...they were standing in the passageway leading to Execution's dormitories. Alas the hallway was damaged beyond recognition. At the far end Black went to knock on a locked door and felt surprised when the room refused to open. Execution's common room, perhaps, the interior would still be intact.

Wishful thinking.

Strategy broke off and followed their commander down a set of twisted corridors. Droplets of water leaked down from overhead pipes as they waded through pokemon carcasses intermingled with plaster, bricks and metal. Modern weaponry such as guns lay discarded next to empty bullet casings. The walls were coated with a thick layer of stinking mold and where there was plaster, it peeled off in great square sheets. Their environment looked like someone decided wash it with grey cinder. Grey. Everywhere grey, brown and black. Dreary, the place had no life. Sucked dry and lifeless. Green led them to the dorm rooms and his department came alive. They split apart and rushed into their respective rooms trying to salvage mementos and things dear to their hearts. Pushing aside ripped up couches, crumpled table lamps and splintered tables, they sifted through rubbish, corroded metal, dirt, blood and he heard muted shouts of glee whenever one of his underlings managed to pick out a personal possession. Over to Execution's side, N shambled around aimlessly, he didn't have many things to begin with and decided that whatever disappeared, it happened for a good reason. Stuffing his hands deep inside his coat pocket, his slate irises picked out a photo which Black haphazardly tossed out of the way. Lowering himself to the floor, the former king delicately picked up the image and uttered a silent gasp.

He really didn't know why he kept the picture. It showed him donned in a royal white robe with a gleaming crown placed on his head. On one side stood his nurses who also doubled as sisters and on the other Ghetsis, his mouth curled in a smirk. N stared dazedly at the image for a few more moments before he started to rip it. A jagged tear separated him, Concordia and Anthea from his smirking foster father. He crumpled Ghetsis' picture and pocketed the rest.

Reshiram descended from the sky with a show of exquisite arrogance. One huge claw clamped around pidgeot's limp, bloodied form. The flame dragon hovered a few meters in the air and eyed the two occupants currently gaping at him. A male and female both sporting shades of cerulean hair. Next to the male, an interesting specimen gauged him with measured eyes. It impatiently waved its head around, cutting the air with thick, spiraled horns. The dragon had no intention of tangling with the stag-esque creature. It had done its duty and now had to return. If Master Black needed him again, he _might_ appear; waking up from an enforced slumber surely had its demerits. Mercilessly dropping the bird to the dry ground below, the dragon dissolved amidst a shower of light.

* * *

Evening

Kanto

Pallet Town

The door to the bathroom opened and steam curled out in wispy trails. Red stepped out with a towel around his neck and blinked when a camera flash went off in his face.

"...Saph...I can't believe you just did that."

She grinned cheekily and twirled, holding up her in phone triumph. "Well...I'm a bit sorry to see your upright bangs go, but let's face it...You look much better this way!" The teenager was already dressed for travel, her body clad in an orange tent dress which flattered her figure. Her leader sighed and touched his hair, back in the afternoon; he decided to pay Cyrus a visit and dragged an unwilling Green along with him. When the duo entered, the brunette expertly sidestepped to avoid a gnarling dark pokemon. Weavile, incensed and steel tipped claws glinting wickedly, turned its attention to Red, its body launched up and tried to swipe the human's head cleanly off. Instead of doing so, the ice type managed to shave off Red's upright bangs and part of his hair. It also landed a scar across the cheek and here Pika swore vengeance. The rodent tore through the hoodie and squeaked furiously, assaulting the dark type with a flurry of electric attacks. Snarling, the two beasts attacked each other, biting, scratching and engulfing the preserved chamber in a storm of electricity, shadows and ice. Pika dodged and slammed an iron tail in weavile's face. The dark type blitzed forward and added new scars to the one's decorating the rodent's body. Back and forth the two danced before the match ended with a volt tackle. Searing the ice pokemon with a final thunderbolt, the electric mouse scampered back to its trainer and gently licked the blood trickling down Red's face. Its partner scratched him affectionately under the chin and Pika dove out of sight.

"Yellow...Do I look good?" The blonde paused and flushed scarlet at his question. Of course you look good, her mind supplied.

"Um...Yes you do! You look... great senior Red!" Saying this she dashed out in full speed and tucked her flaming face in the scarf around her neck.

"Did I just hear a hint of reluctance in her voice?" Gold swaggered forth with his pool cue strung across his shoulders, "and Saph, you're only saying that 'cause senior Red looks a bit like prissy boy with his hair chopped off."

"No I don't!" She hissed and raised a fist to punch him, to her and Red's surprise; he managed to block it with a diabolical smirk spreading across his face. The wild trainer gave up and whirled around, her glossy hair swished perfectly and she stalked off to the lounge.

A hive of activity greeted her in the lounge as the male trainers packed and argued. Pearl kept on stripping the several layers of clothing which Diamond insisted on wearing. In the end, the youngster ended up wearing a pair of denims; one of Pearl's stylish shirts and his companion yanked his hat off and stuffed it in a backpack. Diamond had a knack of wearing mufflers no matter how hot it got and at his best friend's insistence, he only wound a small bandanna around his neck. Off to the corner, Black and N comforted White. At the last moment, the chocolate haired teenager started crying and her friend hugged her. N stood awkwardly a tiny blush dusting his cheeks. He wanted to hug White too but could not muster up courage.

"Everyone good to go?" Execution's commander's voice reverberated through the room. White sniffed and hung on Black tighter.

"Prez..." His normally strident voice sounded small. "Don't worry...You can call me in the middle of the night if you want to." He stupidly scratched the back of his head and glanced at the ceiling.

"Of course I won't do that...You need your sleep." The female gave him a weak smile and wiped her tears. "Have a safe trip and don't do anything rash."

Crystal and Gold stood a few paces away from each other and Lack-2 slinked away to give his teacher some private time. To anyone who paid attention, they would've noticed that there some awkwardness between them and this bewildered the amber eyed trainer. Ever since Silver left a few days ago, Crys changed from her normally kind and mellow mood to someone who looked perpetually tired and strained. She stopped lecturing him on his bad habits and her kicks and sunny smiles came infrequently. He wondered what happened, if she felt lonely, he would be more than happy to cheer her up and keep her company. For the first time in his life, the Johto native didn't know what to say, normally words poured out of him like water gushing from a faucet, now he racked his brains for something memorable and unperverted. After an internal debate and struggle, he mutely reached up and brushed his fingers across her cheek.

She flinched. An indiscernible tremor running through her body.

He didn't notice, too absorbed in curling his fingers around her inky blue strands of hair. Crystal closed her eyes, breathed out and then punched him lightly on his forehead. Startled out of his rapturous state, he jumped a few paces back to see her smiling widely at him. In response, the corners of his mouth lifted in a placid grin.

"I won't do anything naughty." Gold quickly added when his senses told him that his friend had a lecture on the way. Crys chuckled and the laughter echoed pleasantly in his ears.

"Of course you will...You can't fool me." The amber eyed male laced his hands behind his head and turned around to check the proceedings of his team members, everyone busied themselves with zipping up their sacks and trolley cases. Red tossed his house key to Green and execution became taut. Time to say goodbye. He rotated again to see blue eyed capturer stubbornly wiping a few tears away. Why was she crying? He pondered. For as long as he knew her, Crystal never cried, not when she temporarily lost her ability to capture pokemon nor when the poor girl drifted alone on a raft in the middle of a tempestuous sea. Her face remained defiant, challenging any obstacle coming her way. He was bewildered and anxiety churned deep within his stomach. The conflicted feelings all melted away when she hugged him once again and gave a little push towards his waiting companions.

And they left, similar to Constellation, amongst waving hands and falsely cheery smiles and shouts.

* * *

The next morning

Kanto

Oak's house

"Green!" a delicate voice chimed from downstairs and the brunette sluggishly forced himself upright in his bed. By all means, Green Oak was not a morning person despite what everyone thought. He hated mornings with a passion and this morning, his mood took a turn downwards. On hearing Daisy's voice (how long did she plan on staying here?) he threw off the covers and reached out for a shirt to cover himself with. Wearing it whilst battling with sleep, it eventually dawned on him that he'd forgotten to give back his friend's shirt. The two of them parted on a cheerful facade for the sake of the rest of the members, his childhood companion had gotten good at fooling people and it scared the daylights out of him. Wasn't the pesky woman supposed to be the trickster? Who gave him the right to act all happy and normal when the only thing Red wanted to do is explode and go on a rampage? It has been long since the ebony haired male lost his temper. When they were young, Green took great pleasure in riling him up and thus their relationship could be defined as a perpetual competition. They always competed, for glory, for fame...For the title of Pokemon Champion and at the last stage, he, the esteemed Oak tasted defeat.

Fortunately they became bosom buddies after that.

If Green could describe the emotion he felt when he hung around Red, he would've said grateful. He was grateful for both Blue and Red; they anchored him to the realm of reality and offered a companionship which he would otherwise shun. The brunette grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth whilst his two friends had to struggle, wade through life. He became thankful for the experiences they taught him and even if he never showed it, he cared too much of what they thought of him.

Several hours later, he meandered over to his comrade's house and watched as Pearl had a difficult time deciding what to wear. Eventually (maybe to mock him?) the blonde put on a striped polo neck and his leader smiled wryly. He glanced at the shiny new watch encircled around his wrist and sent an internal thanks to Daisy for her present. White looked splendid in a skirt and blouse and Crystal sported shorts and a shirt. His department crowded in the living room but one problem surfaced: Yellow was running late.

"Green is going to scold meeee!" Unceremoniously pulling her luggage carrier behind her, the blonde woman clutched her hat and ran. At one point, the wheels of the case got stuck behind a particularly thick and sturdy tree root and Yellow huffed, puffed and used her strength to drag her carrier over. Brushing herself free of dirt, she continued careering and dared not to check the time on her cellphone. She woke up early today knowing that they would be leaving for Hoenn, alas when she came down to say farewell, her adopted uncle hugged her and started bawling his eyes out. Being more on the emotional side, Yellow sat with him in the lounge, on the well-worn couch and cried as well uttering her gratitude to the male for looking after her unconditionally. She didn't want to leave but knew it would be impossible to catch up to her department later.

"Why am I so happy and sad to see you grow up?" the elderly man sniffed, "and we always cry like this before you leave huh...Man I'm turning into a sentimental old coot!" Saying this he guffawed and patted the blonde on her back.

"I'll miss you uncle...I really will. Please don't worry about me...Oh, I know, I'll send you souvenirs all the way from Hoenn!" He tried to feel positive on spotting the watery, yet determined gleam in her eye, all he felt however, was trepidation and crushing loneliness. Hoenn...His fragile little Yellow would be going all the way to Hoenn. Wiping the stray tears, he reached deep inside his battered coat and extracted an object. Something shiny and gold pressed into her palm and when the adolescent scrutinized it, she gaped reveredly at the golden medallion lying in her tiny hands. In the middle, a beautifully polished stone reflected light at all angles.

"Belonged to my wife...Before the war claimed her. I vowed never to give it away but I think it'll look prettier around your neck than mine. Take care of it will you." Yellow hiccupped and slipped the amulet around her neck.

"I will! I really will..." she sobbed and refused to let go. After several reminders that her superior will not be pleased at her late coming, the young woman let out another anguished gasp, grabbed her hat from a nearby stand and rushed off so quickly she left dust in her wake. The old fisherman merely stood on the threshold of their home and laughed, silent tears streaming down his face. In a matter of moments, the miniscule blur of mauve clothing and a straw hat disappeared over the horizon and the man, drained of energy pulled himself back in the house and plopped into bed.

He did not feel like working today.

Strategy stepped out in the midday sun and their leader locked the door with an audible click. When Yellow finally burst into the house, she looked like she'd been chased by a wild dragon. Out of courtesy for the senior member, the rest agreed to allow her to rest for a while before departing. Half an hour later, the group trooped out to a fresh breeze and warm sun. Just as the department head bolted the door, an ear pleasing voice rang out from behind the posse and one by one everyone turned to stare and smile at the young lady who stood before them with two boxes in her arms. She looked pretty and when Green greeted his sister using a tone people were unaccustomed to hearing (did his vocal cords have the range to sound this gentle?) Emerald almost suffered from a coma. Even stranger was the fact that Daisy reached up to her taller brother and ruffled his meticulously styled locks. The rest of the team held their breath and took a collective step backwards...This wasn't their leader...This person is an imposter because no way in Giratina's unholy land of hell would the stoic brunette allow _anyone_ to handle him like that. Moreover, when Pearl and White peered through binoculars...the duo found him blushing akin to a child given his favorite sweets.

"Ahahaha...I forgot how cute you looked when you blush..." Daisy lowered her hand and thrust the two boxes in her arms over to her brother. "Going to Hoenn and thereafter Kalos are you?" he nodded in affirmative, "Good, I made lunch for you and Red but it seems like he left early. Enjoy it and share the lunch with your friends okay?" Daisy peeked past her sibling and genially waved to the band of people hovering in the shadows. "And be sure to call Grandpa and me often...And don't over work yourself you hear me...I worry about you Green, I seriously do." The older female's face crinkled with concern and Green felt rotten, she had no idea of his criminal activities and he preferred it that way. "Come home to visit..."

"I will. And I love you too Daisy." He hastily added, his sister would not let him leave unless he declared his attachment to her. Suffering an adorably bone crushing hug, he dragged himself over to his petrified subordinates and tried to appear normal. "Let's go..." he intoned and tried not to look at the video camera in Emerald's stubby hands. His reputation was ruined.

"Everyone act normal" Pearl stage whispered as they followed behind the red-faced brunette. The department leader twitched on hearing the subdued words but said nothing. At this rate, they might miss the train.

* * *

 **A/N:** Ah, sibling relationships…now I really miss my brother and all the chocolates he used to buy me. Anyway, the departments have all split apart and gone their separate ways. And no theories or questions? Tsk, don't be shy to leave a review people. At Jack54311: IDK what happened to me when I wrote the instant Blue crush episode…I must've been dreaming or something but in the end, I decided to leave it as such. A mega evolution battle…look forward to that. Much thanks to all the readers and virtual chocolates to all! Constructive criticism is highly valued and appreciated.


	49. Snapshots of life and work

**Chapter 49: Snapshots of life and work**

One week later, mid-morning

Unova

Undella Town

Undella could be described as picturesque port town boarded by a rippling sea on one side and a low lying valley on the other. The town attracted tourists every summer and as the temperature dipped lower, the vacationists left and the overall population dwindled. Boasting beautiful beaches, elegantly constructed villas, the marine tube connecting Undella and Humilau as well as the famous bay with ancient ruins sunk in the sea; it became a popular holiday destination. Most of the buildings were crafted with unique designs and the interior designed with luxury in mind. Rooftop pools, game rooms and entertainment lounges were not uncommon. As tempting as it was to remain indoors, one could not resist the cream foamed, salty waves of the sea and beach goers were a frequent sight. Even if they remained wary of a giant ship anchored in the middle of Undella bay, the tourists pointedly ignored the menacing flag, bearing two crossed swords, fluttering atop the ship's mast and gleefully went about their holiday. Today, the caramel sands of the beach were filled with people sunbathing, swimming in the crystal blue waters or just lying around trying to appreciate outdoor life. A small crowd congregated around two people. These two males, a brown haired teenager with a bandanna on his head and a smirking amber eyed adolescent, amused the circle of beach goers with a pokemon duel. The fight's intensity rolled off in waves; nonetheless it presented an adrenaline pumping sight.

"Costa...NO!" Black hollered as his senior stood over him and leered. How Gold managed to win the battle when he had crippling type disadvantage was the question dancing in the Unova native's head. The older male grinned, ran a hand through his partially wet hair and winked; half of the females ringing the impromptu battle nearly fainted from delight. Muttering lowly, Black heaved his ancient tortoise-esque beast and proceeded to throw himself into the sea. The rest of the crowd congregated around Gold, thanking him, asking for a date or to pose for a picture before another tight voice forced the group to hastily part and let a teenage girl through. Gold showed another mouthful of teeth when Saph shouldered her way past the throng and challenged him to a battle. He had to admit she looked positively stunning in her powder pink swimsuit, although if he ever mentioned it aloud, he'd lose his brains for sure. Her calves were littered with coarse sand grains and she pushed her hair back away from her face. The winds picked up and rendered her effort for naught as her brown mane tangled and blew everywhere. She threw a pokeball in the air and amongst a shower of light and a growl; gallade appeared and took a stance. To her senior's horror, she also dropped into a fighting positing and smirked, two little fangs poking teasingly from beneath her top lip.

"Get ready to have your flimsy plank smashed into pieces." The girl declared and sprung, "Kirly...Use close combat!" Both trainer and tamed beast rushed to the opponent who stood there calm as a clam. In the next instant, Saph and her partner split apart and went for their respective targets. To the crowd's amusement, she jumped into the air and drop kicked Gold's sudowoodo, the imitation pokemon suffered a crushing blow and retaliated with a counter. Sapphire, a trickle of blood dribbling past her lips, flew through the air, back flipped and touched down, rubbing the blood stain off, she launched herself again and slammed two fists into her target. The tree-like pokemon splintered, another upper cut flung the rock type in the air and the human whistled. Immediately, gallade paused in pummeling Gold and jumped, it drew level with the flailing sudowoodo and hit it with a brick break, two fists crossed over each other and punched into the bark. The brown beast fell with a crash and threw up sand. A few more cracks spread across its body and with a low moan it fainted. Gallade and its master high fived each other whilst her senior got up and rubbed his bruised arms.

"Cave gal, this is cheating. Only you are capable of going tooth and nail with a pokemon and surviving...Aibo, time to shine buddy." The monkey came out and bounded over to one of the swimmers; it wrapped one of its appendages around the waist of young lady and grinned. His trainer did not appreciate his actions. "Get back here you monkey! First defeat Cave gal then I'll reward you with all the poffins and pokeblocks you want! My rep as a senior is at stake here...Ouch, my jaw hurts." Rubbing his aching jaw and arms, he commanded "oi, do your job. Use dual chop." Its expression morphed from devious to serious and with a giant leap, it landed over to gallade and began to hit the pokemon with its twin tails. The attacks came fast and brutal, each whack echoing loudly on the beach. Without further instructions, the long tail pokemon gathered an orb of shadows and pounded the psychic type with it. Three balls of swirling darkness were flung in rapid succession followed by a shower of stars. Saph couldn't get a word in as she tried her best to fend the mauve monkey off, unfortunately the creature was agile and every time she ventured near, it would nimbly leap away and continue to assault her Kirly. Panting heavily, the blade pokemon knelt down on one knee and passed out.

"Return!"

"Man seriously...Let's stop, I don't think my body can take another of your punches." Gold plopped down on the ground and Aibo jumped on his head. "Good work though, you've improved so much, it's frightening. You pass with flying colors Saph, I see you still haven't lost your touch... _And brutality_ " he whispered the last part.

"I'm still no match for you..." she intoned and kicked up a quantity of sand, "you went easy on me. I bet Red asked you to."

"He didn't ask me to do anything. Commander only said that I should gauge our team's abilities, that's all to it and I just gave you my honest opinion. Besides, in a real battle, there is a possibility of you surviving more than me because of your whole train the body and pokemon philosophy."

"I suppose..." her face fell and Gold punched her lightly on the shoulder. "Thank you for battling with me today. It was thrilling experience." Beaming, she uttered a war cry and dove into the sea.

Half submerged in the salty waves, N resolutely stared at the giant ship anchored in the horizon. Team Plasma's former ship stood tall and proud in the distant ocean and it made him sick to see it. He knew the watercraft did not belong to the maniacal group any longer but beholding it gave off a nasty, choking feeling. It was a beautiful day with a shining sun and cloudless skies...Even though summer had ended, the days remained marginally hot. Soon, winter would set in and Undella would become a ghost town. N looked forward for a day of fun on the beach, however the huge vessel, bobbing up and down in the waves, managed to sour his mood. Trying to ignore it, he turned around and came face to face with Black, the teenager playfully sprayed water in his face.

"Why the long face? It's summer so cheer up will you! Take pictures so White can also share our experiences." The overly determined male climbed on carracosta's back and retrieved his phone, enthusiastically, he began clicking away. For his part, N simply tried to sink beneath the waves, he was in no spirit to celebrate. The pale adolescent drifted lazily allowing the squawking of gulls, duckletts and swanna to wash over him. His only problem happened to be the form of a screeching Black, who shunned his photography session and decided to scream his goals out to the vast ocean. People stared and N went under. He did not want to be caught up in the chocolate haired teenager's shenanigans again.

Back in Undella's fancy base, Diamond watched as his commander sat before a large, polished oak desk. Floor to ceiling length windows dominated one side of the room giving an impeccable view of the beach and sea. The table top was strewn with papers, clippings; a laptop and Red twirled a fountain pen and swiveled in the leather office chair he currently occupied. Sneakers squeaking over the white ash floor, the Sinnoh native eyed the dead fireplace and wondered if he should get a fire going...But it was too hot for a fire. Bypassing several stone colored couches, he went to the back of the room and put a plate before Red. Tearing his eyes off the ceiling, the man smiled and reached out to pinch Dia's cheeks.

"I'm really goi-ng to lose weight one day you know." the boy deadpanned and stuffed a cookie in his mouth.

"Ahahaha, please no Dia, I like you the way you are."

"Please stop pinching my cheeks...and are you wor-king?" Indolent irises peered at the mass of documents Red scribbled on, the older man hummed in affirmative and Diamond pulled up a chair and sat next to him. He grabbed a few of the papers and read their contents, most of them were filled with text and he glimpsed names of legendary pokemon and their functions. Other papers held complicated diagrams and here, the cobalt eyed child smiled at his superior's doodles. Another set of papers held the blue prints of what looked like a ship and Red held the documents up and scowled furiously. He had no idea what he was looking at. Uttering a moan, the ex-champion started rotating in his seat again; he stopped abruptly, grabbed a remote and switched the ridiculously oversized television on. A few minutes later, he switched if off and stared at his work again.

"Um...Senior...What are you trying to do?"

"Since I don't have Green and Blue here, I'm trying to draw up a schedule for the team members. Like who's going to do the shopping, clothes washing and other household chores...Can't live in a filthy place can we?" Next to cleaning duty, he hastily wrote down a name: Gold. "Also I have an ambitious project I want to do this year so I'm trying to figure out how to go about it." Red licked his lips and smirked, "since Green won't be able to tell me what to do...I'll be leading the expedition. And I'm wondering on how to dismantle the ship. You know the one Saph, Lack-2 and Gold captured last year? Yep that one, Blue sent me the blue prints but holy Uxie...I can't make head or tails of them!" The male scratched his head in an idiotic manner. Oh yes, Blue yelled at me for taking advantage of your cooking skills so for now on...we'll be buying food as well. Although I'd eat your cooking any day over the shop bought stuff. Did you check out the other rooms Dia? And the kitchen? Do they look good?" The boy bopped his head enthusiastically as he related:

"Yes, the kitchen has a rustic look to it. There is an island in the middle with seats and a wash basin." The teen's eyes sparkled, "most of the cabinets and cupboards are made of white ash wood but the counter tops are marble. There is an electrical oven and induction stoves and even a gas grill. And the cooking knives...from the tiniest fruit peeler to the one you can find in the butchery..." the rest of Diamond's ecstatic rambling flew over Red's head as he had no idea what his adorable underling talked about. The man nodded and waited patiently for his subordinate to finish.

Alas, it didn't look like Dia would be done today.

* * *

Evening

Hoenn

Mount Chimney

A group sat beneath the ambient lighting given off by a simple chandelier. The stone tiled floor was polished so thoroughly one could see their reflections on it. Green, wearing a form fitting trench coat, held up a sheet of paper and rattled off a list of jobs. His words were met with muted enthusiasm as the others were too busy enveloping themselves in the bucolic surroundings. Hands down this happened to be the most tastefully decorated place Strategy ever set foot into and thanks to Platina, the mountain lodge was theirs. The first day, the team had to get used to the ancient architecture, after a thorough dusting and cleaning, enforced by Crystal and Yellow, the band oohed and ahhed at the sheer sturdiness of the structure. The gigantic cottage was constructed entirely out of great slabs of slate stone and thick beams of ancient redwood. It exuded a wilderness feel and they loved it. Inside, the floors were polished and the rugs dusted and vacuumed out. Pearl reclined in a plush Maplewood couch and sighed in bliss. As to be expected, the house contained an innate chill thrown by the stones making up the walls. However, the team members gleefully put on jackets and set about to explore. Soon, to Green's chagrin, they selected the loudest, most exquisitely decorated room as their base of operations. Any qualms he had about the place were instantly shot down by his subordinates.

"This room is perfect." Rald drawled and proceeded to set up a local network, "I can smell the sophisticated scent of dried flowers and ancient wood..."

"I hope someone removes that vase from my desk...it's too big to be sitting there." Green cut in.

"The floor has beautiful rugs" Emerald ignored his superior and continued whilst typing furiously on his laptop, "the windows are large, this allows fresh mountain wind to come in. In case you accidently come close to suffering from brain hypoxia, those extra oxygen molecules will revive you right up!" The brunette's face remained blank at the obvious jibe, "then we have sofas and couches which will put Commander Blue's taste to shame. I mean have you sat in one of them?" You'll feel like you're sitting in a cloud. Lastly, I really like the color co-ordination in here. The orange, browns and peaches compliments well with the slate and grey walls." Finally done with setting up the computer, the miniscule blonde promptly shut up. "Okay people, this is my verdict, now leave me alone. I have a lot of work to do...Surveillance, security and what not."

Crystal breathed in, the slightly sweet tang in the air driving off vestiges of sleep, "he's right. I really love this place...senior Green; don't you think we could all work in here like team Execution? I promise we won't make much noise." The commander sighed in defeat and stalked to his desk situated in one side of the room, near the windows. He grabbed the humungous vase, sneezed several times when flowers tickled his nose and set it down in one corner of the room. Thereafter he gave the cozy chamber a sweep with his jade irises.

"A fire place would be nice." he muttered and shrugged.

Off to one corner and curled up with Chuchu on her lap, Yellow studied Hoenn's map and made little markings. Crystal eyed the pendant around her neck and wondered who was the person bold enough to give the blonde an ornament when Green had his eye on her. Not Red, she mused, the obsidian haired commander wasn't the type to shower anyone with gifts. Finally, she gave way to her curiosity and blurted the question out. On the other side of the moderately large room, Oak, who had his arms full with several tomes, perked his ears. He wanted to know if there was a new competitor vying for Yellow's affections. Whoever the sorry human happened to be, he'll send Red after him. The thought of a black haired demon running after an unfortunate victim partially lifted his mood.

"This?" The female held the amulet up to and it sparkled wonderfully, "it's a present from my foster uncle...He gave it to me and told me to look after it. The necklace belonged to his wife."

Following her words, a strained atmosphere seized the room and Crys regretted her line of questioning. Everyone still battled with the pain of being torn apart from their best friends.

"Everyone get to work." Green's penetrating voice rallied his underlings. People dragged themselves off couches and set about their occupations. Emerald and Pearl paired off to set up cameras through the base. The two blonde males ambled their way down stone lined corridors and stopped several times to fix a device in niches or in the shadows cloaking the walls. They peered in rooms, long abandoned and forgotten, in hallways decorated by paintings of haughty men and the basement. Here, secrets once held by the wood mansion had long washed away in order to make place for new ones. The two teenagers passed the several tubes, reinforced glass encasements and gilded casements and went to the back of the room. Pearl used a ladder and climbed all the way to the ceiling, he fixed several cameras, laser lights and other security devices decreed by his underdeveloped senior. Emerald, his platform shoes tapping on the steel floor (why did all of the legendary holding cells have to look like they came out of a science fiction movie?) moved to the entrance and punched in a few code words and numbers on the digital keypad. Now the pneumatic door would only respond to those authorized by a key card and that meant Green and Crystal alone. A few minutes later, the indigo haired woman walked in with Yellow, they carried a basket filled with purple pokeballs.

"Pearl..." Yellow called, "Green wants you upstairs, when you get there, send White down, we need her to organize the legendary pokemon." The hyperactive teen nodded and hopped down the aluminum ladder, brushing past them, he broke into a run and moments later they could hear his breathless talking all the way from the third floor. "Emerald, could you please pause in your electrical engineering to help us? Even if they are in master balls, it is speculated that the legendries could break out anytime if their mood warrants it. So we need to put them back in their recreated environment." Sighing, the Hoenn native put down his palmtop computer and began to peer into the electronic screens set into the cages instead. Crystal summoned several of her pokemon and the beasts toiled together to place the lavish imprisonments into their respective places. At the far end of the room, two huge tanks were set up side by side. Yellow's omastar and Crys' arcanine were cloaked with a faint amber aura and the over leveled beasts pumped the tanks full of water and flames. Kyogre was released in one, the sea beast flapped its fins and a tidal wave surged up against the transparent confines. Rald hurriedly typed in a few characters and the legendary titan sunk into an artificial sleep. Groudon on the other hand seemed unpleased by its mediocre surroundings. Emitting a guttural roar (thank Mew the cage didn't shatter) the plated beast filled its place with vermillion lava and bathed in it. Seeing it somewhat content, the viridian eyed midget adjusted its stats and moved on to the next tube.

And so one by one the Perspex tubes and cages of different sizes, shapes and materials were all filled with hissing, incensed pokemon. And all their rebellious thoughts were quelled when their artificial environments were tweaked to perfection. Behind crystalline surfaces the motely group witnessed blizzards, a miniature dance of thunder and lightning. They watched as a forest of saplings grew, aged died and were reborn once more, liquid fire splashed in hypnotizing trails and a limpid ball of shadows writhed in a never ending vortex. White noted each and every minute detail down as she analyzed the creatures with a solemn gaze. Her brown eyes reflected the distant worlds shown in the prisons but the novelty of looking at such breath taking displays had long worn off. Stapling a few pages together, the Unovian handed the stack of papers to her senior and went upstairs. The shelves and documents were a haphazard mess and this gnawed on her organized mind. Hiking up to one of the metal bookshelves, she glared at the row of innocent books, huffed and took them down with a thump. Green glanced at her to see the teenager working up a sweat as she filed the books away. Hours later the rest of his team congregated and lay around akin to a pokemon drained of PP.

"Anyone want to accompany me to the hot springs?" Yellow sweetly enquired and unsurprisingly everyone's hands shot up.

Except for Green's.

He glared at his chattering group as they left with fluffy bath towels. Only his aide had the decency to say good bye as she shut the heavy door in his face. Running a hand through his hair, the professor picked up a pen and resumed his work. There was still a lot left to be done.

* * *

Afternoon of the same day

Sinnoh

Resort area, Constellate's base

"What am I? A mannequin?" Silver queried in an apathetic voice as Ruby slathered on another layer of foundation on his face. The redhead stood before a gold framed mirror with his hands outstretched. His unimpressed visage reflected back at him and Ruby hopped around his senior, completely absorbed in his work. The teenager retrieved a pair of scissors and snipped the split ends away, he forced the Johto native into a plush chair and began to experiment on his face. The result ended up with one half of Silver's face sporting fantastic eye make-up whilst the other held artificial scars and blood stains. Platina walked in the room a few minutes later followed by Whi-2 who carried an armful of scrolls, seeing Silver's bizarre face, she let out a yell and dropped her spoils. The noble turned, her expression masked into one of displeasure.

"Those are very valuable Whi-2" she intoned with a crisp voice, "please pick them up." Turning to the duo fooling in front of the mirror she continued, "seniors...We have much work to do. Our commander needs the chamber set up so she can ship the equipment and our fugitives in before sundown. Procuring a plane is not an easy matter so all the help will be highly appreciated." The blood eyed teen pushed Silver away and gathered the artifacts off Platina and tossed them on to the white divan set against the back wall. Smiling, he grabbed her hand and forced her in front of the mirror.

"Don't worry," he soothed her aghast mien, "by the time I'm done, you'll look better than the imperial court ladies." With a smirk, he held up a make-up brush.

"Excuse me..."

"No, no, no, you should listen to your senior..." Ruby shushed her, "besides, we are done with everything aren't we? Not like we had to do anything thanks to your body guards and maids. Blue will come back later in the afternoon and the chamber is set...So relax."

Silver shook his head and a lopsided grin tugged on his lips. He let his eyes roam around the room; it reminded him of the ravaged base in Kanto three years back. Their new base was a gracious gift from Platina's parents. A vintage styled holiday mansion. The room sported Victorian designs with modern furniture. Shades of white, pastel blue and gold made up most of the decor and gave off a rich, urbane feeling. The curtains bordering the large windows were charcoal silk and the walls sported prints and portraits of mythical pokemon and heroes of bygone ages.

"Come on Whi-2, don't stand and gape, let's get the red chain creation chamber ready." Silver dragged his feet across a velvet carpet and exited the room. His junior, still mesmerized by Platina, bumped her shin into a low, glass topped coffee table and sent the tiny candle holder atop the surface, crashing to the floor. Bowing and muttering a string of apologies, she picked up the elegant candelabra, thrust it on a wooden shelf and bolted.

Around the same time

Johto

Mahogany Town

A woman, her hair styled into two loose ponytails pushed open an ice encrusted door. The moment Blue walked in, Cyrus' irises shrunk in distaste. What did the woman want now? Both he and Charon were doing remarkable progress; they didn't need an annoying female to command them around like lab rattata. Constellate's commander strode in, her jacket, hanging loosely over bare shoulders, fluttered about akin to a cape. Imparting an impish smile to the two convicts, she meandered over to the three mythical pokemon and peered. Behind her, the Galactic leader's probopass drifted about aimlessly. As it hovered right behind Blue, the man curled his fingers in.

Blue screamed. Her head going blank with brain boiling pain. Her jacket, made of shiny beige material, crackled and popped. Burns laced her legs, tearing through the fishnet stockings and her hair danced wildly. Thunderbolt. Even Red who got electrocuted on a daily basis fell into a coma if he got hit with that move. However Blue gritted her teeth and held on with all her might. Hissing irritably, she whipped around and winced, sparks of white lighting fizzled away from the ends of her fingers and body. One half of her face began to droop; the effects of paralysis taking hold and the brunette smacked herself hard and fished out a Cheri berry. Popping the fruit into her mouth she chewed and a sneer began forming on her twisted face. Charon stared; he'd never seen any person looking so grotesque. Half of her crafted face resembled melted wax and as he observed on, the skin and muscles pulled back, reshaping her visage.

"Taking advantage of my kindness are you?" she slurred, "you must be glad none of my friends are here to see this" Blue gingerly touched her face, "they would've SHRED you and your pokemon into pieces!" inhaling sharply, she ordered "Cleffy, Ditty...Show him what happens when they mess with _us_."

Two against one but they stood scant chance. Charon trembled as ditto brutally rendered his slowking apart. The transform pokemon jiggled and morphed into a bisharp. Uttering a metallic cry, it lunged after the psychic who rapidly fled away from the face of danger. Sinking one of its appendages in the soft flesh, ditto hacked off the elaborate headpiece, each strike creating spider web fissures. The hard shell splintered apart and slowking clutched its head and moaned. A blast of scalding liquid was cut apart and bisharp struck again, this time, it shredded the spiny ruff around the pink beast's neck and as it tottered around screeching and moaning, the tail was sliced off. Holding its prize up, the dark beast contemplated for a few minutes before dicing the delicate tail and gobbling it up.

Apparently slowking tails were a rare delicacy.

A loud bang on the dining pokemon's left spooked ditto and the beast deconstructed back into a pink blob. Cleffy and probopass went head to head and Cyrus' eyes narrowed in concentration. Despite her looks, the woman turned out to be a formidable adversary. The fairy pokemon flitted about in high speed and landed devastating punches on the main body of his metallic monster. Even if probopass layered the field with extra gravity, clefairy had no problem flying about with its tiny wings. Supporting herself by holding on to one of the pedestals, Blue observed the battle like a hawk and grinned devilishly.

"Cleffy is a rare species from the moon so it does not get affected by gravity." she slyly added.

"Liar" her opponent hissed. He lifted a finger and the mini-noses broke apart and went for the simpering woman. To his astonishment, all three were shot down by hyper beams...how did that pokemon fire beams of such power without tiring? He critically inspected the creature to see its velvet pink fur drenched with sweat and the pupils were slightly unfocused. The ashen man grinned, the clefairy ran short of energy and soon it would be unable to carry on with its hard hitting. Another nasty surprise waited for him as Blue recalled her partner and sent out another instead.

"Cheating..." Team Galactic's former leader accused in gravelly tones. He only had one pokemon; weavile was killed by Green because the sorry creature had the unfortunate luck of hacking Red's hair off.

"All's fair in love and war." Blue quipped in return, she massaged her face vigorously, trying to get rid of the pins and needles sensation, "Blasty withdraw" the shellfish pokemon drew its cannons and limbs inside the enormous shell on its back. Only a small bald head poked out and blastoise eyed the world with shiny onyx irises. Its master clapped once and it flew off like a cannon. The brown, pockmarked shell skidded heavily against the slick floor as probopass rained down electricity and enforced gravity to slow it down. Arcing around, the live cannonball wrecked into the compass pokemon crumpling its metallic body. Unfolding from its defensive state, the water type trained its cannons and let a pressurized torrent of water rip. Probopass gurgled, drowned and eventually became still. Cyrus simply stared, a ball of depression sunk into his stomach. He had the compass pokemon ever since he was a child and till date, the beast remained undefeatable. Azure irises grew wide with disbelief and agony as Blasty reared back and formed its scaly claw into a fist. Unable to witness any longer, Cyrus screwed his eyes shut as a pained squeal rung out of his companion when the dynamic punch hit. The tortoise heaved back and readied another punch and the man trembled, he was sorry for ever trying to trifle with these people. _Please_ , he prayed silently to Arceus, _please, don't let my probopass die._

"Blasty...Enough darling, please return." Short of sending the steel type to an early grave, the water type hobbled back to his trainer and disappeared in a flash of light. Legs trembling, Cyrus rushed to his comatose beast and knelt down. A shadow fell across him and he looked up, alarm and the slightest hint of appreciation ringing his bright blue irises. "Let this serve as a warning. The next time you try to harm one of us. Both you and your underling will be serving a sentence for Giratina. I'll personally see to it! Get up...we need to transport the contents of the room into a truck waiting outside. I'm shipping this place to Sinnoh." Silently, Charon and Cyrus obeyed her orders. They learnt a harsh lesson.

Never mess with the Dex-criminals.

Hours later, Blue thanked the blushing truck driver and eased out of the van. The man drove away in a blissful haze. He failed to see a white card next to him; the front showed a cluster of dark blue stars.

* * *

Red tried to ignore the babble of voices issuing from the other side of the room. His subordinates lay around on leather couches and rugs, warming themselves before a roaring fire. It was late at night and everyone busied themselves with staring at screens and calling their friends. He peered into the poke-gear and winced on seeing Blue.

"Electrocuted by thunderbolt huh?" Green blinked and she nodded hesitantly, "massage the area well or else you risk losing feeling in it. Don't worry about your appearance, by tomorrow you will be back to your normal, beautiful self." He smiled goofily and the tension eased from Oak's expression.

"Thanks Red...It is still numb though. Can't chew or smile properly." she intoned and he nodded knowingly. "Did you manage to read the prints I sent you?" A pause hung between the three of them as Red's eyes glazed over.

"Hahahaha, nope!" he cheerfully declared whilst scratching the back of his head and his best friends sighed.

"Hand them over to me...I'll take a look and decipher them for you."

"Thanks a ton Green...By the way, when are you leaving for Kalos?" The male brunette's lips pressed into a thin line on hearing the question. If he didn't know any better, he could've sworn that he heard a mocking undertone in his black haired comrade's voice.

"...Two weeks from now."

"I see...Have a safe trip. I gotta go now. Have to evaluate my team's strength and draw up battle plans. Keep cozy guys." Red opted out of the three way call with a wave and his screen went blank.

"Thank goodness you two are back being best buds." Blue expressed with an exhale, "I'll sleep much better from now on." she winked and Green managed a lopsided smile, "see you soon prof, I'll call you again later in this week!"

In Execution's room, Black waved his Xtransciever wildly across the windows and pointed to the distant sea which appeared as an inky smudge in the dark of the night. He related his experience on the beach and roped N into a conversation. The two males talked about the wondrous ruins lying beneath the crystal waves of Undella Bay. Cracked stone arches, pyramidal temples with tiny entrances acted as homes to local marine life. White laughed and talked about herself. Once Team Strategy finished with work, Yellow took them down to the famous hot springs in Lavaridge Town. The mineral rich water, heated directly by veins of magma buried in Mount Coronet, worked wonders for her skin and mind. Zorua, miffed because its master engrossed himself with someone else, clambered on N's lap and barked playfully at White. In response, the brown haired male talked louder till Gold and Lack-2 whacked him simultaneously. The two glared at him in tandem and then slinked away. Near them, Dia's eyes were fixed to his smart phone, his mouth opening and closing akin to a feebas. In Sinnoh, Pearl mirrored his facial expression as two pairs of irises tried glued on to their female companion. Platina remained stoic faced as usual.

"You look like one of those court ladies I see in movies." Diamond blurted out and swiped a berry from Lax. Pearl agreed and shooed Chahiko away when the parrot started spouting nonsense about his cheeks tinting red. The teenager girl tucked her curtain of hair away from her face and angled her face away. Thank Palkia they couldn't see the rest of her. Clad in a kimono of pale green silk, she almost lost her temper when her over enthusiastic senior grabbed her around the waist and forced an elaborate banded obi on. Her hair was allowed to flow loose and she stood still as a statue and furious as Ruby gaily twirled around her and fixed her clothing. To be fair, the Hoenn native had exquisite taste, the furisode she wore had a pattern of falling leaves and it exuded finesse.

"We were busy practicing our disguising skills." She lied and a few feet away from her Silver and Ruby smirked. "Constellate are spies, we have to be on our guard."

Friends talked deep into the night, swapping stories and secrets. Red, who tried to tackle his work, ended up drooling on the papers instead. One by one, the members shut off their cellphones, bid goodnight to their partners and wandered off to lavishly decorated bedrooms. Lack-2 yawned, trying to fight off sleep and when Gold, his amber eyes reflecting the dim glow of his poke-gear, gently told him to go to bed, the child first refused, hung out a bit longer then scooped Pibo up and left. The Johto native was the only one talking in the dead of the night.

"Hi mom...I'm so sorry to call you after such a long time and at this hour...Although it wouldn't have made any difference would it?" Senior Red is still taking very good care of me...Oh yeah! I have an apprentice now, his name is Lack-2 and he is a perverted little monkey. Just like me. I really miss you mom. I hope you take care of yourself; Crys and Silver are doing fine. We are all doing fine...See you later...I'll call back again, sometime in the future." Recording the voice message, he filed it away in the device's memory along, adding it to the hundreds of voice messages he never sent to his mother.

"You... should visit her grave Gold." A tired voice echoed from the gloom and Gold nodded. "Go to bed I'll clean up here." The adolescent didn't move and Red took his time filing away documents. "...Fine...I'll accompany you to Johto...For Cresselia's sake go to sleep now will you...And you better not end up in Saph's room!" The amber eyed individual buried his hands in his pockets and strolled out of the room, his irises burdened with sorrow.

* * *

 **A/N:** So all the departments scattered and now settled down to their respective places. Much thanks to all those who read and reviewed, virtual Kuwaiti dark chocolate to you (man that stuff tastes good!) At: TheSilverHunt3r, you got the Silver part right and that's all I'm saying :) Yellow's amulet huh…nice idea. And Execution's adventures…look forward to that! At Miniwolfy2: You are welcome. Unfortunately, due to the un-technological advanced country I live in…I don't own a 3DS and I've never played the newer generations *weeps* so no X and Y arc I'm afraid, but there is mega evolution so you could count on that. At AceTrainerLeaf: Blue has a crush on the actor dude…sorry for not making it clear enough (IDK what I was thinking when writing the chapter but it sort of happened and I thought…well why not?) Yellow blushing…she gets flustered easily and when the dude she crushed on for so long asks if he's handsome…her heart started doing things she didn't want it to do :P At HeyYouYaYou: I enjoy writing and plotting. I'm glad you liked my portrayal of Green; hope this story continues to be a pleasant read. At Jack54311: Daisy would probably be in denial…and live blissfully after that. Or storm over and whack her brother senseless. I think the first one makes much more sense, she's an older sister/mother figure to Green.

Once again, thanks for reading. Reviews are coveted :D and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.


	50. Uncharted waters

**Chapter 50: Uncharted waters**

Mid afternoon

Kalos

Lumiose City

As soon as he stepped on the station's platform, the afternoon's warm air enveloped him and provided a welcome relief from the air-conditioned cabins of the train. Green made his way outside the bustling terminal and shaded his eyes from the sun. Lumiose City leapt up at him and no matter how many times he visited this particular city, it still managed to leave him breathless and in awe. Shouldering his bag, he stepped out to the cobblestoned path and went straight for the information board winking on the inner street. The young professor only had a vague idea of where Sycamore's laboratory was situated. Halting in his tracks, he let a procession of gogoat bypass and glimpsed a young boy sitting proudly with his mom. The child sported black hair parted in the middle, he wore a maroon peak cap with sunglasses perched atop the hat and smiled blindingly. On impulse, the little boy looked at Green, grinned widely and waved as he passed. Feeling awkward, the man reluctantly waved back as the goat vanished from view. Hiking across the road, he reached the electronic board and scrutinized it. Lumiose city was shaped like a spoked wheel and even put Unova's cosmopolitan Castelia city to shame. Castelia functioned as a business capital whilst this city boasted everything. Cafes with colourful brise-soleil, art galleries displaying their pieces behind glass fronts, gaudily decorated plazas came alive with outdoor food and ice-cream stands. The streets and boulevards running through the city were paved in either in black tar, or the more traditional earth coloured cobblestone. People clogged the streets, going to work, sitting in cafes, walking their pokemon or doing whatever they needed to do. In the distance, the prism tower dominated the skyline; the intricate lattice of white metal gleamed proudly and served as a famous landmark.

Sycamore's office stood in the second boulevard and Green narrowed his eyes. There was a fair distance between the station and the lab and suddenly he felt drained of energy. The journey from Unova to Kalos had been tiring. Pushing up his glasses, he opted to rest and eat at the nearby Cafe Bataille. Making up his mind, he set off and entered the building. The scent of rich coffee and milk greeted him and he meandered across the tiled floor over to the wooden counter and sat on a stool. Ordering a cup of cappuccino, he sifted in his bag for a book when a smartly dressed teenager bumped into him.

"Sorry for that sir," the girl curtseyed and turned around to walk, Green's arm shot out and clamped down on her shoulder and she stiffened.

"My wallet please." He calmly intoned in a low voice, the eatery had gone silent as the patrons observed, meekly, the girl handed over his purse and the manger shooed her out of the shop.

"I apologize for that incident good sir." The barista, an elderly man with a well groomed moustache bowed, "it's the city you know and petty crimes such as this happen frequently. Please, you don't have to pay; the treat is on the house." The sound of clinking glasses and muted conversation resumed as people pushed the previous scene out of their minds. Strategy's team leader took his time inhaling the cappuccino and reading. He savoured the experience; at least his team mates and friends would let him off for a while. Ever since joining the Dex-criminals, became difficult for him to find leisure time. Getting up from the bar stool, he thanked the elderly man and stepped out. His eye caught the upper floors of the grossly decorated Hotel Richissime. The inn offered extravagant rooms and a price to go along with it and although Green hated staying in it, he always did. This time, Sycamore informed him that they were welcome to stay at the lab, he eagerly accepted the proposition, more time to spend on research, his mind agreed.

He strolled through streets shaded by trees and boarded with colourful flower beds. Children rushed past him screaming and shouting with glee. Trainers hurried to the battle institute and some of the more adventurous ones stopped him to ask for a battle. He declined, partly because he needed to get to the lab in a hurry and partly due to his reluctance. Passing several office blocks, houses and shops, the jade eyed man eventually spied the huge laboratory and paused. Like every piece of architecture in Lumiose City, the laboratory had French windows, a fashionable looking entrance way and an immaculate garden adorned the front of the establishment. Smoothing his clothes down and making sure he looked his best. Green climbed the worn steps and strode in. The older professor stood in the foyer and on seeing Oak's grandson, his stubbled face split into a smile and he walked over, threw his arms around the brown haired male and hugged him. The Kanto native inwardly shuddered, he'd never get used to the overly friendly nature of Kalosians. Waving an aide away, Sycamore chatted animatedly and ushered Green to the interior of the lab. Once inside, the door closed and he found himself standing on a merlot carpet and surrounded by royal blue walls. Framed pictures of pokemon, famous professors and young trainers lined the walls. An ancient gramophone stood in one corner.

Still talking, Sycamore walked to his desk situated at the back of the room, and extracted a few sheets of paper; it was at this time did Oak register the presence of another person. Tucked into an oversized arm chair, a man with steel grey locks stirred and pushed himself up. A beldum helped the individual to his feet and Steven made his way closer to Green. Angling his head somewhere near the emerald eyed trainer's chest, the Hoenn native greeted and nodded.

"I apologize for being slow" Steven smiled and pointed to his eyes, "as you noted, I'm blind." A scar disfigured the bridge of his nose and the once sharp irises were clouded.

"Stop pitying yourself Steven and help me find those stones. I'm nearing a breakthrough here." Sycamore genially clapped younger man on his back, "besides, being blind did not stop you from securing a position on the elite four."

"That's only because Drake retired, the Pokemon league's association would happily get rid of me. Too many people accused that I look at weird places when I talk to them."

The black haired professor guffawed and scratched his chin, "Hmm...Ex-champion and ex member of the international police. You've built up quite a reputation for yourself Stevie." Green jolted at hearing this piece of news, so Steven Stone retired from the international police. He had to inform his best friends. "How is the new champion of Hoenn coming along?"

"Wallace is a capable individual...Even if he has other dominating interests. Recently, he is trying to hand over the champion's mantle over to his mentor... and Juan is not pleased in the slightest." Steven looked up and his eyes landed on the wall next to Green's face, "How is Red? I haven't heard from him for over two years...People suspect he eloped from the league."

Green pushed up the glasses sliding down on the bridge of his nose and spared a moment cursing Blue, "Eloping from the league? Red doesn't like staying in places where they treat him like property. I don't really support his disappearance but he seems content enough in the frigid weather of Mount Silver...Just like old times." The brunette wondered if he pulled the lie off convincingly...But Steven nodded understandingly and in a few moments the conversation turned to more pressing topics. Dumping his bag on one of the couches, the trio climbed a stairway and entered the second floor of the laboratory. Here, Oak found himself relaxing, in his books, a research centre just wasn't a research centre if it lacked the comforting hum of machines and computers. The second floor substituted the mellow lighting for stark white light spilling from overhead fixtures. There were two rooms in the upper floor and these were separated by a thick glass partition with a door set into the pane. Sycamore entered one of the chambers and spoke to a scientist whilst Green peered at the giant monitor taking up the entire back wall of the room. It displayed a list of pokemon with the word mega evolution next to it. He was mildly surprised to see that all three of Kanto's starter pokemon were capable of mega evolution.

"Here, give me your opinion on this." The Kalos professor came back with a little case in his hand. Steven and Green stood before a metallic desk and observed him opening the miniscule briefcase. Nestled inside black velvet, several large and small glass spheres sparkled. Picking a few of the smaller ones up, Sycamore handed them over to Strategy's leader and told him to take a look.

"They remind me of marbles..." Green held one of them up to the light and studied it closely, "the markings in the middle...Are DNA am I correct? The genetic material comes in different colours and I suspect it has to do with the pokemon typing, the attributes of the pokemon itself and possibly..." he held the crystalline orb closer to his eye, "the new ability the pokemon might get. The more capabilities the pokemon acquires after mega evolution, the thicker the DNA strand and the more colourful it is. Am I correct professor Sycamore?" Green tried to keep his enthusiastic voice even.

The Kalosian's eyes were wide as saucers and he clapped twice, "As expected of Professor Oak's grandson, you truly are remarkable. I'm astounded that you could elicit this much information at a single glance. Correct, the coloured part is the missing genetic material of a pokemon's DNA and as you mentioned the more new characteristics the pokemon gains, the thicker the strand. Give those over to Steven will you, our stone expert can tell us more about them. I'm stumped as to how Mega evolution actually occurs. I know it happens and I've seen it with my own two eyes...But how?" On hearing his name, Hoenn's ex-champion stretched out a hand to Green, his fingertips almost brushing against the younger man's belt buckle. The Kanto native simply stared and furiously fought down a blush.

 _Awkward._

The polished stones were dumped into Steven's waiting hand and the individual ran his ringed fingers across them. "Well...I can't really see them so my information will be limited. These stones give off energy and the thinner the casing around the material, the more signals they can give off. They function a bit like radioactive or magnetic waves. You said this is missing DNA right? Sycamore nodded, however Steven, unable to see his reaction simply waited for a response.

"Yes..."

"...Then, I suppose the waves activate an old, prehistoric part of their brain and stimulate them into evolving. As for what the triggers to the actual evolution are...I do not know. You told me you found those DNA in an ore...Then you extracted it and fixed it into this glass medium. Bringing a mega stone and their corresponding keystones allows a pokemon to evolve temporarily into another stage but...The evolutions are sporadic and do not occur in a regular manner. Hmm..." the steel haired man scratched his chin, "Kyogre and Groudon are capable of going into a sort of reverse evolution called Primal evolution and they do it without the aid of stones." Green spied a grin slowly inching across Sycamore's face, "I suppose the trigger factors could be for defence, attack or an instinct to survive." The blind member handed the marbles back, "That's all I can tell you."

"Ah...that makes a lot of sense." The Kalos professor handed the case to a passing aide and went to the monitor. He began rapidly typing on a keyboard and several maps flashed across the screen. "I first discovered a piece of DNA embedded in a rock when I a team of archaeologists asked me to accompany them on a trip." He pointed to a place on the digital map. "We found the ore in a route between the towns of Geosenge and Ambrette. As I examined the curious prints, an absol came over and we all know that these creatures of darkness only appear when disaster is about to strike. The excavation team started to pack in a hurry. They collected their digging tools, recalled their pokemon and started salvaging everything from the caravan we travelled in. I on the other hand was fascinated by its presence. Absol are a rare species in Kalos and with the uncut ore in my hand, I gave chase. Instead of fleeing, it attacked me and took the stone out of my hand. Curious, I observed it and for the first time in my life...I saw mega evolution in action. The absol sniffed the stone and morphed into a majestic creature; the fur on its back elongated and formed wings. I tried to capture it...Alas, it head-butted me and threw me off a cliff. I had to be hospitalized for a month after that incident." Sycamore stopped rambling and turned to see Green listening attentively and Steven crashed out on a chair fast asleep. "Sorry for my long ramble...It's getting late, how about dinner than we sit with the research notes Green?" The brunette nodded with vigour. "Right, I know a good place in the North Boulevard, it'll be my treat. Hey Stevie...Wake up, we are going out to eat."

* * *

Three days earlier, Morning

Hoenn

Mount Chimney

Strategy's commander paced back and forth in the tiny space and wondered if he should move into another room instead. As tempting as it was to foster good relations with his underlings, they were too loud when he worked and he couldn't march in the room if he got stressed. Green anticipated a call from Red; he was leaving for Kalos today and desperately hoped for his friend to drop by. Usually, the crimson eyed leader would wake him up with his overly cheerful voice but today, a nagging suspicion told him that Red might not call after all. Green would be getting the silent treatment. Prowling behind his desk, he inhaled deeply and looked out the window, instead of seeing rolling valleys, green pastures, a canopy of trees and tiny human settlements, all he saw was grey. Everything dusted with a fine layer of volcanic ash giving the surroundings a rather washed, lifeless appearance. He didn't mind though, the volcanic ash and straits of reddish rock making up the jagged pass provided an unwelcome feeling to visitors and thus kept mountaineers and hikers far, far away.

 _Ring ring_

 _Ring ri-_

His poke-gear blared and he quickly connected it to the laptop and answered it. The person on the other end greeted him with a flirtatious wink and enquired about his health in a saccharine sweet tone. Green glared, his jaw taut with the effort of not exploding.

"Blue...Good to see you too." He sighed.

"I expected you to sound a tiny bit more euphoric." The brown haired woman tossed her hair and intoned, "aren't you leaving for Kalos today? If so you should be bursting with excitement Green!" she leaned closer to the camera and gave him an eye blinding smile, "finally you are in your element...Surrounded by papers, machines and the smell of ink. Speaking of which...I sincerely hope you are not going to Kalos wearing that" she pointed accusingly and he looked down, noting the scrap of paper poking out of the pocket of his lab coat.

"I'll just wear a casual shi-"

"Ruby!" Blue bellowed and from somewhere behind her the flamboyant teenager materialized, he took one look at Green and inclined his head respectfully. "My co-worker here is going to Kalos...And as you can see, he lacks neurons when it comes to the fashion department." Strategy's leader scowled, he didn't like where this was heading, "so...Give him a few tips on dressing up please." The duo high fived each other and sniggered in a disturbing manner and seeing their antics, his head began to pound, both a warning and in irritation.

"I'm not going to Kalos to attend a fashion show. Just say good bye and leave me in peace!"

"Of course not...You look like a walking disaster senior" Ruby sneered.

Green didn't know what possessed him to listen to them. Perhaps Blue brainwashed him, the theory was highly plausible. Forty five minutes later, he shipped the laptop to his immaculate bedroom and flung clothes out of his closet due to Ruby's insistence. The boy pompously clicked his tongue in distaste when he spied the meagre accessories the older man wore and said adult wanted to kick the laptop to smithereens. Patiently, he sifted through his attire, holding them up and waiting for approval. The Hoenn native shook his head at several items, told him to burn a few of his jackets (Green wanted to burn him) and showed a thumb's up when Green held up a slim fitting mid-sleeved shirt. The adult spared the pinstriped shirt a glance. "Wear that, Ruby piped up, "it'll look good on you and as for your pants...Go with slacks, your habit of wearing cargo pants with everything is soo...Unfashionable." The teenager haughtily articulated, "I spied a pair of glasses with an olive frame...Olive isn't really a beautiful colour but you don't have anything else"

"I don't need glasses" Oak hissed and dragged himself to the attached bathroom. It seemed an age before he re-entered the room and in the screen, the blood eyed teen craned his neck in an effort to get a glimpse of Green's possessions. Stepping out of the bathroom, Green smoothed the wrinkles out and tried to make himself comfortable in garments he was not accustomed to wearing. On spying him donning new threads, Blue whistled in appreciation and dished out compliments whilst the professor harshly told her to keep it down. The brown haired commander smiled teasingly at the pink tint threatening to cover his cheeks. Reluctantly, he put on the pair of glasses and Ruby stopped in his fashionable advising to gape at him.

"I think...I just created a model." The teenager smirked and adjusted his hat. "You look absolutely wonderful! I'm actually surprised that you had a shirt like that, black and emerald pinstripes...Suits you rather well senior Green."

"My grandpa gave it to me as a present." Green related and thrust his hands into pockets, "now if you two are done yammering...I can take my leave. And Blue, stop smiling so disturbingly, I'll get nightmares." If possible, the female brunette's face split wider and as it occurred to the spiky haired male that something very wrong was going to take place, she loudly enquired.

"Yellow, doesn't Green look handsome?" Not finding her boss in the common room, the aide searched all over and eventually came across his bedroom. Being modest, she first knocked but failed to get a response. Pushing the door open, she saw her superior deep into a frenzied conversation with Blue and Ruby. Green whipped around and fidgeted with his fake spectacles, a pregnant silence hung in the room before the female replied, turning to her leader, she gave him a wide smile and declared:

"Yes, you look very handsome, those glasses really suit you!" At her words, he angled his head away from the two females, his cheeks warmed up, time to leave...And fast.

"I need to go", he announced and Blue blanked the screen after giving him a genial wave, Yellow handed him the documents she held and softly added:

"Please come back safe Green," her soothing voice washed over him, "I-I'll miss you...Er...And the department is waiting for your guidance...so be back quickly." the younger blonde found herself blushing furiously as she glanced at the grandfather clock hanging on the wall, the golden pendulum swung back and forth hypnotically. Her senses tingled and she was discreetly aware of her leader eyeing her in concern ,however, before he could word his worries, he found himself being pushed out the door by his subordinate who seemingly gained surprising strength. As soon as he evacuated, the door clicked shut and she bid him a muffled farewell. Blinking in slight confusion (and expecting his departure to go much smoothly than this) Strategy's department head rooted on the spot, pushed up those annoying glasses and eventually moved away with his shoes echoing down the corridors. Inside the room, Yellow stood with her back on the door and tried to calm her fluttering heart.

"It's just Green" she furiously admonished herself and pinched her pink cheeks.

 _It's just Green_

She slid down the door and sat on the floor, the thought of her commander leaving for a distant land bought on an uncharacteristic ache in her heart.

* * *

"So you practice marital arts, you can train people in pokemon battling...the forerunner to Kanto's pokemon league and you served as Viridian's gym leader for a while before taking up your current profession as a pokemon researcher. Oh...And good friends with the ex-champion! I am most impressed!" The three men sat around a cluttered table in one of the glass rooms, overhead, a fan lazily rotated, providing a semblance of air flow. The medium sized glass chamber was stuffy and Green absent mindedly opened up his shirt till his chest, his eyes never leaving the documents. A stack of papers were set before him and he went through them one by one. Sycamore had long gotten bored of reading, he preferred field work and left all the data capturing to his aides. Thus, the man pulled up a resume and started reading it to keep himself from sleeping. The brunette merely nodded and the ebony haired man smiled and suspected that he hadn't heard a word. Scratching his chin, he diverted his slate eyes to the Hoenn native and felt pity for the individual. Puffing out his cheeks, he ogled Green again wondered what to do. A pokemon battle sounded entertaining.

"Don't you have any notes in Braille?"

"You can't read Braille Steven, at least not yet."

"True...

"Say Stevie...What did you have to do as an international police member? And lift your chin a bit higher, you're staring at my waist." Sycamore reclined back and folded his arms behind his head. He wanted to show the effects of mega evolution, unfortunately it got too late and they had to content themselves with notes. The youngest of the three proved to be the most diligent and he pulled down tomes and read them with frightening speed and accuracy, extracting down important bits of information and then organizing it into a coherent article. His decision to invite the blind member had been a friendly gesture. Steven Stone was a famous collector of rare rocks and the first person to find a piece of Arceus' plates and put them to good use. The two were good friends as well due to the fact that the grey haired male often came to Kalos for a vacation and to search for valuable stones. He never sold his catches, preferring to cut, polish and display them in his home. Oftentimes the two of them would engage in companionable banter and pokemon battling. The ex-officer became subdued after his blindness and rarely talked. More than once, he walked himself into a wall and why the steel haired man did not use a cane, Sycamore didn't know. Pride maybe. Or he hated to be reminded of his weakness. Nonetheless, having a beldum around decreased his chances of accidents, alas; it didn't stop him from looking into a completely wrong direction when holding a conversation.

"The assigned me to catch the Dex-criminals." Here, the elder professor noted how Green's head shot up. "No need to say that I failed miserably. Those children are an elusive bunch." Strategy's leader tried to drown the words out and focus on his work. Steven's speech unnerved him and he wondered if the individual remembered their tangle in Heart cave. Thank Rayquaza he had the sense to keep to the shadows. "As of now, their base in Johto was raided and it seems like they scattered...I'm not sure when they will rear their heads though, every time they cause an incident, it either ushers the public to fully support their decisions, or it turns the world against them. I'm ashamed to admit...that they played a crucial role in the last elemental war. Two...People...Two trainers riding Rayquaza took down Kyogre and Groudon. I'm...Humiliated." Steven clenched his hands and his knuckles went white. "I'm surprised Ransei's nobles didn't pitch in to help though, if they are so worried about preserving balance...How come they do not assist?"

Ransei...The Kanto native's mind went into a whirr, "These notes do not explain the origin of Mega evolution Professor Sycamore" he added in a desperate attempt to steer the topic of conversation away from the Dex-criminals. "Also, there are many mentions of Ransei here but the text fails to follow up on their history and how they are tied to Mega evolution." Jade irises went wide as his poke gear rung a ridiculous sounding ditty. Sycamore laughed mirthfully whilst Green spent another moment internally swearing at Pearl. Fishing the gear out, he stared at the screen, specifically at the identity of the caller.

Red

Apologizing, he raced outside and took the call. "You are late!" he growled and waited for the familiar chuckling and hand waving. Instead, a yellow, furry face popped up and Green gaped. Pika? Since when did the electric rodent know how to operate machinery? Then he remembered that he was no ordinary mouse, the cheeky creature could surf. Delicately picking up the communication's device, the tiny beast snagged its owner's attention with a volt tackle and handed the gadget to him. All of a sudden, Green wanted to end the call, clearly the scarlet eyed adolescent did not want to see him.

"Heya Green! So sorry for not calling you. I lost my poke-gear somewhere in the mess of my room."

 _Liar_

"So how is Kalos?" Red continued, seemingly oblivious to his best friend's discomfort, "Kalosians are wonderful people aren't they? I heard the food is good and the cities are absolutely amazing. Are Yellow and the others doing okay? It's not nice to neglect your team Green Oak." The professor looked around and found the corridor deserted, he walked down a set of twisting hallways and ducked into a washroom. No chance of bumping into anyone here and risk having the conversation overheard by someone.

"If you hate me, just go ahead and say it." Green felt weary.

"I'm an open book, see for yourself." His best friend spat venom, then calmed down "...Right, whatever. Do your best Green, I regret not calling you." Red scratched his head, "and don't forget to bring back souvenirs for me. You must be busy, see you later." A souvenir for him? Green wondered what could possibly exhilarate his best friend. The once champion wouldn't be satisfied with food and he didn't want to gift anything meaningless. Exiting from the closet, he stiffly strode back into the room and his eyes fell on the open case of Mega stones. An idea began to take root in his head.

"So...Was that a special lady friend calling?" Sycamore teased. "You ran out of here pretty fast."

"It was Red...the idiot lost his poke-gear and didn't phone me when I left, so now he apologized...Enough of my personal life...I still don't understand how Mega evolution occurs or how it came to being."

This time, a serious gleam took hold of the Kalos professor's normally playful eyes. "You seem to have misunderstood something Green...Mega evolution is not a new evolutionary process; rather it is a form of vestigial evolution." The brunette opened his mouth for a rebuttal and Sycamore held up a hand to silence him, "Vestigiality as you know, is an evolutionary process whereby structures that are not used in a human or say, pokemon are retained in the previous evolutions and thus do not carry over to new species. In ancient times, pokemon either harmoniously co-existed with humans, or stayed far away from them. They were free to follow their instincts. With technological advancements and the invention of the apricorn and much later, the pokeball, pokemon broke away from their primordial forms and their natural intuition, capabilities and survival reflexes were vastly reduced. Humans lorded over them, suppressing their abilities and over time, a reverse evolution took place. These creatures shed their overly powerful nature and the evolution course died out, taking some of their innate attributes with it. Have you studied fossils? If you check carefully, they still retain the special DNA that makes Mega evolution possible."

"I've never seen Red's aerodactyl Mega evolve." Green retorted.

"Why should it mega evolve?" Sycamore shot back and a figurative light bulb exploded over the brunette's head.

"...So, it's only a temporary process." he slowly added, "that comes on when triggered. The triggers could be a threat to life...An overwhelming need to survive or protect. I think I understand. Aero was never placed in a position where he had to fear for his life."

"Bingo!" Silence descended between the three and the only noise in the room came from the rotating fan. "Let's knock off for tonight. Tomorrow, I'll give you a practical demonstration of mega evolution."

The next day, Dawn

Lumiose City

Sycamore's laboratory

They moved to a training space situated underneath the laboratory. The structure looked like any other high tech training facility, floodlights illuminated a laminated floor, a bank of electronics and computers were tucked in one corner of the gym and a strip of moss green carpet, fitness gear, treadmills and tiny boxing rings dominated the rest of the floor. Trainers and lab scientists already set to work, shouting commands, hooking up pokemon to computers and scribbling down data. Green, fighting off his sleepy haze with the cup of coffee in his hand watched everything with half lidded eyes, he was so excited last night, he couldn't sleep and now he paid the price. Steven and Sycamore ambled along purposefully in front of him and he dragged himself to keep up. The shout of a particularly loud trainer and her enthusiastic ampharos startled him and he blinked rapidly in an effort to remain awake.

"I've been thinking Sycamore...Those mega stones you have, they weren't totally human manufactured products were they?" Steven came to a halt and queried with a delicate frown on his face.

"No, fixing the DNA into a glass ball is totally useless." The professor looked around for a good spot to unload his briefcase and gadgets, spying a wooden desk, he gestured to the place and walked over, "so I had to search for a better preserving medium and guess what I discovered?"

Green stifled a yawn.

"There are two materials which make for good DNA conservers. One is moonstone...Found abundantly in Mt. Moon, Kanto and of course anywhere when chunks of moon rock fall down. The other happens to be irradiated evolutionary stones. Legendary pokemon each have a frequency different from the rest, when they come into contact with stones or minerals, they somehow change the mineral structure and thus the rare evolutionary stones are formed. Even a stranger process occurs if the mineral is exposed to the frequency for a prolonged period of time. I found pieces of these types of rock scattered everywhere...It's a painstaking process tracking them down I tell you, but in the end, they sustain the DNA in a perfect form. No corruptions and no telomere degradation takes place." The Kalosian took a deep breath, "enough talk, Green, here take this," the brunette was handed a black cuff with an inlaid stone and a mega stone with a black and blue core. He released his Charizard who announced its presence with a snort of flames. Charizard gently picked the mega stone off his trainer and as soon as it did so, a change began taking place. Green's observed, with fascination, as the coarse vermillion fur dyed a pitch black, the dragon's core body temperature lowered and the underside of its belly, formerly cream, morphed into a toothpaste blue. A cloak of frayed wings extended and a blast of icy-cold blue flames brushed past the trio's faces. Rearing on its powerfully built hind legs, the dragonoid slammed down on the floor, bone tipped claw scraping the surface, and emitted an earth shaking roar. The entire training complex shook and a chill engulfed the air.

"I'm at a loss for words..." Sycamore's hand hung limply by his side. "I've been trying to see Mega Charizard X for a long time now and all of my experiments have failed...And this...Instantaneously." The dazed sheen in his eyes faded as he got down to business. Extracting a tablet from his bag, he jotted down notes with a stylus pen and observed the dragon from all angles. "Green, do you notice any personality changes...Anything will do, even if you deem it insignificant."

Charizard X nuzzled affectionately with its trainer, it growled softly and pushed its horned head into Green's hand. Sparks of lazuli flame fell on the brunette's shirt and sent a spine chilling wave down his body. "Well...Charizard is never this friendly. I find it a bit strange. It's not like he ever disobeyed a command or refused to act out orders, my partner simply keeps a respectable distance...Till now." Exhaling, Strategy's commander threw his hands around the crooning dragon's neck and stroked its glossy, midnight fur. The beast, delighted, nearly toppled him over.

"The special bond between trainer and their pokemon...I suppose you found one of the most reliable triggers allowing Mega evolution." Steven cut in, "that explains why you failed in evolving all of them and next time, it would be in your best interest to approach trainers."

"You are right." A flash of light later, Charizard stared impassively down at the three researchers, the humans were boring and they talked about things he couldn't wrap his head around so the vermillion dragonoid preferred to glare at the training center instead. A minute later, he was sucked back into a pokeball and the capsule dangled from his owner's belt. "I've never thought...silly me. As sappy and unscientific it sounds," Augustine continued, "I suppose it makes the most sense. The overwhelming need to protect or please its trainer allows it to Mega evolve. Hmm...Thank you so much Green. You are off for today, take in the sights of the city if you want," the brown haired male nodded his head, "I'll call you in later to help me organize the data and there is still an excursion for you I must plan. And...I'd really like to give you one of these as a present; unfortunately my research must be approved and validated before any Mega stone distribution." The black haired professor packed up his things whilst talking and shouldered his bag, "I'll see you later then. Steven come with me, I need some information on the stones..." Waving affably, the older man vanished via the swinging doors.

A few hours later, Strategy's commander strolled down the crowded streets of Lumiose City; the afternoon heat coerced him into buying an ice-cream cone from one of the numerous stands dotting a plaza. Licking the frozen confectionary, he strode aimlessly through twisting boulevards and narrowing streets. The backstreets weren't as glamorous as their forefront partners. Jade eyes stared ahead, shunning passersby, street vendors and well-dressed thugs; he kept on going till he spied what he wanted.

A public payphone.

Shoving the rest of the cone inside his mouth, he went inside the metal and glass booth and dialed a number, a respectable amount of beeps later, the owner picked up.

"Hello, this is Emerald speaking." Green allowed himself a laugh, the brat would never be this polite when speaking to someone he knew.

"Emerald...this is Green, I have reasons so don't ask questions and just listen to me." A pause whilst the blonde confirmed, "I have an assignment for you, but let me make it clear that you leave no electronic signatures when you finish alright? Listen up, I want you to hack into Sycamore's personal computer and from there, take over the security of the laboratory. Do it silently, if you need my porygon z, he's in storage. Edit out any illegal activities...taking place in the lab. Understood?" He couldn't see his subordinate but no doubt the underdeveloped teen's visage would screw up with a demonic grin.

"Yes sir...Consider it done." On the other side of the phone, the tiny blonde smiled viciously and hung up.

* * *

 **A/N:** Evolution fascinates me although I don't believe in it (I refuse to think that my ancestor was a monkey) Anyway, a rambling theoretical explanation of mega-evolution which hopefully didn't bore anyone to death (I can get carried away sometimes.) Much thanks to Eeveefan1290 (Eevee? Jk) for favoriting this story, I hope it continues to be a pleasant read. At Jack54311: Ahahaha, hopefully this chapter would be a bit less sad, the chocolate? It's all up :P Once again, please keep on supporting the story and keep on reviewing. Constructive criticism (and any feedback) is well appreciated.


	51. Lights, camera and war

**Chapter 51: Lights, camera and war**

Moonlight spilled into a darkened room and illuminated the surroundings with a ghostly glow. A boy, unable to sleep, tossed and turned and eventually got up and stared at the floor. Tomorrow, everything would end, he mused. His modest bed creaked as it let up his weight and he ambled over to a desk and stared. Six pokeballs were arranged neatly on the desk and he peered into them, his crimson, permanently choleric irises softening. The miniscule creatures shifted in the ball, some surrendering themselves to the sweet lull of sleep whilst others, like him, throbbed with energy. Emboar looked up and pinned its master with a sombre gaze. The boar-esque creature fed off its master's anger, hell hot flames charring their opponent to dust. Smiling, he tapped the clear dome of the ball a few times and the bulky beast tucked its tusked head and resolved to sleep. Or at least it pretended to. The boy looked around his room cloaked in shadows and sighed; he put his head down on the desk and stayed in that position for a few hours. Argent light trickled over his half-clad form and with a start he roused up again and looked around in alarm. Nothing. Still. No breeze or a whisper of wind entered this room, there were no dark monsters lurking under his bed, nor any criminals jumping at him. He checked his pokeballs again, the insides cradled silver light and all of his partners were fast asleep, hopefully, he thought, dreaming about things far more pleasant than his nightmares.

"I'm sorry son...we are unable to find them."

"What do you MEAN?!" He exploded in their faces, so typical of him, with his temples beating visibly, "it's a kidnapping! Search for them, put up posters...FIND THEM!" He screeched in the police station and glared at any one who tried to soothe his rage."

"Boy, you should be at school." An older man, unfazed by his outburst firmly intoned, "We have a tab on you as well and I should warn you that your petty crimes are mounting up. Go back to school; it's been almost two years since your friends disappeared, we are trying our best."

"Your best is not enough..." he hissed, crushed the can of lukewarm soda one of the officers gave him and kicked the can into the opposite wall. Bright orange fluid burst out and splashed against the wall, running a sticky rivulet down important papers and wanted posters.

Thinking back, his actions left much to be desired. He stopped going to school, stopped doing anything productive and took month long trips away from his home supported only by his pokemon and a backpack containing money, clothes and other essentials. If he ran out of cash, he pickpocketed. Once he tried to hold down a job, alas the manager fired him on the second day because he couldn't reign in his temper. He lost sight of his goals. A Pokedex holder? He crept into the teacher's staffroom one afternoon, stole the device and proceeded to smash it on the floor. A sense of sick satisfaction overcame him as he tore the wires holding the sophisticated gadget in place. Grabbing a bottle of water, he dumped the fluid over the dismantled electronic encyclopaedia and watched it fizz and spark.

"They were kidnapped honey." He remembered coming home from school one day and being told the devastating news by his mother. Thick-headed, that's what they called him; they made fun of his studious nature and his goals. The bag on his shoulder slid down and fell to the floor with a thump. It seemed surreal, everything appeared plastic and artificial. Smiling and shaking his head, he assured his mother that they will be found again. So he went to school and studied obediently. School and study and the days trickled by without a sign of his friends. He snapped, he exploded, his existence ruptured. He set out to the roads accompanied by a poster and trying his best to find them. In the process he ran into some shady and strange people. Like the weird man at the subway...Was it two...three years ago? The stranger helped him recover his pokemon. From there, he took even more time off home, doing everything to stay alive on the streets. Pickpocketing became his income and it did not shame him to admit that he was rather good at it.

This way of life continued till he had the unfortunate luck of sticking his gloved fingers in the back pocket of a well-dressed man by the name of Grimsley. A professional gambler and a member of the Elite four. He tried to run with the diamond studded something cradled in his hands, alas a feline beast pinned him to the ground and held him there.

"Well, well, well...Son you must be rather brave to stick your fingers in my pocket." The man drawled, his voice devoid of any reproach, rather, he seemed amused by the scenario. "Child, I'm not really sure what happened to force you to resort to such...Unpleasant actions but let me introduce myself."

"Grimsley...Elite four and Casino game master..." the boy spat, "I know you." The man clapped.

"Then it makes things much easier. How about a pokemon battle? If you win, I'll let you have my watch and other ornaments I'm wearing." The child sprang up, wiped the tangy blood traces off his lips and inwardly swore to rip the man apart. A mere half an hour later, he gaped at the sight of his brutally beaten, bloodied beasts groaning and writhing on the dusty floor. Grimsley, his face smug, fixed the watch back on to his wrist nonchalantly. "Boy...You have the makings of a fantastic pokemon trainer, alas you neglected to train both yourself and your pokemon partners and this is the result." A heavily decorated hand pointed to the ground, "your strategies were sound but your pokemon are too weak and distrustful of you. Let's make another bet. You go through the gyms and take part in the Champions league taking place next year. Meet me, beat me and I'll promise you will be a changed man. Tell me your name...Your passion is remarkable." The spiky haired boy merely stared, his gaze apathetic, he recalled his pokemon, clipped the capsules back into the magnetic belt rimming his waist and turned around.

"Your name child." Grimsley called again and the boy halted in his tracks.

"Hugh...and I'm searching for my friends..." He held up grimy photographs of two pre-teens much like him "Have you seen these two?"

 _Have you seen these two?_

* * *

Evening

Unova

Pokemon League

Tomorrow finally came

Day one of the Unova championships league.

Like many other trainers, Hugh waited his turn and entered through the electronic gates, flashing his badges as he did so. The last leg of victory road...Or mountainous terrain more like, was punctuated by large black gates manned by guards wearing black armour and visors and their respective pokemon partners. Each trainer was subjected to a harrowing search before passing through the first gate. After that, one simply had to show their badges, the rangers would solemnly nod their approval and they were in. The glamorous stadium loomed up, emerald green domes and tan buildings sparkled tall and proud against a rapidly blackening sky. Lights set the horizon ablaze, dancing to and fro and illuminating the rocky plateau which the league sat on. The purple haired individual stopped and stared. A breath lodged itself halfway between his chest and throat. Every two years he watched the championships battle take place, the television did well to display the awe, pomp and overflowing energy, however they couldn't capture the experience of simply being here. His heart beat out an erratic rhythm and he forced himself to simmer down. As the first row of contestants entered through the grand, stone dragon flanked entrance, a shower of glitter rained down from the sky. Overhead, camera men hung dangerously out of media helicopters and desperately zoomed in to take profiles of promising trainers. Hugh looked in one and a vein in his temple throbbed. One of the several floating screens on the grounds lit up, showing his angry visage and the people surrounding him stared and pointed.

He stepped into the building and a blast of cool, conditioned air evaporated the sheen of sweat clinging to the back of his neck. Here, more cameras and screens greeted him along with a young lady showing him a friendly smile. She gestured to the side and asked him to wait in line. Several queues of varying lengths snaked out before him and he tried to gauge the shortest line. Sneakers squeaking over marble white tiles, he joined one of the queues and fished his trainer identification card out as well as his badge carrying case. Surprisingly, the receptionists were well trained in dealing with crowds and before long, he found himself standing before a friendly man sitting behind a glass partition. Behind the man, Hugh saw several potted plants, a strip of blue-grey carpet, chairs and screens, it seemed like each of the booths had those things behind them. Answering a few questions, the assistant handed over a questionnaire and checked his identification, pokemon and badges. Five minutes later, Hugh was discharged from the line and he strode into the bathrooms to check his appearance. As usual, his shock of spiky hair refused to lie down, an oversized black and red high collared jacket covered his chin. Lacing up black and red trainers, he pulled on a pair of fingerless gloves and proceeded to walk into the arena.

Powerful, multi coloured lights burned his retinas and a megaphone amplified voice pulsed loudly in his ears. Hugh blinked several times, trying to fight of the feeling of vertigo. From the entrance, a metal catwalk ran to the middle of the room and branched off to the numerous square arenas dotting the huge chamber. Off to the side, he spied a set of steps leading downwards into what looked like a lounge. A uniformed official beckoned him and Hugh followed into a semi-dark space. The official began talking rapidly as another trainer made a discrete entrance.

"Your identification and receipt please." Hugh handed those over and the man stamped them. "Thanks, your battle will take place shortly. Your arena number is fifteen and when they call out your name, you go. For now, take a seat, there is a vending machine at the back if you want drinks." The guard jerked his head to one set in the gloomy depths and the boy wondered where to sit, the lounge was cramped full of trainers already, some bursting with confidence, shown by the slight upturned smirk of their lips and puffed out chests. Others were nervous, pale expressions and wide eyes darting about endlessly. And there were the ones who radiated quiet assurance, those who did not need to be reassured nor coddled. They stood or leaned against the confined walls, with visors, hats or bandannas pulled low over their eyes. These trainers would the ones holding the top positions...One of them might even be the next champion.

Clipping a small backpack around his waist, Hugh retreated deeper into the room and unceremoniously plopped himself at the foot of a teenage girl. She looked at him inquisitively before imparting a smile. He didn't smile back; he preferred to stare at the carpet instead.

Forty five minutes later, Hugh found it difficult to breath in the so called trainers lounge, they were packed like bugs in a net and he tried to move out of the way as another child stomped on his foot. Hissing irritably, he went rigid, they all did, when a loud cacophony erupted around them and the sound of stampeding people reached his ears. Some pasty faced lad whispered that the spectators were being allowed in. Animals? Hugh pondered, it certainly sounded so. The master of ceremonies, a gaudy man with outrageous clothes, held a megaphone to his mouth and floated above the arenas on a hovering silver podium. Behind him, two cheerleading females, accompanied by fancily clad roserade and loppuny, danced to the music pounding out of giant speakers. Almost at once, a loud hush descended on the stadium as the MC laid down rules for the upcoming knockout round.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" A suave voice bled through the speakers, "Welcome to the Biennial Unova Champions League!" A roar of cheers and applause shot up and died down, "As you know, today is Day one of the champion's league and that means...It is the first knockout round! Here, a total of hundred and fifty trainers will be competing against each other in twenty five arenas. These battles will take place simultaneously and you can catch the progress of your favourite trainer on the screens suspended above the tiny coliseums. There are three sets of battles and each trainer is required to use three pokemon, we will begin the first set shortly. Please remember that there will only be twenty five winners in each set and a break of one hour is required between one set and the other. Once all seventy five winners are announced, we will continue the knockout battle on Day two, like this, the battles will proceeded till the last four are selected and then, it's the show we are all waiting for. The glorious war against the Elite four and FINALLY! The champion. Our Dragon queen: IRIS!" The audience went wild and Hugh, like most of the novice trainers sitting squashed against him, craned his neck to see a glimpse of Iris on the large monitors. A close up of her smiling face showed up on the screens and he peered at it intently. Young...So young, the girl couldn't have been more than fifteen years old and already she had been champion for over four years. Four years ago Hugh enrolled in Aspertia Pokemon Academy and walked into a class full of children like him whilst Iris had taken up the champion's mantle; they were the same age so why did their lives end up so different from each other? He wondered as his eyes trailed down her photo, taking note of her flawless chocolate brown skin and her haunting, yet beautiful eyes framed by thick violet lashes. She had the appearance of a girl who had seen too much, struggled too much but refused to bow down to the demanding world.

Hugh settled back down. Perhaps being surrounded by people his own age was a far better experience; at least he got to make some memorable friends. Lack-2, an over confident brat who thought the world spun around him and Whi-2, his childhood friend whom he had a not so obvious crush on. He frowned, at least he hoped so.

The rest of the time passed like a blur, trainers' names were called and they left the lounge one by one. At one point the MC blared his name and he pulled back to reality. Getting up, he dusted himself and walked back up the metal catwalk. Things had gotten much fancier, a series of lights flashed in hypnotizing colours along the catwalk and guided him to his destination. He trudged across, stiff and determined as blue feathered duckletts, with cameras fixed to a collar, followed his every move. The floating man still spoke, but the words phased through him like smoke. The large walkway, suspended few good meters above the ground, branched and he traipsed down one of the forks, going deeper into the heart of the room. People stamped on the ground, cheered and screamed and he looked past their heads and saw his arena. A moderately sized lattice of gold metal shaped into a boxing ring. Entering, he nodded politely to the referee, who gestured him to one side and waited for an opponent. A last minute check told him that his partners were primed and ready to battle and to his great irritation, there were cameras swivelling and following his every move. Tired of being angry at everything, he raised his face and smiled in one.

The crowd went wild and put up an embarrassing chant of his name.

Minutes later, another teenager strolled in casually and threw him a sunny grin. A peek at his belt told Hugh that his opponent, despite his laid back looks, was not one to be underestimated. The blonde revelled in the thunderous whoops and jubilation, raising his arms and making a show. He blew air kisses and the people surrounding Arena number fifteen frothed at the mouth with glee. Hugh's temples throbbed again and he massaged the area around his head. They waited for another half an hour before the last trainer entered arena twenty five. The roar and din simmered down before vanishing all together. A moment of deafening silence, it astonished Hugh how the screeching people could be this quiet. The battlers took up positions and everyone held their breath, the air grew heavy and tense, akin to a pent up charge.

Ding

Silence ruptured at the seams, a figurative wave of words, jubilant screams, clipped commands and low mutterings all melding together and winded outwards, pushing at the doors and triple glazed windows, demanding to be let out of the gargantuan room. In the gilded golden cage, Hugh jumped back and released his first pokemon; simipour tumbled out elegantly and announced its presence with a cute growl. His opponent, the smug kid, sent out leavanny and the skinny insectoid twirled elegantly in its spot. The blonde moved first, pearl white teeth gleaming in an anticipation of an easy victory. Leaf blade, leavanny held its arms up as the two green projections gleamed eerily in the blinding light, it sped towards simipour, little feet tapping furiously against the floor, raising one arm high up, and it slashed down and met with empty air. The blue monkey grinned, waved and bounced around the cage, swooping through the air in a series of acrobatic dances. For extra flair, it trailed a mist of water from its tail. The grass type switched tactics and assailed it with a barrage of brilliant green spheres as commanded, it quickly side stepped to avoid an avalanche of small rocks. Hugh's eyes shifted calculatingly as he eyed the floor and placement of rocks. The ground was a sticky mess of the nurturing pokemon's silk, leaves, water and soil seeping from the rocks. Nimbly, simipour clambered down and patiently waited. Hugh's opponent barked another order but when his partner tried to carry it out, leavanny slipped and fell.

"Focus blast..."

An orb of energy slammed right into leavanny's tiny thorax and a crunch announced the splintering and shattering of exoskeleton and bone. The insect twitched wildly before being declared unfit for battle. Now Hugh's mouth curled in satisfaction when he saw the gleam of revenge decorating the blonde's eyes. The flamboyant teenager decided to take this seriously.

"You used the muddy floor and Vann's own silk as a trap. Leavanny have a tendency to discharge minute amount of silk and they leave it on anything they come in contact with. I never imagined a grass type would be upended with a water type."

"Type advantages...Even though they play a major part in the outcome of a battle, they do not determine the victor. True...If any of your moves struck my Simipour, I'd be the loser in this equation...Simipour return. Flygon, go!"

A serperior and flygon sized up each other. The grass snake lacked the poise associated with its kind; instead, it came out of the capsule hissing and dripping spite. Fixing crimson irises at the sand dragon, it feinted a few attacks before striking out blindingly fast. Hugh drew in a shaky breath as his flygon cried out piteously and flew around in a desperate attempt to free itself from suffocating coils of muscle. The writhing band slowly inched across his ground type and when the beast plummeted downwards, serperior merely emitted a pained noise and clamped down hidden fangs on one wing. The rhombus shaped appendages began to turn an ominous purple and to his horror, the trainer saw how the thin screen of flesh smoked and eroded. Fumbling out his pokeball he recalled the semi-comatose dragon and sent his trump card out. Emboar didn't need an introductory announcement, the moment the fire boar materialized, a heat haze swept across the ring. Serperior coiled itself and reduced the damage taken.

"This is your last pokemon...I still have two able ones. Do you want to forfeit?" The blonde asked.

Forfeit?

" _Boy...You have the makings of a fantastic pokemon trainer. You go through the gyms and take part in the Champions league taking place next year. Meet me, beat me and I'll promise you will be a changed man. Tell me your name...Your passion is remarkable."_ Grimsley's words rung through his head and on Hugh's face, a few visible veins pulsed. He took a deep breath. Forfeit? Out of the question, he still had date with an Elite four member.

"No thanks. I came a long way and giving up is not an option. Boar here will char everything into oblivion. Prepare yourself, I'm about to unleash my rage!" Too late his opponent found out that the words functioned as a trigger command. Serperior contorted and blistered as a ring of flames devoured it. The projections around its head and neck crumbled to dust as it lay on the ground with a pitiful hiss.

"You are admirable Hugh...I suppose then I'll go all out. Seismitoad...Time to shine!"

If there was a pokemon Hugh detested, it had to be the ugly sack of azure bulging pouches wriggling before him. The vibration pokemon could shoot out both poison and paralyzing fluid from those welts on its body. Moreover, a water type, his emboar excelled in fighting and blasting fire. Earlier he scoffed at type advantages, now a bead of sweat slid down his sternum, past his stomach and ended up being soaked by his waistband. He forced himself to calm down and think...take advantage of the environment. The ground still lay muddy and it smoked, both his pokemon and the opposition had a good firm grip on it. An amphibian, seismitoad needed a damp environment to function in peak condition. He had to dry out the atmosphere till it became unbearable. "Emboar, use overheat." Hugh intoned and the fire type ignited. The shimmering heat evaporated off its flaming body and chocked the air dry, the crowds took a step back and fanned themselves vigorously whilst the referee, a thin balding man, gaped and pointed to the chain link fence of the ring...the metallic rings were melting.

"I understand what you are trying to do...Seismitoad needs damp to survive and you are drying out the air via unorthodox methods since environment changing moves such as sunny day and rain dance are forbidden in this competition." Swiping his hair out of his eyes, the opponent leered, "however, that won't work...S-"

"Head smash!"

Whilst the blonde busied himself with prattling, emboar, its bulk wreathed in flame, charged across the ring and slammed its head into seismitoad, the toad instinctively retaliated and here Hugh held his breath, the motions of the two beasts seemed to slow down and he narrowed his eyes and observed akin to a hawk. The bulges on seismitoad vibrated, the muscle laden arm juddering as the beast pulled back and smashed an arm in Boar's face. Two of the lumps exploded, spraying a straw coloured fluid over the mega fire pig. Emboar arced through the air and landed explosively at Hugh's feet, the impact sent a mini-earthquake rippling out through the ring. The beast lay and heaved, unable to move properly due to the effects of paralysis. Rubbing his temple, the spiky haired individual fished out a few blood red berries, crouched near his partner and painstakingly fed the creature as hot steam blasted across his face. The umpire called a fifteen seconds time out and from the opposite end, Hugh saw seismitoad flex its muscles and leak a muddy film from its pores. With great effort Boar got up and snarled, shooting a tongue of flame in the process. Inhaling a gulp of air, the fire type roared out a plume of fire and covered seismitoad with it. A blast of water reduced it to steam however emboar continued its furious assault and soon steam evaporated into nothingness. The roaring stopped abruptly and Hugh grinned, the protective layer around seismitoad had burned away. Panting with obvious exertion, the amphibian lumbered forward, fatigue distorting the agility of the pokemon. The blonde teenager smirked, no matter how anyone looked at it, the outcome of the battle was clear. Water and ground versus fire...Hugh would lose miserably.

Patting down his spikes, the crimson eyed teen smiled knowingly, Boar wasn't his trump card for nothing, even if it faced against water type opponents, the fire pig had an ace up its sleeve. "Boar, use solar beam." He could feel the astonishment wrinkling from both the audience and his enemy, a fire creature learning a grass type move? Preposterous, but it did the job. A pillar of brilliant green energy hit the water type clearly in its abdomen, seismitoad spasmed, tried to push back and eventually succumbed to its weakness. Several more of the welts decorating its body popped and purple liquid splashed and dried in the air.

Ding

Time for the verdict. A sudden lull occurred in the noise engulfing arena number fifteen. Hugh's bland face rotated above the screen and the referee held his arm up and declared him the victor. Cheers and congratulatory phrases exploded around him. Confetti and glitter showered down and he offered another polite smile. Holding up the medal, he basked in the glory of triumph for a few more minutes before slipping away. Victory? No, he still had a long way to go.

Four days later. Day four of the Championships league

Unova

Night

When Hugh stepped into the room, he felt his energy ebb away.

" _Let me explain the rules for battling the elite four. You four went through numerous battles, crushing your opponents to stand where you are today." The four trainers nodded solemnly and sat stiff backed on the bench, cans of water or pop in clenched in their fists. "First of all, there is the order, you can choose whom you want to go up against, however, once you enter, there is no turning back. Secondly, make sure you stock up on supplies for both you and your pokemon as you are not permitted to visit the mart nor the pokemon centre for the duration of your challenge. The duration of the challenge is three days. Two days for battling the elite four and one day reserved for the champion, thus you can battle two members of the elite four today and the rest tomorrow. For proper enforcing of the second rule and to prevent cheating, we, the Unova league officials will be in possession of your pokemon after you finish your day's tasks Thirdly, arena changing moves such as hail, rain dance, sandstorm are not allowed, however if your pokemon has such an ability, we shall make an exception. Your pokemon have all been checked when you entered on Victory Road, but keep in mind we shall check their health and status again. Doping is forbidden and if we find such traces...You will be eliminated immediately. Understood?" The quartet replied in affirmative, "Good, once you battle the Elite four, arena rules come into play, your opponent rules the terrain, not you, keep your wits up; each setting will be different than the last."_

He remembered the burly councillor's words now. Hugh wanted to battle Grimsley right off the bat, instead he was forced to take his second choice of Shauntal as some other kid decided to confront the gambler first. And when he stepped into the room, he felt his energy ebb away. The walls of the circular chamber seemed to be woven out of darkness and purple fire. Large iron framed windows provided a dismal scenery of sable canvas and on either side of each window, mauve litwick flame danced in brass brackets. He sluggishly pulled himself across, it felt like wading through molasses and on looking down at the carpet, he bit down on internal scream on finding himself plodding through a sea of coarse knee high fur, violet and black hair clawed over the material of his pants. Forcing himself, he eventually alighted in the middle of the room and stared. Books. The floor was littered with wobbling towers of books, individual documents and single ones lay strewn across the modest wooden floor. Above his head, dangling proudly, almost maliciously from an intricately shaped post, a chandelure leered. It swung a few times on the pedestal and here the challenger could not help but utter a drawn out scream when all the tomes and papers in the chamber flew upwards. Azure fire raced along the walls setting champagne silk curtains on fire. The room shuddered and Hugh shook along with it, blood drained from his face and crouched low in an effort to preserve both his energy and sanity.

"Welcome challenger..." a fruity voice floated from somewhere and Hugh's pupils darted about slowly in order to pinpoint the person. He felt tired, exhausted and his mind fogged. "My name is Shauntal. I specialize in ghost types and also have a part time job as a novelist. Your reaction right now...Hmm, typical and not quite. I'm surprised you could withstand the numerous litwick sucking your life force from you. You set a new record, most people faint right after they step in." Hugh blinked, Shauntal looked young and cute on television, but up close, with her chandelure's ghostly fire flickering across her face, she appeared as a witch. The woman waved her hand and all the purple flame extinguished. At once, Hugh felt energy swell back into his limbs and he stood up shakily. Behind the elite four member, he glimpsed something gold and pellucid streams of shadows snaked across the floor. Shuffling backwards, he took a stance and let his first pokemon out. Unfezant hovered in the air, a miniature scope lens clamped over its beady eyes.

"Air slash." Hugh commanded "and protect." The avian beast produced a chopping gust of air and its trainer nodded in grim satisfaction as the shadows on the floor and camouflaged in the air broke up and snapped back to cofagrigus. The four black hands folded inwards then blitzed outwards and bounced off a protect. Shauntal noted all of this down in a book, she sat on her table and ordered her pokemon with tiny gestures and hushed commands. This made Hugh angry...He would force her to take this seriously. Temples throbbing, he worded another instruction. Unfezant tumbled in the air and avoided several shadow balls, with a bang; it descended on the golden sarcophagus and raked powerful talons over it. The sound of tearing metal prompted Shauntal to glance upwards; she saw the bird type shredding the lid into pieces whilst the spiky haired trainer egged it on.

* * *

"GO Spiky haired Hugh!" Gold hollered from his seat and stuffed another fistful of popped corn in his mouth, "beat that lady! I'm betting on you! Man I love this guy!" he exclaimed exuberantly and leaned back, the other members of Execution all fixated on the large monitor and unconsciously passed betting slips. In the comfort of their base, they whooped, cursed and cheered. The tradition of watching Championship matches started while Red was still the champion, out of respect for their boss (and to polish their own strategies) the team members watched the broadcasts zealously, it provided good entertainment and solid hours of fun. The group, save for the leader, reclined in stone coloured couches and observed. They held their breath when the trainer of their choice faltered and screamed the roof off if they won. Lack-2, his russet eyes swimming with and unreadable expression, apprised Hugh. On television, the mauve haired trainer now warred with Shauntal's golruk; one of boufallant's ringed horns tore part of the golem's arms off in a savage show of brutality. Gold cheered and fist pumped. The Unovian child simply sighed.

"Oi, what's with the exhale? It's the Unova championships kid! Show some excitement! Cheer for the angry dude will ya? I can see the next champion in the making!" The amber eyed man declared and screeched in pleasure. True...Lack-2 did see the makings of a glorious champion within his best friend however...Copper eyes slid to the black haired individual sitting at a desk near the back of the room; Hugh seemed to have lost the burning passion he had for battling. His eyes were dull and lifeless and only the shiny spark of anger drove him about. The apprentice was afraid his friend would end up like his dispirited leader.

"Hugh is my best friend...I don't want him to become a ghost." He mumbled but as expected, no one heard anything over the raucous laughter and applause.

Red, his cheek resting on a fist, frowned at the ostentatious display flickering in his eyes. Not to say he didn't feel thrilled and if anyone cared enough to check, they would find a thin, slightly distorted smile dancing on his lips. He hated and loved it. The euphoria of winning, the glory of recognition. The rapture of triumph. Along with the politics and back breaking work required of a nation's pseudo leader. He, however, did not experience what it means to be a figurehead. Instead, they used him as a puppet, a mould for bolstering the next generation of trainers to start at an infantile age. Champion Red, the first child to ever beat the prestigious Dragon clan leader, Lance. A child, a mere boy. He created both and uproar and an opportunity. Child soldiers...It was easier to shatter the minds of young kids and build them up completely. They could be caged, moulded and manipulated. And Red had enough of manipulation.

"BREAKING NEWS!"

 _Ba-dump._

N forgot what it means to fear.

 _Ba-dump._

The rowdy background noises faded and he focused his attention on the news and words pouring out of the reporters lips.

 _Ba-dump._

His chest hurt, something bitter forced itself up from his stomach and suddenly he felt lightheaded and nauseous.

 _Ba-dump._

"The return of Team Plasma!" He heard, of course, the underground base. His former organization hid for so long he forgot they existed. How ludicrous...The ship anchored in Undella bay made his fears tangible yet, he failed to perceive the real threat. N's heart pumped rapidly and he gasped for air. The monitor showed scenes his mind both confirmed and denied. The league's plateau, a smooth, flat plain of rock, erupted and tall, ivory white buildings pushed up from the surface like some ancient creature waking up from sleep. They surrounded the league building from all sides, forming a semi-circle and dwarfing the green domes of the elaborate stadium. Police helicopters rushed to the location and powerful search lights beamed down on several pompous figures standing importantly on the gothic architecture's balconies. A mass of black and pale blue moved and heaved around behind them and to the former king's dismay, he identified them as grunts. He had a firm idea about their plans, according to Team Plasma, the pokemon league acted as the pinnacle of slavery and Ghetsis had drawn up elaborate plans on crushing the building and everything with it. N didn't quite understand how the plan worked; his only interest lay in the freedom of pokemon. Now, he realized that his ideal dream had only been a fleeing fantasy. The acid green haired youth felt sick, next to him, Black's chocolate irises were fixed to the screen, his mouth slightly open with disbelief and shock. Unova was his home too.

At the back, Execution's leader couldn't stop the feral grin spreading across his face, his ambitious project of the year just received a green light and without Green's nagging and Blue's caution, he could go all out. Calling Black, Lack-2 and N, he ushered the trio into his bedroom and asked them to sit. Black plopped on the bed, N had to be guided downwards and the teenager sat down warily, russet irises never leaving the ex-champion.

"You can already guess why I gathered you here..."

"To play hero again?" The youngest Unova native jeered, "you have some ulterior motives don't you?"

Red ignored him and dialled a few numbers on his poke-gear. A monitor fixed to his wall beeped up and seconds later both Whi-2 and White's faces popped up. The raven haired male took his time explaining everything before continuing his previous topic: "I don't like what they are doing, so we will eliminate them. It'll do both us and Unova a favour don't you agree N?" The adolescent nodded dumbly, "Right. I trust you N not to do anything foolish, we are your family now and if anything bothers you, you should discuss the problem with us." Red smiled, "Now for the actual briefing, Team Plasma is going to try and tear the league apart and we know from past experiences that they are worthy adversaries. We need to prepare...Black, I'll leave the cards to you," the teenager nodded and whipped out a notepad, "put Charizard's mug shot in, I'll pester Green to lend it to me. As for who is going with m-"

"Please let me come with you!" The Kanto native blinked at the sudden exclamation and glanced at the screen. Whi-2 looked defiant. "I...Was also watching the Championships...Please, I just want to see Hugh. He...Is one of my best friends."

"I guess..." Red scratched his head, "I can't deny that...Lack-2 do you want to see Hugh as well?" The boy solemnly nodded. "Fine. However, don't you dare entertain thoughts of escaping, Blue will hunt you till the ends of the earth." The children nodded gravely and Lack-2 hissed under his breath. "Preparation must take no more than two days; we will be heading down there with our flying types...Make a note of that. Meeting dismissed!" The three males scrambled up and scrammed out of the room. Whi-2 bid goodbye and left and only the ponderous visage of White remained on screen.

"Do you want to come as well?"

"Yes sir...If it isn't a bother."

"You can't battle well White...This is a war we will be waging. I'm worried about you." Red exhaled looked at her straight in the eye.

"I'll try my best. I won't give up and if I can't battle properly...I'll learn how to!"

"Ahahaha! I like your spirit, then, good luck White. I hope to see you tomorrow; maybe I could give you a few tips." She nodded her head respectfully and the screen blanked.

Night

Hoenn

Mountain Lodge

White stared at the empty monitor of her Xtransciever and closed her eyes. She thought Team Plasma had gone for good and now, without warning they pop out from underground. Apprehension gnawed on her mind, she knew Black and N would be going and keeping this in mind, she volunteered. For some reason, her cognizance foretold a bad premonition and her solosis' inexplicable sickness only served to cement her suspicions. The cinnamon haired teenager let her shock of hair down and combed the silky strands with her fingers. She got up, drew the heavy curtain and turned off the lights. Her room bathed in the viridescent glow of the cell pokemon. Gently she scooped up the creature, wincing slightly at the high temperature it exuded. Pooling a few sheets and fluffy blankets on her otherwise immaculate bed, she placed Solly in the comfortable nest and snuggled down with it. Tomorrow, she decided, she would pack and leave for Unova.

Her home.

* * *

 **A/N:** For all those who missed Hugh, here you go, like you expected, the poor dude has been searching for his friends. Much thanks to sileaf for following this story, I hope it continues to be a pleasant read. At Silver: Exactly my point! I mean if you think about it, metamorphosis could be counted as evolution on a much smaller scale but hybrid animals can't reproduce due to their bizarre chromosomes. They say it takes millions of years and change occurs on a minute scale…pfft. Anyway, it's easier to identify famous people based on their pokemon, like Green or Red, and yes, if they have pokemon from a different region, it'd be trickier. At HeyYouYaYou: Lol, I do keep on going for a few more chapters, I was a bit apprehensive that the readers would fall asleep and hopefully the next explanations will still make sense. If you have queries, feel free to ask :) At AceTrainerLeaf: Ahahaha, I have a habit of deconstructing things I watch and read and finding explanations for them. Green stealing the mega stones? Doesn't happen until the 57th chapter (Yes! Revel in the anticipation! :D ) Please look forward to it. At Doyouneedacuddle: Red, child or a man…hmm how about a man-child? (crude joke, I'm sorry). Personally, I think he is a bit like that, in the manga, when he was younger, Green (even though they are rivals) always had to look after him. And Red doesn't harbour grudges or dwell on his feelings like his intellectual counterpart. If he is depressed, he'll sink and then after a five minute pep-talk, he's bouncing back and ready to do some justice. I just see him like that. He will go through character development, of course, but at the moment, I see him like this. In the previous arc, they had a huge fight and Green went through a spell of negative character development. You are right, I'm terrible at proof-reading and Mindy won't read my things to save her life. I'll spend more time on the chapters like you suggested. Thanks for the constructive criticism, I'll be sure to review my chapters more intently from now on. At Jack: Hehehe, what makes you think he's letting Steven know of his dubious plans? Steven is an ex-officer and it's absurd to think that Green is going to confide his plans to him. Creating those stones aren't easy though. At Guest: Green is cautious enough not to do anything weird in front of Steven no? And being who he is, he will probably carry out his misdeeds at the safest possible time. Thanks for reviewing btw.

Okay, I'm going to release chapters a bit slower so that the readers can have time to read and review :P Thanks for the continued support, it means a lot to me and is a huge motivating factor. Please keep on reading, reviewing and providing constructive criticism. Virtual chocolate cake and cookies for all.


	52. Burning a legacy

**Chapter 52: Burning a legacy**

Night

Unova

Pokemon League

The sky formed a black star spangled canopy above their heads. They stood agape, impotent and unable to believe the happenings before their eyes. Five individuals perched themselves on the great dome of the central stadium, their pokemon, released from their pokeballs, stood poised and ready for any command their trainers might give. Unfortunately, silence. Not a word was uttered by the five people as they gaped at the heavens. Only the crackling sound of fire roared in their ears and muted heat licked their skin. The horizon blazed in a colourful display of burnt orange, ebony and bursts of white artificial light.

Iris stared, firelight dancing in her limpid maroon eyes. Next to her, haxorus toyed with its focus sash, crimson claws winding around the piece of pink silk. As if the attack by Team Plasma two days ago wasn't bad enough, she now had to contend with the Plasma frigate sailing in the night sky and raining down fire. The flames formed a ring around the plateau and threatened to engulf the buildings in a roaring inferno. Reinforcements? She had a vague idea of a certain organization, Dex criminals, wiping out a faction of Team Plasma. The champion blinked furiously and tried to spy the flag fluttering atop the mast. Iris wondered who the new threats were. Unova's old nemesis Team Plasma or the new international organization that remains as elusive as the inner workings of the Pokemon association? She snorted and fanned herself, if being champion meant restriction, then she would elope and stay with Drayden any day.

A lackey handed her a pair of binoculars. Wiping the lens free of dust and falling soot, she turned the night vision function on and peered into it. Ghostly green apparitions greeted her and she panned the equipment to get a better look. On the deck of the ship, she could make out the outlines of several pokemon and people milling about. The personnel rushed around whilst the creatures remained motionless. Iris came to a stop at an individual who stayed deadly still. From this distance, she couldn't tell if the person was a male or a female and a pair of binoculars obscured their visage. Zooming in further, she resolved to identify the criminal when the person got up. A cap like thing floated downwards and then, the somebody vanished.

A cap...A peak cap. She only remembered of one person who wore such an article of clothing. An ebony haired adolescent several years back, also crowned as one of the youngest champions in the history of Pokemon Champions.

But...No...She slapped herself; the idea of him doing something so heinous was unthinkable. Besides, she had been informed that he busied himself with roaming Mount Silver in Johto.

* * *

Two days earlier, morning

Unova

Undella Bay

A cold fog rolled in from the waves of the endless sea and suffused the port town with a chill. Back in Execution's fancy base, everyone woke up and argued over their chores and jobs. Dia absentmindedly pulled himself into the kitchen before remembering that he was off duty today. He checked the list taped on to the counter one more time and ambled off to the common room. The two people in charge of buying breakfast today had already left, bundled up in coats and parkas to ward of the biting cold. Undella Town woke up to the cries of wingulls and swanna as the sea birds perched and swooped along shop fronts. At the harbour, fishermen yelled and sorted their nets, the foghorn of a fishing vessel sounded and the burly sailors, arms decorated with tattoos, loaded up faster and shouted. They promised a good catch. On the stone pier, cafes and shops opened up and the smell of coffee, croissants and warm bread intermingled with the salty tangs of the sea and fish. The pier connected to the seaside town and on either side of it, the beach lay sprawled, all golden sand and pokemon exoskeleton. Very few people visited the beach at this time of the day; nonetheless, one could see a person or two jogging along with their pokemon pets for an early morning exercise.

A bell twinkled and two people walked out of a cafe, their arms laden with brown paper bags and a delicious aroma of freshly baked bread wafted from them.

"Is this enough?" Saph looked into her bag and sniffed, "I'm so hungry...I could gobble up everything...And why does Dia need to eat so much?" Clothed in a trench coat, the girl hugged the parcel tighter and sighed.

"Did we get the donuts?" She nodded, "then...I guess this is enough." Saph pointed that every time they bought breakfast, they always ran short of food. "Dia is still growing; you can't expect him to starve can you? Come on Sapphire, the rest are starving we have to get back." Red adjusted his woollen muffler around his neck and hitched up the bags. "Yeah, I know he eats a lot bu-"

"Stop making excuses for him!" The azure eyed teenager bristled but stopped when her leader motioned her to be quiet with a sharp jerk of his head. Red froze with the paper bag cradled to his chest and stared straight ahead. He and Sapphire occasionally came to this shop to buy breakfast. The Seaside Cafe offered good food and coffee at reasonable prices and the staffs were all friendly and gave them discounts. It was a popular cafe due to its location, right in front of the beach; beach goers only needed to climb a set of stone steps to reach it, the paved front courtyard offered shade and a place to rest whilst the interior boasted comfortable settees. The Kanto native zeroed in on a group clustered on the beach. Two uniformed officials with a young man and woman, he recognized the plastic, almost artificial visages of the twin train conductors; they broke away, tipped their hats and walked off. Red kept on scrutinizing and felt suspicion churn in his stomach. What where those two doing together on the beach? A sensible part of his mind rationalized that they were here for police work. Team Plasma's former pirate ship bobbed a few paces from their noses anyway. Unfortunately, Kanto's ex-champion wasn't much of a thinker. He could only see the fact that Misty and Marlon were on the beach, standing close enough to hold hands. And no, he did not imagine the wide smile splitting the ginger head's face.

"Saph, gimme your bandanna" the girl eyed him in a puzzled manner, "there are two police officers on the beach wearing casual wear, I'm pretty sure they are here for the frigate. I need to conduct a reconnaissance." He kept on staring, biting his lower lip and wondering why he felt so irritated. Thrusting the bag rather crudely in his subordinate's arms, he took the proffered bandanna and wound it around his head, making sure to tuck his raven locks underneath the material. Pulling the scarf over the upper part of his face, he zipped up the parka and zoomed off faster than Saph ever saw him moving. Her commander was no slouch in the athletics department but she had yet to see him move this fast. Shrugging and regretting the lack of headgear, she watched him for a while then turned her heel and marched back to base. Police officers, hopefully they won't subject Undella Town to a rigorous search.

Thankfully, before any of the water type gym leaders got a hint of his existence, a swell of surfer dudes and swimmer girls descended on the beach. Red could hear Green internally reproving him for approaching them without a plan. Misty looked back once, gave the others a once over and continued her hushed conversation with Marlon whilst Execution's tormented commander tried to eavesdrop on their conversation. To them, he appeared as a normal early morning walker.

"So...The frigate is anchored by a chain to the water and surrounded by an easily breakable psychic barrier. I bet it's them, sounds like their modus operendi. All of their buildings have an unbreakable boundary around them, perhaps they weren't cautious with this one...Or they have no use for the ship." Misty swept back her hair and fixed her cerulean gaze at the flag bearing two crossed swords. Yesterday, Surge sent her to Unova citing that she needed a paid vacation. Bewildered, she touched down in Castelia city and straight away, the twin conductors shipped her off to headquarters. There, another brown haired superintendent briefed her on her mission, Misty remained blank faced, internally lamenting her lost holiday. Eventually, the next morning, she arrived on the beach and Marlon, tanned and bursting with energy, greeted her and showed her around Undella Town and Bay. When the conductors arrived, the motely band went down to the beach and ogled the frigate. "I've been informed that the craft is deserted, I'd like to confirm the fact...However the higher ups prohibited me to. I mean...It's only that one time they..." She kept on mumbling to herself as her face grew darker.

"Cool down!" The Unovian waved a hand in front of her face; Misty ceased her morbid mutterings, blushed and looked away. "Rookies make mistakes don't they? And those guys are dangerous, you are lucky to come out with only having your pokemon stolen...reports of the recent bust the police tried to spring on them ended up with heavy casualties. People died Misty. The superintendents are now utilizing the four swords of justice to flush them out."

A strange emotion passed over her face and before the blue haired male could decipher the meaning, she spoke up: "I have another order I must carry out. Volkner and Blaine will be arriving in the evening, our duty is to remove the ship from Unova and deposit it into Ransei's sea space. Neutral ground apparently" she added when Marlon gave her an enquiring look, "they are to dismantle the ship and figure out its inner workings and each region has a right to participate if they are willing to. Since Humilau and Undella are under your jurisdiction, I came here to get your permission." The surfer folded his hands behind his head and stared up at the sky.

"Sure!" he chirped after a while and scratched his head, "I don't really like the watercraft just sitting there, bad for the tourism industry you know. Go ahead and tow it wherever you want."

"Thank you very much; I'll need a written confirmation later if you don't mind." Misty beamed and nearby, Red, who crouched down on the sand looking like the world's loneliest hobo, twitched in annoyance. Huffing, he got up and resolved to return to their base when a pokeball at his belt wriggled. Peeking down, his eyes widened in alarm when he spied Gyara puffing steam, in the next capsule, Pika sat as docile as a timed bomb. Its owner could feel the rage evaporating from its tiny rodent body. Gently tapping the ball frantically and in an effort to calm down the enraged serpent, he broke into a run and zipped past the duo. Just then, another flash of light near Misty revealed his krabby, the crustacean clicked scarlet pincers and started careering awkwardly after him.

"Krabby get back here you useless thing!" Misty hollered and Red flinched. Useless? Couldn't she train the crab pokemon or something? Clamping a hand firmly down on his shaking pokeball, the ebony haired male dug his other hand into his jeans pocket and fished out a few berries and half eaten poffins. He tossed them over his shoulder and heaved a sigh of relief when krabby stopped to pick them up. Pulling the bandanna lower, he slinked away before Misty could arrive. The ginger headed female materialized seconds later, panting and scolding the crab who blissfully shoved berries in its mouth. She gazed around; searching for the person who gave krabby some poffins, unfortunately the area around her was empty.

Gyara stopped wriggling and when Red let the atrocious pokemon out near the lavishly decorated indoor pool situated in their base, it first blasted a water gun in its owners face before gleefully soaking the human again when it splashed into the body of water. Dripping wet, the Kanto native dragged himself down the stairs and waved his subordinates' queries away, stumbling to his bedroom, he let Pika loose on his table. The electric mouse sat on the desk furiously squeaking up a storm whilst he merely listened. You are horrible! Pikachu screeched and Red nodded in mild understanding, done with unloading its anger, the rodent hopped into the attached bathroom and pulled down a towel. It threw the fluffy cotton sheet at its master who gratefully buried his face in it.

"Pika...we may have a problem." Red's muffled words prompted the mouse to perk its ears, "fetch Gold for me will you. I can't let the police take the ship, I still don't understand the blueprints and the water craft is a huge asset to us. It makes an impregnable mobile base...Green said so. More importantly...Why on earth is _she_ here?" Pika gave him a bored look, "I know it's for police work, but don't you do that in conference rooms? Those two seemed like they were on a date! I mean she wore a cute sundress for Mew's sake...Ah...She looked nice too..." Execution's leader trailed off, irises darkening and his mien morphing into an apathetic mask.

Pika whacked him across his face with a tail.

"Ouch...Thanks for not electrocuting me." He bent down and patted the electric beast's head. "Get Gold for me but don't let Dia or anyone else tag along, I want to speak to him alone."

Evening of the same day

Unova

Execution's base, Red's bedroom

"You want to what?! Are you serious? Green is not here to draw up strategies an-" Gold gesticulated wildly and sputtered.

"Are you implying that I'm incompetent?" Red hissed and his former student took a step back.

"...You sound like a gal dumped you...You okay senior?" The amber eyed man laced his hands behind his head, smirked and plopped unprofessionally on Red's marginally made up bed. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, the older man sighed, if there was a person who could wear anyone's patience thin, it had to be the perverted adult grinning smugly before him. "Don't worry, let's hit the game corner together, I'll hook you up with whoever you like."

"Gold. Focus."

"You should be the one focusing senior," The Johto native sat straight up and pinned his mentor with a serious gaze, "forget about her, Misty is a member of the police and if you don't put a stop to your growing feelings, you will end up making mistakes. When Saph came back alone this morning, she told me you ran off after seeing two police officers converse on the beach. Wait, let me finish." Red closed his mouth and let Gold continue, "You can argue that you managed to salvage some important information, but we both know the main reason why you took off. You wanted to see her and you can deny the fact to me but you can't lie to yourself. I've never...Seen you so despondent. Heck, when I defeated you for the title of champion, you looked so proud and happy. You were full of life." Red didn't say anything, he couldn't. Trust Gold to dredge up everything and lay it bare before his eyes. The younger man was right of course and that is why his words stung deep.

"I understand, I'll try to do my best from now on. However, I still want to go ahead with the idea. Your feedback and make it quick...I'm starving."

"Hmm...Lack-2 can..."

Outside the room, Lack-2 pressed his ear closer to the ornate wooded door and cursed under his breath. Was Red's room soundproof or what? The brunette couldn't hear a lick of what went on behind closed doors. A few hours earlier, his leader's perpetually angry electric rodent scampered into the common room and pulled on Gold's clothing. The black haired man put his magazine down and got up to follow the creature and when Lack-2 also scrambled up, a jolt of lightning drew a black line near his feet. His teacher told him to stay put and after pacing for five minutes and wondering if they discussed anything important or illegal, the boy crept to the second floor and crouched near the door. He heard laughter, a few jibes, Gold's muted perverted jokes and Red admonishing the former for being immoral incarnate. The amber eyed trainer howled with laughter. Then suddenly everything grew quiet and distorted, he couldn't understand what they talked about or even the topics the two older males discoursed. The Unovian's body ached from slouching in one position for so long; his form grew stiff with tension as there was the constant fear of exposure. If Dia ambled up the stairs, the chubby boy had every right to ask him on his suspicious actions. Even worse, if Gold or Red abruptly opened the door, they might find a semi-comatose Lack-2 moaning on the floor in front of them.

"Lack-2 can man the ship, when we stole it from those Plasma dudes, he steered it across the sky and landed it in Undella bay. Kid is precious and has some frightening skills." Red nodded and gestured Gold to carry on, "Using the frigate to arrive at the Pokemon league has its merits, most probably, due to Team Plasma suddenly popping up from underground, there will be a lot of new security measures in place...So yeah, awesome strategy, the ship can survive a mini missile thrown at it. As for your other project...Sir, I really think you shouldn't. It's very ambitious, risky and the outcome may not be what you expect. A legacy..." Gold stopped speaking when he felt something furry wrap around his leg, the previous fog of doubt and anguish clouding his mind melted away and his emotions settled into a haze of confidence and self-assurance. He angled his head downwards to see an espeon rubbing fondly against him and winding its forked tail around his leg. "...Please stop doing that!" He jerked and voiced aggressively, his words aimed at the crimson eyed trainer sitting behind a table "and you swapped your snorlax for Vee didn't you? You really are serious in your plan."

"Are you worried about me Gold?" Red chuckled.

"Well yeah! Somewhere along the line our roles reversed, if I didn't take care of you, you would be stepping into police custody every second month! Seriously, gimme a break will ya? And I'm not even included in the merry gang heading to trash Team Plasma! When last did we work together huh?"

Red smiled, "I've ticked you off-"

"Damn right!" Gold crossed his arms over his chest and exhaled in a wrathful manner. Vee contemplated on jumping on his lap and a few seconds later, it rubbed its head cheerfully against Gold's cheek.

"Thanks for taking care of me." The ex-champion warmly dipped his head and the angry scowl on his subordinate's face melted off. "I hope you won't share the contents of our discussion."

Gold stood up and yawned, "I'll bring dinner up for you, Diamond's special treat. Black is done with the cards...By the way, when are you leaving?"

"Midnight."

The moment Gold tried to descend to the first floor; Lack-2 bowled him over. The Johto native hissed in annoyance as the child kept up a clamorous ramble with him, the breeder was in no mood to talk, joke or do anything and his commander's words replayed in his mind akin to a broken record. Gold swallowed thickly and tried to push the ball of pessimistic feelings down. Everything would go okay; he chanted in his head and nodded to himself. The man walked right past the kitchen and only Dia's indolent voice roused him from his morbid contemplations.

"So what were you and senior Red talking about?" Lack-2 queried with a too innocent grin on his lips.

"Lack-2..." the mentor sighed, "I'm not allowed to say anything okay? Spare me. And suit up; you are leaving for the Pokemon league at midnight. Higher up's orders." Leaving the Unovian in the kitchen, the older trainer grabbed a large ceramic plate set with several delicious looking portions of food and dragged himself out of the chamber.

* * *

Golruk proved to be a daunting opponent and when boufallant tore part of the cyan stone golem's arm off, it simply regenerated. Again, Hugh felt the energy drain from his limbs as lilac fire burned bright in the gloomy room's brackets, he pressed his eyes shut, massaged his temples and tunnelled his vision to the battle taking place before him. Shauntal whispered her commands and the ancient creature pistoned a pillar-esque arm straight into his bovine beast. The bash buffalo staggered to one side, pawed the ground and the diamond hard hoof sent up a few sparks; charging, it threw its bulk into the ghost type and sent the heavy beast soaring through the air. Hugh gritted his teeth when the automaton twisted and back flipped in mid-air. In a series of moves which should be physically impossible for the golem, it touched down on the wooden platform and sent a shudder creaking across the ground. Arms outstretched, it waited for the next command and leered as boufallant stored pent up rage. Meanwhile, Shauntal picked up her Xtransciever and talked rapidly in it, there seemed to be some sort of commotion happening outside.

"This match is over," she declared and promptly reigned her partner in a pokeball. Mistrust spread across Hugh's tempered visage as he tried to speak without exploding. How could the match be over and who was determined as the victor? "I understand that you are confused...But," the woman seemed distressed, "certain events have come up and the Elite four have been commanded to sortie." His mind reeled, a war? So why weren't everyone screaming and flailing and shouting their heads off? The buildings were pretty intact, he pointed out and the ghost expert nodded. "It's a bit more complicated than what you think. First of all, we need your help." Hugh crossed his arms and snarled, "Team Plasma is back, they have cordoned the league with tall buildings, it appears that they had an edifice hiding underground and waited for the right moment to strike. They demand that we stop the competition and release all the pokemon or there will be dire consequences." Slowly, the mauve haired teenager uncrossed his arms and let out a vexed sigh, "You seem to have grasped the magnitude of our predicament..." Shauntal flipped her book shut and stared him in the eye, "so now we need your help. All able trainers participating in the league are being ushered to aid us. The numbers of our enemy is simply too great."

Outside, Hugh felt his blood throb; he sat on flygon's back and viewed the huddle of ivory buildings towering menacingly over the league stadium. The cool air rushing through his spiky locks did nothing to dampen the sheer fear he felt. Team Plasma, weren't those goons taken care of? And why didn't the police follow up on their investigations. Police, he snorted. Useless as an untransformed ditto against the might of Arceus. An elderly man made demands, his aged, haughty voice amplified by a megaphone, Hugh pinpointed him and briefly contemplated on sending Boar down and wreaking havoc. However, a tiny mike and earpiece wound around his head reminded him that he worked, temporarily, for the Pokemon Association. A voice, layered with static, commanded him to retreat and reluctantly he descended. Without warning, a torrent of water, hit his sand dragon and the spiky haired male cursed loudly, ripping the ear piece out, he whirled on to the offender and uttered a terse order. Thin blades of rock broke away from the ground and flew upwards; it cannoned into a balcony and broke part of the gothic architecture off. A satisfied smile wound on Hugh's lips when he spied a dozen or so grunts falling to the ground from a great height. Suddenly, another thought struck him and he fished out a potion from his waist-pack. Carefully spraying flygon down with the cocktail of healing chemicals, he gently gave it another command. In his fist, he clenched a translucent bottle of elixir, the vicious golden liquid lapped sluggishly in the bottle. His dragon hovered in the air, its face a mask of concentration, for a while, nothing happened and Hugh eventually tore the wires on his person and let it drop. His instructor on the other end, screeched unceasingly.

Crack

A large fissure opened up between the league stadium and Team Plasma's headquarters. The earth roared as the chasm continued till a visible cleft appeared. Earthquake. In a matter of moments, the trainer calmly observed as the solid ground rippled akin to sea waves. He could see the earth, compressing tightly and then releasing Mother Nature's fury in a disastrous roll. The ground shuddered, the constructions quaked and rifts snaked up the sides of buildings. The smaller marts and pokemon healing centres of the league were reduced to rubble, bright red and blue roofs caving in and exposing the dilapidated interiors. One minute later, a person next to him barked and Hugh beheld Grimsley breathing down his neck. The individual did not look pleased in the slightest. Flygon's stimulated earthquake died down and popping open the seal to the elixir, the crimson eyed teenager tipped the contents down his partner's throat. At once, the dragon regained its vigour; Hugh felt its muscles coiling underneath leathery skin.

"You disobeyed direct orders. I'm disappointed."

"At least," Hugh rasped, "I made them get off their high horse" he pointed, "look, seems like Team Plasma's glorious castle...wasn't so glorious after all." One by one, the complex crumbled down, raining white alabaster and plaster. The wriggling mass of people vacated in an orderly manner.

"Yes...However, you failed to see the bigger picture. They will attack the league with renewed vengeance, any hope of negotiations are now grinded to dust. Get back inside and wait at your new post. If anyone comes barging in..." The gambler took note of the vicious spark in the teenager's eyes, "...If any opposition comes barging in," repeated, "take care of them. Understood?" Hugh nodded and took off, Grimsley silently swore as the end of flygon's tail nicked him across his neck.

Midnight

Unova

Undella Bay, near the frigate

In the dead of the night, a small group of people congregated around the hull of an impressive ship and argued. The trainers bobbed on their surfing pokemon and threw insults at each other, the only light came from a pikachu's flash and the rodent sat on its owner's shoulder and regarded the quarrelling youngsters with an unfathomable gaze. If those idiots started disagreeing, it could go on all night. Angling its head around, the mouse picked up the silent forms of two newcomers; both White and Whi-2 flopped exhaustedly on their pokemon. The duo arrived together a few hours ago and the rodent knew it was not easy to gather up and go for a mission just after a lengthy journey. A swell of spitting tones reached its ears and Pika flattened his sensitive appendages down and tried to ignore them. The source of the conflict sparked between Black and Lack-2, surprisingly when N joined in, it formed into a full out debate. Scampering down Red's shoulder, Pika lifted its master's shirt and thrust a paw into his pocket. It closed tiny claws around a poffin and pulled it out, sniffing to confirm its state of freshness (very fresh actually) the electric beast nibbled on it and gave the squabbling group time till he finished his dinner. If they still wrangled, they'd have him to thank for electric burns.

"All of you...SHUT IT!" Red bellowed. Pika dropped its poffin and watched the pastry bob in the water before going under. "Gold...Be quiet!" The last of the spitting voice died down and a silent lull descended on them, the ex-champion took a deep breath before speaking, "Lack-2, Black...Both of you are a valuable part of my team and it sickens me to see you arguing when we are about to depart for a critical mission. Behave yourselves...As for the rest, thanks for the support…now go back." Diamond, Sapphire and Gold nudged their water types and started to break away, "Gold...take care of them in my absence." The Johto native sent him a thumbs up and Red waited till darkness swallowed up their forms. "Right, Vee will take down the barrier and when we board the ship, I want total co-operation...Understood Lack-2?" The boy shivered, despite Red's words being neutral and kind, it carried a razor-edged threat to it. Silently, the boys got to work, when the barrier shattered in a display of multi-coloured light. The three rose and took off to the helm. Execution's commander summoned charizard, the orange dragon growled at having three trainers ride it. Shooting an arc of fire, it jerkily rose and Whi-2, sandwiched between the older Unovian and Red, squeaked in fright. Wings flapping steadily; it deposited them on the deck of the ship and then moodily ambled away.

Lack-2 clutched the manual stubbornly in his arms and vehemently refused after Black repeatedly pleaded for the book. "No, I can man the ship." The boy snobbishly stated. Black sighed in defeat, took off his cap and ran a hand through messy chocolate bangs and released a pokemon. The boy stared, indignation boiling in his chest as Musha chirped and happily clamped down on a smug Black's head. In an instant, all emotions melted from the teenager's face and Lack-2 peered closely in his senior's pupils. To his amazement, he saw the eye cover up in tiny hexagonals and Black started chanting facts and figures in a robotic manner. Forgetting his earlier vexation, the russet eyed youth leaned even closer, trying to figure out the intricacies of his senior's trump card. The older trainer could pull off miracles when he conditioned himself to this state.

"Black...Doesn't swing that way you know..." a cool voice broke Lack-2's concentration and he reeled backwards, "I'll tell him though. You don't have to be shy of your feelings. Let me see, if you want to buy him something, get him a technical machine. I'm sure he'll agree to go on a date with you." N smiled serenely and nodded knowingly. Being the one most familiar with the ship, the leaf haired youth kick-started the basic functions of the ship. A giant monitor filled up with camera feeds, the bridge compartment lighted up and all the machines whirred and beeped simultaneously. Grabbing Black, the pale faced man guided him to the helm. The wheel had an additional digital assistance and Black got down to work, slender fingers flying delicately and surely over a keyboard as he punched in co-ordinates and took his place at the wheel. He still crunched out things and to an observer, gave off the impression of a computer churning out meaningless statistics.

"I-I don't..." Lack-2 garbled, wondering how on earth the former Plasma scum managed to draw such a bizarre conclusion, he finally settled for saying yuck. "Yuck! Why on earth would I...Eww, no just no. I simply respect Black as a senior and I don't have any...Uh...Special feelings for him."

"Don't be shy!" N trilled and the brown haired child blinked. There were two N's standing before him and when one called out to the other, zorua poofed back into a fox pokemon and threw Lack-2 a knowing sneer before running after its master.

"Yuck." The child repeated again and regretted ever going into his senior's personal space.

Red walked in moments later, his sneakers squeaking on the immaculate floor and took in the scene; he smiled to himself to see his three subordinates working diligently. N sat near the computers and kept a keen eye on the radar and maps in case they went off course. The dim glow of electric blue and green reflected off his poised visage. Black, who had his mouth taped shut, expertly handled the wheel, every few seconds; he would gently swing the wheel and angle the ship on course. As per their leader's instructions, they flew over cloud cover and the level headed teenager did an excellent job. Finally, blood red irises fixed itself on Lack-2. The boy had his face glued to windows and peered in a set of digital binoculars. Red wondered what the teenager wanted to see in the dead of the night, as far as he could tell, everything was dark and forebodingly black. Hearing footsteps, the hazel haired child grinned mischievously and stalked to his leader.

"Where's Whi-2 and senior White?" he queried.

"I took them to the living quarters. They are very tired." Red answered and saw the boy's face fall. "Is something wrong?"

"I want to play with someone..." Lack-2 responded and added in an undertone, "and I miss Gold. Say senior Red?" The older male halted in his tracks, "May I ask for a battle?"

"You are being disgustingly polite." The fighter blandly stated, "and it screams suspicious to me. Sure, I have a map of this ship and since battling here is out of the equation," he pointed to his belt, "select one or two partners and I'll have them follow you."

"Wait...You aren't participating?" The boy pouted and slid his shoes along the floor in a childish manner. "It won't be any fun if you aren't there." Red noticed a mutinous look in the younger boy's eyes, he supressed a sigh and the urge to call Gold to babysit.

"Fine...My team handles themselves rather well so I'll still let them battle on their own. The choice is yours, I'll be on site, working; and if I see them not meeting your standards, I'll personally take the field. Does that sound alright?" The boy nodded vigorously and Red pulled out the map of the ship, brows furrowed, he scrutinized the elaborate drawing and tried to find a spot good enough for a show down. Although, the words and made no sense. What on earth was an orlop? And why was the quarter deck situated indoors? Isn't the deck the surface of the ship? Gallery? What gallery? Do they display pictures? Execution's commander glanced at Lack-2 and saw the boy staring monotonously ahead with arms folded behind his head. He yawned exaggeratedly.

"The quarter deck is usually reserved for honour rituals and functions. The area is spacious and you can use it for a ceremonial battle. Let's head there commander. Geez, I can't believe you don't know the compartments of a ship, didn't you study up?" The superior ignored him and lead the way, the Plasma frigate resolved to be a cold, surgical space with sterile walls, bright fluorescent lights and most importantly, the presence of steel. It felt like walking through a corridor of metal. Locating a brightly pulsing indent on the floor, Red and Lack-2 stepped into the warp panel and found themselves deposited before a fancily decorated area. Here, the hum of machines ceased and stretched out before them, a large space loomed up. The wooden flooring of the hall was cordoned off with ornamental rope coloured in cyan blue and black. Stuffing the map back into a jeans pocket, the duo stepped over the threshold and stared. Drapes hung from the ceiling and Lack-2, curiosity getting the better of him, went to the far end of the hall to look. A picture of N, the tea haired youth wore royal robes and had a golden crown on his head, pierced the onlooker with a sombre, slate gaze. Shuffling around, Red skimmed past six sages in tall hats, each one's facial expressions turning more bumptious than the last. Their faces sneered at him from a great height and at once, the black haired man felt better about destroying this place. Hopefully when they fought, some pokemon or the other would have the good grace to tear these eye-watering banners into shreds.

He spied a raised dais at the corner and made his way there, unloading his bag on the platform, he observed Lack-2 circling the quarterdeck and absorbing everything with a keen eye. The boy even ran his fingers down the fabric and sniffed it.

"Are you still up for a battle?" Quick as quicksilver, Lack-2's expression changed and he bounded gleefully and took his stance. After much insistence, he reluctantly voiced the two pokemon he wanted to battle.

"Your espeon and poliwrath please."

"Aww! Not Pika?" Red grinned.

"Oh heck no!" The Unovian shivered, "That and your venusaur...I'd rather go against Kyurem than them." Another light-hearted laugh left the man's lips and he let the two out. As expected, Red tipped his cap in acknowledgement and the two beasts took their positions. The russet eyed youth let out an inaudible hiss. He wanted the ex-champion to fight, not for the older man to sweat his puny brain on trying to figure out the layout of the ship. Exhaling deeply, the boy opted for focusing on the battle instead. If he defeated these two quickly enough, he'd snag the crimson eyed leader's attention. Letting out his trusty samurott and stoutland, he barked out a series of rapid fire commands and smugly beheld his team mates charge. His opponents won't be able to keep up without their trainer commanding them. To his shock, the duo bounced off an invisible screen spanning the length of the field. Light screen. Lack-2 cussed under his breath, the espeon's eyes were glowing, no wonder, at this rate the psychic would predict all of his attacks.

BAM!

Poliwrath leapt over and dove for stoutland, the canine tried shifting to the side, alas, the water type descended too swiftly and landed on it with a back breaking crunch. The big hearted pokemon uttered a low growl and Poli leapt back and continued assaulting with a series of well-aimed clouts. It punched away a torrent of water heading its way and kicked out at stoutland, the dog flew through the air; a banner wrapped it up and crash landed on a wall. Whining, it feebly slid down and its owner recalled it. The Unovian forced himself to calm down and peeked at Red, who seemed absorbed in his own world. Marvellous, he thought, his superior's pokemon fought flawlessly. The duo regrouped behind the light screen and Lack-2 nodded at his samurott.

"Take the barrier down." the disciplined pokemon impacted against the invisible wall with its long cream horn, a fine crack appeared and the transparent barrier splintered into wafer thin fragments of light. Still Red did not raise his head. Articulating a formidable cry, the quadruple stampeded forth with it's ice-cloaked horn low to the ground. In the coming events, Lack-2 would remember two things: Firstly, the blend of shock and horror twisting on his pokemon's visage as its senses overloaded with pain. Secondly, his water type beast abruptly collapsed, the legs buckled as it ran and in a flash, the sea lion was frozen. Poli shook its hands and both he and Vee padded back to their trainer whilst Lack-2, mouth hanging open in incredulity, patted his pockets for a freeze heal. His samurott looked like a work of grotesque art with its legs contorted, eyes wide open and tongue hanging out. The regal beast seemed disgustingly comical and as the teenager sprayed him down, he laughed, the short snorts did not impart humour at all.

 _Red's pokemon battle just like him._ The Unovian beheld the ex-champion peering intently at a sheet, Vee purred on his lap and Poli had his hands full with snacks. _But at least I have a feel of how it goes. Brute strength and order...Hmpf, what a simple minded idiot._ A crooked half-grin forced itself on the teen's lips and he swallowed the devious expression before approaching his leader.

* * *

"FIRE!"

Black gaped as the league went up in a swirl of flames. Team Execution's leader decreed that they should rest during the day and resume their journey when the sun began to set. The watercraft lowered on a tiny body of water secluded in the mountains making up the plateau. As the orange disc descended downwards, the frigate rose and travelled across the sky. Red asked for all their fire pokemon and even though Black was confused (what did he want with them?) he complied with their orders. When night took over evening, they hovered right above the green dome of the main stadium and here the ex-champion called the entire group out to the main deck. The members took note of how the fire types lined up along the edge of the ship, with rigid, distressed faces. Over to one side, N grimaced at the remains of Team Plasma's castle and resolved to investigate it later. Black sighed happily and lovingly soaked in the sights of his beloved league. He couldn't hear any cheerful screams and knew that the competition was obviously postponed. Brown irises picked out five individuals standing on the great dome. Champion Iris and the elite four. Jubilant, he leaned forward, pulling out his camera and angling it downwards in order to take a picture. A low drone from his commander and everything engulfed in a sea of flames. The older Unovian stared at his leader unable to wrap his head around such an iniquitous manoeuvre. All the fire monsters pressed on the railing and spewed out volumes of fire. The flames cackled malevolently and rained down on the unsuspecting buildings and earth below.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Black screeched but his words drowned in the din of rushing flames, his hands balled into fists as Red ignored him, took of his cap and threw it over board. The ship lowered, controlled expertly by espeon and the teenager's skin blistered with heat as he observed all the other members goggling at execution's leader. Only N remained calm and stone faced. Summoning Aero, the black haired man flew off into the auburn tinted night. Aboard, the others glanced helplessly at each other, Black saw lips moving, questions flying and he felt hollow. Where they here to fight Team Plasma or what? He struggled to remember his mission protocol, unfortunately his memories echoed from the pit of a giant chasm. In the periphery of his vision, N moved and desperately, Black lunged at him in order to question his motives.

Maroon eyes blinked and watered, Iris irritably wiped her eyes and scrutinized the figure approaching her on a dragon. She took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself, the elite four members patrolled the dome and she designated a spot to herself and ordered the others to keep out. As expected, the opposition aimed for her. With a muffled thump, the individual landed on the ground and she gasped in astonishment.

"Red?" she queried, her guard down due to the sight of a familiar person. "I can't believe it! Are you here to help us? As you can see, we are in a bit of a predicament." Iris trailed off as her young mind whirred and digested the image of the man standing in front of her.

"Nope!" he smiled cheerfully and pushed his bangs up, she noted the sardonic sparkle pervading his crimson irises and immediately regretted her request.

"I'm here to burn down the Unova league." he hoarsely stated.

* * *

 **A/N:** And Red and his merry gang goes to trash Team Plasma…or not. At Silver: You're right, Hugh will probably be a wonderful apprentice to Red, but does that happen? Red out strategizing Blue and Green…Heh, you have a solid point and it just gave me an awesome idea :) . At Doyouneedacuddle: I don't have a beta and frankly, I don't want to rely on one because if I do so, this sloppy reading of mine will end up staying with me my entire life. I read extremely fast (skimming if you will) and trust me when I say that I won't notice glaring mistakes unless Word, or Mindy points it out. So I'm trying to force myself to be a better reader. Thanks for your constructive criticism, I look forward to more pointers so that I can better this story. I don't have set days, when my most recent document counter hits 85 days, I upload a new chapter. At Guest: Whoa! There are some good theories you have there. You are right about some things, (Congrats!) this is a fatal battle but not every one of them will be parted. As for Lack-2 hehehehe, I'll stop right there. At eevee: You are the only person in a whole month who told me that I'm talented and awesome and it made me feel better about my existence, good to see you too and you review was a pleasant surprise. You take care as well :) At AceTrainerLeaf: Ahahaha, the games make the league so easy and drab that I started wondering how to spice things up; and it turned out this way. Glad you liked it. At Jack54311: Steven… I really didn't think much when putting him there, he acts as a side character. In the next chapter, a piece of the story is told through his perspective and I thought it'd be an interesting read. At Dia: Ahahaha, it's not that I don't have a schedule, my wifi broke down and it took the service providers a week to fix it. Thanks for the chocolates *gobbles them up greedily* and here is an update :) hopefully it makes up for the hiatus.

Much thanks to all those who read and reviewed; virtual pizza to you. Please keep on reading and reviewing; and constructive criticism is always appreciated. And I apologize for the delay, my internet wasn't working for the past several days. Thanks for waiting.


	53. Bonds beyond time

**Chapter 53: Bonds beyond time**

Early morning

Kalos

Lumiose City, Sycamore's Laboratory

They were back in the training hall again; Green squinted at the flood lights and scowled at the echoes of shouting trainers and their pokemon. Didn't Sycamore say that they had the place to themselves? Several Kalosian species of pokemon ran a marathon on the treadmills and on the strip of moss green carpet situated on the far side of the complex. Nearer to the back doors, the older professor, Steven and himself stood in a makeshift laboratory. Some of the arenas have been shoved away to make space for a giant monitor and an entire wooden bench held an array of pipettes, ring stands, Bunsen burners and test tube racks. The liquid in the test tubes, Green suspected, contained pokemon blood and he held each cylinder of glass up to the light to examine the contents. One was a toxic shade of purplish-red whilst the other glowed a neon yellow, bioluminescent no doubt. Carefully setting them down, he weaved himself through a series of imaging equipment, his hand brushing the sides of a heart rate monitor; and squeezed in the inner circle. The Kalosian professor talked with a group of doctors and other personnel donned in starched white coats. He heard raised voices and saw a multitude of arms waving about, it appeared as if the other scientists did not approve of Sycamore's experiments and after much more civilized yelling and waving, the posse departed and the slate eyed individual's lips stretched into a wide smile.

"We are good to go!" Augustine cheerfully announced and Green suspected foul play, nonetheless, the aides set to work hooking up rubber tubes and soon, the laminated floor disappeared underneath a mess of wires and flexible pipes. Pokeballs sat cradled onto a table specifically designed to hold them and the Kanto native spied the slightly scuffed up surface of gallade's capsule. He wondered what his co-workers were doing and soon it dawned on him that he had no idea of their actions and intentions. Yesterday, his ebony haired best friend called him up in the middle of the night to beg for Charizard. Mind mulled with sleep, Oak did not have the patience to ask the over enthusiastic commander on his goals and after forking the vermillion dragon over via the PC tucked into the corner of the bedroom, Strategy's leader crawled over to bed and fell asleep. This morning, he found a tepid gallade looking at him through the clear covering of the ball and shrugging, Green pocketed the creature wondering where Red got the fight and psychic type. Now he ruminated on his friends' activities and it irritated him to be kept out of the loop. The pesky woman sure phoned him a hundred times a day, however it served only to irritate him when she blew air kisses and winks, her chthonic subordinate sometimes pitched in to offer helpful fashion advice and the spiky haired brunette switched off his poke-gear before he lost his mind.

Heedlessly, he handed over a pokeball and stewed in his musings. What was Strategy doing? Probably monitoring the internet traffic for information and signs of the police, or, they kept their base in tip top condition and tended to the legendary creatures to ensure their environment remained optimally beneficial to them...Probably...In his mind's eye, Green saw the whole lot of them kicking back and screaming their freedom to the skies. His overworked department would let loose, indulging themselves immoderately and he presumed movie and game marathons taking place instead of work. Inwardly he snorted, perhaps they deserved a break.

An hour later, Green rotated around his mega evolved scizor and felt a rush of euphoria fogging his brain, the insectoid, all gleaming red exoskeleton and bone crushing pincers, morphed into something resembling a living guillotine. The cutting appendages, marginally normal sized, elongated and gained a nasty serrated edge. Its legs, abdomen and forehead gained an extra layer of exoskeleton, coloured black and looking very much like bulletproof material. Fortunately Scizor did not go through any personality changes and remained docile as doctors subjected him to a thorough examination. The creature glanced a few times at its trainer who measured its legs and other body parts, it saw Green's lips twitch briefly and knew for some reason or the other, its master felt irritated. Meticulously returning scizor into a pokeball, the young professor grabbed another ball off the table and resumed his tasks. This time, a trainer had to be called in and instantaneously, the gengar transformed into a white ghost seemingly uglier than its pre-mega evolved form. After analysing ten or so pokemon, Green saw the outline of a major problem. Namely, the capsule monsters would uphold their mega evolved state as long as both trainer and pokemon held the respective stones. Though the process was vestigial, evolving, even temporarily took up a lot of energy and some of the weaker creatures displayed obvious fatigue whilst going through the numerous tests and differential diagnoses. If this evolved state could not be controlled, then like the human form of cancer, it will drain the pokemon of its energy and reduce its lifespan by a fraction and in the long run, the sorry creature may die before its time.

Sycamore nodded at Green's observation, "I've been thinking about the same problem since the beginning of my mega-evolution findings and I've come up with what I deem is a suitable solution...Only, it works erratically." The professor ran a hand through uncombed hair and settled for stroking his stubble whilst thoughtfully boring into the opposite wall, "I thought about how to stop and start the process of mega evolution and make it a controlled state. Do you know about human cell division Green?" The spiky haired brunette nodded and expertly rattled off the five phases of mitosis and the black haired man agreed. "Proto-onco genes..." here the Kalosian native paused, "are the codes prompting the start of cell division, similarly, tumour suppressor cells halt cell division and prevents the cell from becoming cancerous." The man turned and rummaged in the pockets of his lab coat, he extracted a coffee stained piece of paper and handed it over to Green, "I have been developing a code similarly to the above method and you can see the fruit of my efforts." Oak stared blankly at the paper, paragraphs of gibberish and strings of numbers mocked him. "It doesn't make any sense on paper but each time, I alter a paragraph and shoot it into the DNA contained within a mega-stone, so far there have been unsatisfactory results." Pulling up a window on the screen, Augustine showed a few photos and videos of the pokemon tested with new mega stones. Some of the monsters failed to evolve; others evolved partially, some parts of their body parts morphed whilst others stayed the same. Then there were those deemed as failed. Green could not tear his eyes off the monitor, he watched with a mixture of awe and revulsion as a houndoom oscillated between the two forms and eventually died a frothing and twitching mess. Sycamore sure didn't try glossing over his mistakes.

A few hours later Steven and Green found themselves outside the laboratory as the professor waved genially at them from the foyer. After articulating a hurried goodbye, the slate eyed man retreated back into the air-conditioned interior leaving his two guests sweating on the sidewalk and cursing the hot afternoon sun. Green felt stuffy in a long sleeved t-shirt and wished to go back and change, instead and to his alarm, the perpetually well-dressed Steven, who sported a striped dress shirt today, took a few steps forward and stumbled when a litten crashed into his legs. The fire cat's trainer, a child, came screaming several seconds later and bowed several apologies.

"I wonder why Augustine told me to go with you..." Steven turned around and talked to a lamp post, "I would be more of a hindrance than anything else...Beldum come here." The psychic hovered near his hand and Green allowed himself to vent internally for a few minutes before joining the grey haired male on the colourful pavement. How was the handicapped man supposed to travel through the bustling city filled with crowds and the occasional pickpocket? Studying the electronic map displayed near the laboratory, Green traced a route all the way to Shalour City. He scrutinized the routes leading to the coastal town and weighed the best options in his head. Frankly, he was not fond of the gogoat shuttle service and preferred to take motorized vehicles instead. Locating a bus stand in the outer south boulevard, he set out only to spin around and see a missing Steven.

"Steven Stone...Where are you?" he mumbled venomously and spared a glance at his watch, maybe he should've asked Sycamore for a tracker, ducking into one of the narrow alleys lining the laboratory, Green saw the ex-champion confusedly running his ringed hand down brick faces. Sighing, he called out to the older male and grabbed Beldum by its head. Hissing a few threats at the naughty natured pokemon, he explained the way to the bus stop and strode away without looking back.

* * *

Afternoon

Sinnoh

Resort area, Constellate's base

Platina marched into the white washed room and beheld her commander deep into a conversation with the two convicts. Bypassing them, she walked over to the three pedestals fixed in the centre of the room and peered into the glass domes. A silver of worry and anxiety crossed her irises, however the emotions swirled away as soon as they came. Uxie, its eyes still in the closed state, angled its head up on hearing noise and the noble retreated, unable to watch the pitiful forms in which the legendary creatures had succumbed to. Blue-grey fur matted with blood and the psychics sat in a pool of their own fluids. Crimson life drained from them and steadily dripped into a ceramic plate, the drops coagulating into glistening crystals. Behind Platinum, Cyrus and Charon raised their voices against Blue, the subordinate heard the hiss and growl of a granbull and the workers delved into silence.

"Tell me..." Blue smoothed out the wrinkles in her leather skirt with deliberate slowness and looked at her manicured nails, "about the Azure flute, I came across the term whilst reading about the time, space and griseous orbs. Apparently this relic is tied with the creator of the universe, Lord Arceus isn't it? I've scoured the internet and even ancient tomes to search for its significance and location...Unfortunately I came up with nothing other than a bare mention of its magnificence." The Kanto native smiled, snowy teeth frightening the daylights out of Charon, "Since you were also studying the creation trio, I am absolutely _positive_ you know more about this artefact than I do so please," she shook her mane of hair backwards, "enlighten me."

Cyrus supressed a tremor wracking his body and proceeded to deny knowing anything about the elusive Azure flute other than that the treasure can and will open up the path to the Hall of Origin. The Hall of Origin is a specific dimension which the unown created by the will of Arceus. It is said that the Original one resides there. On questioning the location of the Hall of Origin Cyrus responded:

"Previously, I traced all myths to the summit of Mount Coronet, which is Spear Pillar...However, on conducting some investigations...this location is not the entrance to the Hall of Origin, it may have been once a gateway to the heavens and other portals but now it simply opens up to the dimensions of three different legendary pokemon. I think...the entrance of the Hall of Origin is situated in Ransei."

"Ransei. Tsk." The brown haired woman uttered a terse sound and lapsed into a contemplative silence. "And the other legendary pokemon you mentioned...Let me guess Giratina, Dialga and Palkia right?" The Galactic leader replied in affirmative. "Hmm...Of all the places in the Poke-verse, it had to be the region ruled by contemptuous nobles and egotistical morons. It's a region wreathed in secrecy and shadows and unless you have a clearance decreed by the King of the region, you cannot get in, even if you happened to be Professor Samuel Oak!" She blew a strand of hair away from her face. "Well, I guess it's a rather obscure topic to talk about, but our dear Red is too short sighted to come up with a plan B should this one fail and so it is up to me to search for a different way. Get back to work and toodles!" Blue got up, more cheerful than before she entered the room; and sashayed out of the chamber with Platina following regally behind her. The aristocrat gazed at the two prisoners with mild contempt and Charon got the feeling that she reminded them of their place. If wearing striped uniforms and being forced to do back breaking research weren't enough reminders...

The sharp taps of Blue's heels muffled when she stepped on the velvet carpet in Constellate's common room. Silver sat hunched with a laptop on the coffee table and held a video call with someone else. On seeing his sister enter, the red head spun the device around and Emerald piped a hello from the screen.

"Hi Emerald" Blue greeted and lowered herself on the white divan whilst Platina placed a few books on the table, taking her place opposite Ruby, the two sifted through old documents and ancient texts in order to find worthy information on the elusive Azure flute. "How is the rest of the team doing?" Constellate's commander waved at several others who tried to join the conversation, alas, the miniscule blonde pushed them back.

"We are doing fine...More importantly, Silver asked me to search the web for mentions of the Azure Flute...Unfortunately, I found nothing in mainstream internet so I had to get my hands dirty. First things first...how much are you gonna pay me?" The brown haired woman chortled and the two shared a devious grin whilst Silver snarled and urged them to hurry up. "Sorry, that was a joke, but seriously, I almost busted my computer trying to secure these snippets of classified stuff. Gah, the deep web crawls with nasty viruses and Trojans. Anyway, I've already e-mailed the contents to you, the info is secured by a straightforward encryption which I'm sure Silver can solve and I've even gone and researched up on the locations associated with the Azure Flute. I hacked into two of those websites and downloaded detailed maps of the buildings. Good luck on whatever you want to do and by the way...does senior Green or Red know about this?"

Blue confirmed everything Emerald told her and started downloading the several files emailed to her account, "Of course not, I'm doing this as a side project...well I actually wanted to use the Azure Flute as a secondary plan but first I need to have the artefact in my hands to confirm its use. Do you think they will let me do this? Red would fuss over the dangers and other un-necessities whilst Green will recite a list of one hundred and one reasons on why my project is a total waste of time." She snorted and rolled her eyes expressively, "Now that I'm free from their nagging and over-shadowing, I'll go ahead and see what I'm capable of. Ooohhh! I'm getting excited." Blue rubbed her hands akin to an evil mastermind and Silver smiled on seeing her back into the thick of things. "Thanks for all the information Rald, I'll be sure to get you something you like!" The call ended, Silver took the laptop from his sister and immediately began working on the encryption code, as the strategy member promised, it was fairly easy and before long, the brother and sister duo stared at the picture of what was supposed to be a legendary flute and the object capable of hauling Lord Arceus into their dimension.

"It looks ugly." Silver intoned and Ruby, who squeezed himself next to the red head, grimaced.

The flute did not look like one at all, instead, it resembled a hollow lump with smaller tubes set into it. The pipes looked like the ones that grew out of explouds' head, Platina pointed out, and the rest agreed. For a royal artefact, the Azure Flute, also known as the Heaven flute, did not appear the least bit magnificent or awe-inspiring. And the material of the flute...judging by the brown tones, Platina suggested it was made out of clay.

"Alright, time to gear up for a mission people" Blue announced and the rest of the team moved with soldier like accuracy and took their place around the glass topped coffee table. The commander printed out the sheets and distributed them. The members picked their documents up, skimmed through the contents and before she could initialize the meeting; her subordinates already memorized the core requirements of the mission and Silver, the most experienced of them, had the map of the Veilstone building flashing in his head. "We still have a lot we don't know about the Azure Flute. What we do know is that this object is extremely valuable and much sought after and even if it fails in its original purpose, we can sell it to the black markets for an exorbitant amount of money." None of the Dex-criminals twitched, "Emerald sent me a whole bunch of myths and legends and we need to confirm what is true and what is utter rubbish." Blue tapped her nails on the table and waited for a question and as expected, none came. "The first mission is to gather intel...Who wants to go?" Ruby and Platina raised their hands and the blue eyed leader nodded. "Platina, I'll leave the planning up to you" Saying this, Blue nodded and motioned for her brother to follow her. Leaving the two teenagers engrossed in their preparation, the Kanto and Johto natives huddled near the back of the room and spoke in hushed tones.

"You want me to secure the area and provide back up if necessary?" Silver asked incredulously and tangled his fingers in the chain around his neck. "Why? They are almost as good as I am."

"Hush!" His sister fiercely whispered in return, "Yes I know they are more than adequate but...I'm worried about Ruby, this is the first major mission he is going on after his father's paralysis and I'm just...Worried about his mental state you know. He might give the impression that he does not care but deep down inside it may eat him alive." She quickly glanced at the fashionista and watched him as he checked the equipment and gadgets needed for their mission tonight. "Out of all of us, Ruby has the most fighting potential and the only reason he made it into Constellate is because he hates battling. Monitor him closely please; I don't want one of my best agents getting caught by the police simply because he had a panic attack in the middle of the mission. If you notice any weird signs, evacuate him immediately and explain the situation to Platina afterwards. Understood?"

"Roger sis...I understand."

* * *

Late afternoon

Kalos

Outskirts of Shalour City

Steven could hear enthralled gasps from the people around him as they neared the coastal metropolis. He sat ramrod straight in his seat and clutched beldum close to him. With so many people sitting on the bus, an accident may happen and it made him nervous. He could feel Green's tension and irritation and the brunette slowly eased into relaxation as the walled city loomed up. The ex-champion smiled involuntarily, Shalour City painted the perfect picture of what a coastal town should look like, the entire community was cordoned off from the sea by the presence of a large stone wall. The ancient structure had eroded in some places and Steven recalled scrutinizing the grey rock to determine the composition of the wall. Beyond the city, the sea spread out into a vast carpet of blue and white waves. The man fidgeted with his tie and listened to the rumbling of the bus coupled with muted, exited conversation. Of course he couldn't see the beautiful views everyone else held their breath for, but he remembered them and he comforted himself with images conjured up in his mind.

What did blind people see?

Totally blind people saw nothing.

Like him.

Not even black.

Researchers could argue about him being able to perceive light and they did, when his Dad took long vacations from his work and shunned important meetings; Mr Stone deemed his son more important than politics and discussing the latest profit goals. Steven had been flown from one institution to the other as his father struggled to understand the concept of being blind. No, one specialist told him, your son can't see anything, he sees nothing. _Nothing_ , not even the colour black. Others argued, yes! Of course your Steven Stone can see! Just not like normal people...Look, he can perceive very bright light in the form of lighter bands.

The truth? Steven didn't know himself, he didn't know what he saw.

 _Nothing._

And he hated himself for it.

The chatter in the bus swelled in volume and he tensed as Green shifted next to him. After Archie slashed his eyes, the grey haired man noticed his increased perception in other areas. He could feel things at a more acute level and his hearing seemed to have magnified to epic proportions. A sigh told him a million things, the crinkle of material whispered a thousand possibilities when before, they only gave off the faintest impression that someone moved. His sense of smell also sharpened and Steven lamented the fact when he walked into his elite four compound. The cloying smell of Sidney's aftershave did not blend well with the tart aroma of Phoebe's cinnamon cookies. And the dark skinned girl made sure she baked a batch of them every day in order to donate them to a charity home for blind people. At first, Steven felt humiliated by her gesture but later on realized that it was a roundabout way of showing her support.

"You are now entering Shalour City! Welcome to the city of awakening!" A smooth robotic voice droned and all around Steven, the passengers gathered their things as the vehicle ambled its way to the terminal. The once international officer let beldum go and the metal beast levitated in the air. The bus came to a complete halt and the crowd vacated in an orderly manner. Once again, Steven tasted irritation from the male seated next to him, after everyone else exited; he got up and put his hands out. Beldum slid under one hand whilst he used the other to feel his surroundings, with uncharacteristic slowness; he fumbled his way across the short aisle and to the door. Standing on the threshold, he prepared to step out when another voice alerted him:

"Be careful, there are three steps leading down." Nodding a thanks, he departed from the bus without incident and waited for Green to do the same. For some reason, hearing young Oak's voice put him on an edge; he had never heard the prodigy's voice before however it seemed very familiar...In a cave? The younger male pulled him across to an information board and somehow the Hoenn native stared straight ahead and imagined himself studying the words displayed on the electronic pane.

"Why don't you use a cane?" Oak set off and dragged him along with one hand, the grip hurt.

"I'm not sure." The steel eyed man answered and tried to keep up with the brisk pace. They were in one of the streets leading to the gym and he tried to remember the layout and surroundings. The bustling street was lined with tall French houses on either side, some of the buildings sported tiles and others had the traditional sunshades in eye watering colours of bright red, white and blue. Quaint cafes and boutiques bordered the road and Steven wrinkled his nose on catching the whiff of fabric softener intermingled with the warm smell of coffee and the pungent stench of over ripe fruit. A fruit stall? Was it here the last time he came? "I'm not sure why I don't use a cane..." he repeated and Oak slowed down, "although I can assure you, it's not to protect my already wounded pride. I might end up whacking people with it." He laughed laconically.

Green stopped abruptly at a cross road. "This city is beautiful" he added and the blind man agreed solemnly.

 _Even though he could see nothing._

Turning left into one of the quieter streets in town, the professor twisted backwards and spoke: "The gym is up ahead...Should I...Uh...Guide you to it or are you fine on your own?" The spiky haired brunette squirmed in discomfort and the older male gave him a genial smile.

"No thanks, I'll manage on my own."

"You are talking to a bush..." Green whispered under his breath, out loud he said: "You should consider using your own pokemon as a guide because this government issued beldum is having a field day by leading you astray." Strategy's leader drew in a breath and his arm shot out, catching the snickering beldum between the ball of its head and the rest of the body. A vicious chop to its spindly neck sent the metal beast smacking downwards on the paved path and it guaranteed an instant coma. The man breathed a sigh of relief, one annoyance out of the way. Lowering his arm, Oak instantly regretted his actions as the ex-champion stared forlornly at the beldum crashed on the pavement; the cyborg emitted faint sparks and leaked a dark fluid. Steven...Couldn't see right? So why did his face twist with such pain?

Seconds later, the two men meandered down the path and Green occasionally glanced back to check the grey haired male's progress. Metagross did a far better job than that nuisance of a beldum and the duo alighted before the engraved doors of a rather lavish looking gym. A maroon dome had a golden rod attached to it and a flag fluttered from the spire. On seeing the crest, the Kanto native stopped cold, fortunately his companion didn't bump into him. Good old metagross did his work impeccably.

"Is there anything wrong?"

"No..." Green answered, "I'm simply surprised to know that Gym leader Korrina is part of the Elite nobles of Ransei...Why is she here in Kalos? I thought the blue bloods did not mingle with ordinary people."

"Oh...I'm sorry, did my status as a Ransei noble scare you?" The doors opened of their own accord and Strategy's commander hastily sidestepped to avoid a lemon-yellow blur of hair. The teenager girl half crashed into Steven Stone who, understandably, could not move in time. Despite her ungainly introduction, the girl picked herself up with grace befitting a noble and swept her voluminous shock of hair away to reveal a petite face and smiled. "Sycamore sent you here didn't he? The old coot never knows when to give up!" Unstrapping the pair of rollerblades glued to her feet, she beckoned them inside. "Pardon my language, I'm tired of people wanting to know about mega-evolution...however, the Pokemon association of this region made an appeal and I am bound by it. Come on in, I'll explain to you everything you need to know about mega evolution.

Well, Steven thought, that was easy.

When he stepped inside, the hum of machinery greeted him and the ex-officer stood still. Metagross still gripped him comfortably but Steven felt utterly lost. The building closed in on him and such unfamiliar surroundings sent a tingle up his spine. Senses on high alert, he followed Korrina and Green's footsteps as the ascended on what felt like a platform. The gym remained eerily quiet, no one apart from the three of them were in here. After crossing the rail, Korrina peered backwards to see one of her guests teetering dangerously close to the edge. The half psychic and metal monster who guided him appeared disorientated by its surroundings and the teen inwardly grinned. Battle tactics, her gym had been equipped with psychic ability jammers enclosed within the plastic traffic cones situated around the rails and anyone who came in here entertaining the thought of an easy victory, got their inflated egos smacked back to them. The Hoenn native safely made it over the metal catwalk and joined the posse at the back of the gym.

"Are you really blind?" the fight type gym leader quizzed as she busied herself in punching a password, a section of the back wall slid apart to reveal an extravagantly decorated chamber. A piece of Ransei no doubt.

"Should I walk into a wall to prove my disability to you?" Steven snarked in return, he got tired of the questions, the suspicions and pity people heaved on him. He could feel both of them tensing with a mixture of sympathy and guilt. "Could we get a move on?" His tone turned crisp, "I want to return to Lumiose City before the day ends." Brushing past them, he entered the enclosed room, pulled out a throne-esque chair and sat in it. Green and Korrina followed, the former slightly taken aback by the grandeur of the chamber.

"Mega evolution..." The blonde began and dropped a few tomes on the walnut table placed between her and the guests, "is a condition which triggers when a pokemon is in a dire state. Since ancient times, this phase functioned as a defensive or offensive mechanism, depending on the creature; and allowed the beasts to bring out their full potential." Flipping through a book, she ran her hand down a row of antediluvian words and passed the tome to Green who blanked out on seeing such ancient scriptures, ignoring the vacuous expression on his face, the girl pointed to a picture stained with age and continued speaking, "this evolution process is as old as time itself. It is suspected that having the Original one rest in Ransei somehow altered their DNA. All legendary pokemon radiate different frequencies of power and this has effects on the living things around them. As for Arceus, he allowed the beasts to temporarily morph into a state which pushes pokemon to their limits and bestows them capabilities beyond their own." She stopped speaking and nodded to them and made sure they kept up with her words, "Professor Sycamore already told you all of this right?"

The two males nodded their heads.

"I see, so let me tell you why the pokemon of Ransei still retain this vestigial evolution." Opening another leather bound scripture, Korrina waved a cloud of dust away and skimmed past several pages. "One of the main reasons is that-"

"What?" Steven and Green burst out together, "The pokemon of Ransei can mega evolve without aid?" the younger of the two quizzed with incredulity lacing his voice.

"Yes-"

"How?" they cut in again, their visages twisted with surprise and the faintest hint of disbelief.

"If you will let me explain, then I'd happily inform you." She inhaled and added, "The main reason why Ransei's pokemon can evolve without the use of...Mega stones...Is because we don't force our pokemon into pokeballs and we only have two partners at most. The ancient warring times have long since died out and due to this, pokemon do not have the constant threat to their survival and so they do not have much need for mega evolving. Consorting with humans gave them a new purpose and they will gladly fight till the death for someone they hold high esteem for. The bond between a trainer and their pokemon is the first and most surest trigger for a modern day mega evolution to take place and this fact also holds true for the monsters in Ransei...However, ours is an already controlled, no aid process whilst down here people are still struggling to understand how and why it works. Mega evolution first came into being when the first pokemon who roamed Ransei were irradiated by Arceus' power, from there, breeding and evolution spread pokemon far and wide and only those who stayed in the Original one's resting place were still capable of mega evolution." She closed her book and beheld them, "This is all simple and I'm sure Sycamore knows all of this and yet he pesters me for more information."

"We didn't know that mega evolution stemmed from Arceus..." Steven rubbed the bridge of is scarred nose, "Augustine suspected a link between Ransei and mega evolution and you gave us more than we bargained for. Now we know that Arceus is responsible for mega evolution and pokemon who live in Ransei are more powerful than most. How do they co-exist with humans outside of capsules?" Even though he was blind, Korrina could see the inquisitive gleam in his dulled irises.

"Do not ask any more questions, I told you what you wanted to know and now you have to return. Hopefully this bit of information will stay in the laboratory and not get blown to the media. Please," her voice quivered ever so slightly, "you have to understand that the nobles of Ransei will do anything to keep their pride and secrets behind locked rooms and dead bodies." Her light grey irises shifted to Green, "you can be the son of a famous professor and if they found out that you know the origin of mega evolution...they won't hesitate to assassinate you and make the incident look like an accident. You have been warned."

"I'm Samuel Oak's grandson actually" Green corrected her.

A chill ran down Steven's spine and he gripped the plush couch with one hand to steady himself...Something lurked in the shadows, a beast of enormous power and he sensed it. The invisible energy pounded his cranium like a hammer and the monster prowled around the room, hiding itself behind intricately woven silk screens and slinking along in the alcoves.

"Thank you very much" The ex-champion got up, he wanted to leave as soon as possible, "we will make sure none of this ever leaks out." Pushing back the chairs, metagross guided him and as he stepped out of the exuberant room, he heard it.

A faint murderous growl.

* * *

Evening

Sinnoh

Eterna Laboratory

No one spared her a glance as she waltzed through the double glass sliding doors with the tail end of her high-low dress flaring out behind her. The georgette material swirled around her like mauve liquid as she came to a stop before an ornate reception desk. Accepting a card, the inattentive receptionist snapped to attention and quickly gave her clearance. Moments later, another individual walked into the lobby carrying a luxurious trolley and glanced around, spying the stiff faced female, he saluted and hurried after her as she turned around and made for the elevator situated in the far corner of the lobby. Two cameras followed their every move and a third one monitored them closely as the elevator doors hissed shut. Platina and Ruby relaxed their rigid stances and used the brief, undisturbed ride upwards to confirm their plan.

"Well, being your servant certainly has its merits...I feel rich." Ruby piped and examined his reflection on the steel surface, tipping his courier hat which he embellished with jewels and a fancy silver chain. The rest of his servant's outfit consisted of a pressed short sleeved shirt and loose fitting slacks. A thick belt looped around his waist and the fashionista spent no time in pinning up badges and sticking fake semi-precious stones on it. "You are absolutely sure they won't double check us? And this meeting, a large scale information trade is it?" The male brushed his fringe to the side taking great care to hide his scar, "We are lucky it took place today, I know your family deals with such things but you don't make much of a public appearance, won't the people be suspicious?"

"No they will not" Platina carefully arranged the string of sparkling stones around her neck, "the Berlitz family owns information trading on most of the regions and I have the power and authority to bankrupt anyone who thinks otherwise...My appearance will raise some questions but I have the angles covered, besides, few people will dare question me and with a servant around, it adds more credit to my presence." Ruby snorted and gave her a lopsided smile. "Please remember our mission begins at night, I am positive we will not procure any information on the Azure Flute in this gathering. When the meeting begins, slip out with some excuse, find a guard and steal their key card...I'm sure you know what to do next." Her senior nodded and the inky haired girl glanced upwards to see them nearing their destination. "Stand up straight and please remember to keep tight lipped at all times." She herself angled her face upwards in a perfect show of arrogance and elegantly stepped out into a carpeted hallway. As expected, the attendance of the esteemed heir of the Berlitz family caused a ripple of commotion and several well-dressed young men, all around her age, made a move towards her and whipped out flowers and other presents faster than Ruby could blink. Snickering silently, the crimson eyed teenager posted himself in front of an impassive looking Platina and stared the other aristocrats down. The males eyed him snobbishly before backing down and the two criminals shared a knowing look. Five minutes later, Platinum Berlitz became the sole centre of interest as the members of the information trade all vied for her approval on several juicy and borderline illegal bits of information. When the commotion reached its peak, Ruby, who stood faithfully next to her at all times, went close to her and whispered a few words. She nodded her consent and he extracted himself from the money reeking crowd and slunk to the door.

Burly guards eyeballed him and he held up his hand, "I have permission to leave the room from Miss Berlitz" Ruby said and they ignored him, "if anyone of you wants to escort me to the toilet I'd be happy to oblige...that or," his mien took a sadistic grin, "you can tell my master why you refused to let me go." The armed personnel shifted uncomfortably before politely allowing him to exit the room. Outside, the blood eyed adolescent located the nearest bathroom and pulled the trolley with him. Ducking into a cubicle, he stripped off his designer uniform and opted for the drab outfit of a cleaner. Slapping on a peak cap to half hide his face, he took off the outer covering of the trolley and threw it outside a window. Dragging the plain case behind him, he set off for the lower floors and halted on spying a guard lazily twirling a baton.

The man looked bored beyond words.

Leaving the carrier, he approached the half asleep individual and asked for directions. "Tch! Cleaners these days have no respect for the guards who keep this place safe!" the warden grumbled and pointed him to the right, "Take a right laddie and the next time you sign up for a job, make sure you know your location th-" Ruby delicately pulled out a syringe and swiped the keycard peeking temptingly out of the top pocket. Bowing to the unconscious guard, he grabbed his trolley again and confirmed his destination on the palmtop concealed in his hand.

The guardsman crowded in the monitor room all jumped up when a cleaner carrying a luggage case entered the highly protected chamber. The steel door hissed shut behind the lone adolescent and at once several of the security leapt up, aimed weapons at him and simultaneously released their pokemon. Tiny gible bared their teeth along with hawk eyed luxios and growling sheildons. The shield pokemon made a barricade between the intruder and the rest of the room. Between his legs, a feline pokemon fondly rubbed against the trespasser and he intoned something in a low voice. Instantaneously, delacatty yowled out a melodious, mournful tune and before anyone had the sense to attack the creature, they all keeled over like dominoes and fell into a comatose sleep.

Ruby took out the earplugs and tossed them into the nearest bin. Going over to the pile of bodies, he checked the pockets of each of them before selecting the master keycard and letting his Nana chew the rest. Wiring himself with a microphone and earpiece, he spoke:

"All clear, I'm in the monitoring room and I'm setting up the laptop so that Rald can hack into the security...And by the way, there is a dude sneaking up from behind you."

Twenty floors above, a voice layered with static bled through her earrings and she whisked around and pinned the low-life human with an accusatory gaze. The flabbergasted man wisely retreated backwards and took his seat at the far end of the table. A ghost of a smile formed on her lips, before midnight, they would be the owners of a horde of priceless information.

* * *

 **A/N:** Much gratitude to DarkusThunder for alerting the story, hopefully the story continues to be a pleasant read. At Guest: I don't mind at all! It's interesting to see what speculations the readers come up with. And I didn't actually read the B2/W2 arc in the manga, in fact I didn't finish the B/W arc. I read up on key points and characters while I was planning this story. As for Whi-2, she's an ordinary girl. About Lack-2, if I say anymore, it's going to end up as spoilers. And Red, lol, lets first see how things play out :P I don't dislike Lack-2 and when writing, I try to portray the characters true to their personalities and the way I view them. Sometimes this gets very difficult as a writer generally doesn't want to show their characters in bad light. Then I go back and read their personality sketches so that I can get a wake-up call. I also like to write characters from an introspective view as it gives reasons to why they do certain things. At Jack54311: Lack-2 said he wanted to be a cop when he grows up and Blue thought there is plenty of time to egg him down another, less respectable profession. Kidnapping Lack-2 isn't the only stupid thing Blue is going to do. At Eevee: Heh, I'm happy thanks to your review :D and I wish you the same. Be happy and stay awesome! At AceTrainerLeaf: The reason for Red wanting to burn down the league will be revealed in the next chapter, I actually like samurott, I associate it with noblesse and having it freeze like that also made for a funny mental image. Ah, Red is OP as usual :) At Professor Oak: Good one! This totally made my day :P

Virtual cookies and cake for all. Leave a line to tell me your thoughts and much gratitude for all those who read and reviewed.


	54. Priceless treasures

**Chapter 54: Priceless treasure**

Night

Unova

Pokemon League

"How does it feel to be a champion Iris?" Red gently asked with firelight dancing in his eyes.

 _I'm here to burn down the Unova league._

The words played over and over again in the chocolate skinned teenager's head and she currently had nothing to say. She didn't even hear Red's query as her mind was too preoccupied with trying to link everything together. Iris knew what she saw but her mind refused to believe it. The once Kanto champion is part of the Dex-criminals? How and why? Taking two steps backwards, she beheld the plasma frigate lowering to the ground. The ship hovered dangerously close to the earth and then it became still. In the distance, she heard the sirens of police cars and vans, overhead search lights danced across the ravaged field, white bursts of light fighting against the roaring inferno. The sound of rotating blades and cackling flames filled her ears. A sudden flash next to Red revealed the muscular form of a poliwrath. Smoke rising from the fire formed a natural screen and shielded them from prying eyes and searchlights.

"I don't understand why you are doing this..." Iris trailed off and haxorus saw its master's eyes snap to the left, a signal, if the male standing before as much as breaths the wrong way, he'd have his limbs separated from his body. The olive dragon crouched with its red tipped claws poised.

"Ideally, the Kanto league would've been a much more sensible target." Execution's commander admitted, "Unfortunately, I don't want Professor Oak to think badly of me. As for why...I guess liberation?" He shrugged and zeroed in on the younger Iris.

 _Liberation_

"That's utter nonsense and just an excuse! What liberation?" The Unova champion swept her hand around the smoking league, "you are nothing more than a detested criminal who is looking for a justification of the actions you are carrying out. Freedom from what exactly Red?"

"From being moulded into child soldiers Iris." The ebony haired man spat, "tell me, are battle simulators that fun to you? People like us...Child champions are forced to comply by the league's demands unconditionally. Drunk off the prospect of being a pokemon champion, we don't think about the consequences and desperately cling to our position whilst the association and EVERYONE in it drive circles around us! The older champions don't have such problems; they can go about their daily lives and other professions whilst we...Are chained to the league and prepped to destroy the next opponent to dare tries to take our status away from us. Could you go home Iris?" Red swept his bangs back and fiercely questioned, "Could you spend time with your friends whenever you wanted to? What about family? Did they allow you to visit them?" The man flicked his finger and haxorus, whose growls increased in urgency and malice stopped dead in its tracks with one razor sharp claw barely grazing the fabric of Red's jacket. The dragon froze as a layer of ice rendered it immobile.

The purple haired teenager remained silent and everything he said echoed hollowly around her head. True, her mind agreed, after she became the champion, she spent her days battling imaginary opponents in a battle simulator and even though she hated the machines and the routines with a passion, the girl could not argue against the seniors and the chairman, doing so will result in her being stripped of the title she clung on to. In a way Iris understood why he did this; to see your haunting memories go up in a blaze provided a selfishly tempting and wonderful sight.

"Well, I came to check up on you and I guess I got my answers...If the shadows ringing your eyes are any indication. I suppose simply telling you to keep quiet will only end up in the police looking for me more zealously. And Green's gonna chew me out for it." The ex-champion continued speaking in a casual manner as Iris took measured steps backwards, her hand inching to her waist for a new pokeball. "You will have to forget that you ever met me today." He gave a fleeting, sardonic grin. "Poli...Amnesia"

"NO!" She screamed but it was too late. Her memories folded from her, knees buckling, she dropped to the roof of the dome. Red watched with a doleful expression on his face as the dark skinned female shed tears involuntarily and gasped for air. The effects of amnesia on a human's mind proved to be devastating, if the move did not execute properly, the target's memory is wiped clean and their mental functions degrade to that of an infant. Iris cried silently, her mouth opening and closing, her eyelids, fringed with thick mauve lashes, obscured glassy maroon irises. Execution's commander snapped his fingers and in moments he and Poli reappeared on the deck of the ship. The minute he materialized, Black grabbed him by the front of his t-shirt, pushed him against the steel railings and exploded in his face:

"Explain YOURSELF!" The teen hollered in his superior's face and Red shut his eyes against the acrimonious outburst. White and N tried to pull him from behind but the Unovian hissed and tightened his grip on the shirt.

"You explain it to me Black" The Kanto native softly whispered and Black immediately let go, taken aback by his behaviour. "The league will be rebuilt in a few months' time and by that time you won't be a naive little teen anymore, if you challenge it, then I'm sure the Unovians will have a new Champion to cheer about." Crimson irises took note of N lingering at the far edge of the ship. The leaf haired adolescent gazed left, right and then...

Promptly jumped off the ship.

Shoving his subordinate away, the infuriated commander gave chase whilst the others sported bewildered looks. Black immediately noticed N's disappearance and before anyone could stop him, he summoned his braviary and soared after the tiny green and white speck rushing into the partially destroyed Plasma Castle. Red halted at the railings and gritted his teeth as Black flashed him a grin and pointed at the former King whose form zigzagged through debris, flames and broken construction remains.

"N, BLACK! Get back here. NOW!" Red screeched to no avail. The adult inhaled deeply and tried to calm himself, his head throbbed with rage and his knuckles turned white from clenching them too hard on the metallic railing. Uttering a curse, he threw a pokeball in the air and aerodactyl popped out. Inarticulate due to sheer anger, he pointed towards Black and snapped his fingers and the grey dragon understood. Bring those two back under all costs. With an almighty roar and a heave of its leathery wings, the ancient rock wrym vanished into the darkness and its trainer stood there and rubbed his temples.

A sinister sensation happened to be the only warning before Black looked up and spied rock hard talons kicking his cap off his head, he ducked and held on to Brav with all his might whilst the predatory bird tumbled to avoid the dragon. The chocolate teenager gasped on seeing Aero, the fossil pokemon displayed a fury rarely seen in its onyx eyes. He gulped and urged his bird to go faster. Brav did a sharp turn downwards and flew mere meters above the heated earth. The entrance of the ruined castle loomed up and Black could see N's silhouette amongst smoke and orange flames. Just a little more ground to cover, his aim was to snatch the adolescent up and take him back to the frigate alas, things rarely go as planned. The former plasma lynchpin stepped over the threshold and the valiant pokemon chased after him with rock monster hot on its tail. They passed under an elegant archway and flew into a long corridor. Seconds later, both Black and Brav crashed to the floor and came to a skidding halt at N's feet. Astonished, the leaf haired man knelt down to inspect braviary's wings when an unearthly roar sent chunks of rock flying towards him, a boulder soared over his head, hit the end of the hallway and decimated an entire wall. Aero flapped its wings and slammed down on the tiled floor with an incensed grunt. Next to N, Black stirred, moaned and shot up, one hand clamped down on N's forearm and his terrified eyes locked on to aerodactyl. The wyvern coolly glared back and cocked its oversized head backwards.

"N..." Black's words died in his throat as another chilling scream rendered the air apart. Tendrils of frigid air blew around and frost crept ominously around the walls. N handed the frozen Brav back to its trainer and got up. Determination and resolve burned in his slate irises.

"I have old accounts to settle" He smiled and the brown haired teen's mouth hung open. "I have to free Kyurem from my fa-...From Ghetsis' suffering and I intend to do it-" The hyperactive male sprang up and seized him, together they dashed madly down the corridors. Aero screeched in indignation, kicked up earthen projectiles and send them careering after the hastily escaping duo.

"Yeah...Whatever you want to do, count me in. OUCH!" Black stumbled as a chunk of granite hit him squarely in the leg. "And keep out of Aero's way...Mew knows that beast will probably kill in order to haul us back to the ship. Senior Red's orders. And why did you just run out on us huh? We are a team don't you OW! Forget that!" Vigorously rubbing the bump on his head, the Unovian considered sending carracosta out...However one glance at the rampaging dragon told him otherwise. Poor old Costa would have its exoskeleton bashed into bite sized pieces before it had the chance to fire a water gun.

On the deck of the ship, Red watched the rest of his team members make a loose half ring around him. He sensed their distress and apprehension as they waited for further orders. His head pounded an erratic rhythm against his skull and he wondered for the umpteenth time if the mission would finish the way he wanted to. N...The wild card in his department finally took off with a bang and dragged Black along with him. Black...The commander exhaled and internally bemoaned the way his plans went awry. This is why he hated planning, if his two best friends drew up an objective, chances are their subordinates will carry it out without a margin of error. Execution on the other hand..."White, Lack-2" he intoned and the two Unovians stood to attention, "go after Black and N, that castle is crawling with Plasma personnel and they might need back up." The duo respectfully dipped their heads and shifted to the side and he saw the remaining member fidget uncomfortably. Blue said that Whi-2 could easily adapt to situations and he wondered if she would be willing to infiltrate the league with him. "Whi-2 come with me, we are going to break the league from the inside out." A brief flare of fear alighted in her eyes before she schooled her emotions and nodded her consent. "Good." Red smiled and praised, "Head out and keep safe." He waited till White and Lack-2 departed before boarding an irritated charizard. The young girl tentatively sat behind him and the fire type rose high in the sky. On seeing the destruction playing out on the ground below him, his headache dissipated and a sweet rapturous rush overtook him.

Vengeance never painted such a beautiful picture.

In the periphery of the ex-champion's vision, he observed Iris standing guard with archeops hovering lazily next to her. Digging out a pair of binoculars, he zoomed in on her visage and let out a silent sigh of relief when her eyes remained clear and focused. Putting the equipment down, he tore off a badge from the inside of his jacket and inspected it, the cascade badge gleamed dully in his gloved palm. Pocketing it, he unpinned another one and looked, the soul badge. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it and the badge fell with a muted clutter on the green tiles of the dome and near her feet. The young champion bent down to pick it up and missed the large shadowy blur of a fire dragon sweeping over her head.

* * *

Ruby was busy piling the comatose bodies in one corner of the room when the doors opened of their own accord. The male took a fighting stance and gripped a pokeball in his hand. He relaxed when Platina strode in and after stowing Zuzu away, he resumed dragging the heavy bodies across the carpet with renewed zest and petulance. Platina stepped over fainted beasts and seated herself in a plush wheel chair, from here, her inky irises wandered over the bank of monitors and she saw the entire building lying defenceless before her eyes. A glance at the screen told her that Emerald did his job, furiously hacking and tearing the laboratory's cyber-security apart. The two spies worked in silence and only the glow of the monitor and the occasional humming broke the otherwise pregnant silence. An analogue clock ticked somewhere in the shadows and the noble observed the bar on the screen steadily filling up. The laptop downloaded data from the secured archives of this laboratory and a small smile bloomed on her face. Even if Constellate had no use of the other information they managed to illegally attain, it will fetch a handsome profit for her parents. Her co-worker finished with his work and pulled off his gloves, thereafter he prowled around the room and wiped traces of their existence, sweeping the disgustingly dusty carpet (weren't cleaners allowed in this dump?) and rubbing all the surfaces with a disinfectant doused cloth.

Ding

A message on the portable computer alerted the two spies that all the information had been downloaded and secured. Urgency seeped in their actions as they meticulously packed underneath the accusatory stares of cameras. Their activities played back on the screens and Platina swallowed nervously. Just because she was adept at hiding her emotions, did not mean that she didn't feel them. Every mission they embarked upon, no matter how mundane, sent her heart fluttering from a mixture of fright and the ambition to finish the assignment without flaws. Slinging the bag over her shoulder, Ruby allowed her to leave first, at the last minute her senior turned around and let swampert loose. A torrent of muddy water doused the chamber and threw up an electrical storm. He grinned at her inquisitive expression.

"Rald likes showing off" the fashionista explained and patted his reptilian monster on a job well done, "he has a habit of leaving digital signatures and I'm sure there is a huge electronic chess piece waving somewhere in their databases. In order to cover our tracks, I short circuited the whole lot. No more classified archives for these people." He pulled out a stiff white card and let it drop at the entrance.

Late-night

Sinnoh

Resort Area

"That's IT!" Ruby hollered, "You are overworking me again!" he moaned and slumped pathetically on the divan. The others graced him with baleful looks and ignored him.

"Silver goes days without sleeping...Man up Ruby" Blue yawned and peered at the mounds of documents spread out before her. "You complain that Emerald likes to show off, he can do so if he pleases because he is part of team Strategy and they, like Execution, do not participate in covert activities." The woman pulled a sheet of paper and skimmed over it. "Covert, Ruby" she repeated, "exactly what part of the word don't you understand? You left a huge mess behind and now the police will up security on every other building in Sinnoh; we are working with a time constraint here. Stop complaining and work, you earned your punishment." Sprawled on the luxurious carpet, the commander tucked her legs beneath her and fervently drew up new plans. Silver handed a detailed map of the Veilstone building and she studied it intently. "By the way...how is your father?" Ruby twitched on hearing her question and tried to avoid her gaze, but Blue kept on scrutinizing him till he answered.

"Dad's been fired from the police...I heard Steven Stone is also not part of them anymore." He twiddled with his hat, "fortunately the association didn't boot him from his real job so he is still the leader of the Petalburg gym. His paralysis..." he paused slightly and wondered if he should share his problems when everyone had worries of their own, Blue inclined her head and smiled gently and he continued, "his paralysis is getting worse though. Dad is on strict medications and knowing him, he won't take them unless Mom reminds him three times a day. Anyway, he is doing okay so far, he hates being bound in a wheel-chair though. Says it hurts his pride." The Hoenn native snorted and filed away a page.

"You should visit him and give him a gift or two."

"Are you kidding me? That man does not want to see my rotten, thieving face ever again." Ruby lapsed into a brooding silence and retreated into a corner of the room. His posture radiated bitterness and the others agreed to leave him alone for a while.

The brown haired female stared at Ruby for a few minutes longer and turned her attention at the file she wrote up. Turns out the Azure Flute was as useful as it claimed. In ancient times, legendary pokemon used it to open a door to the Hall of Origins and seek an audience with Arceus. A delighted shiver ran down Blue's spine, there were no records of humans ever using it and unlike what its appearance belied, the flute was not constructed out of clay. The heavenly ornament was built from the same material as Arceus' plates; it was fashioned by the creation pokemon himself and for the use of his children only, namely the mythical pokemon who governed the Poke-verse. Humans have been too afraid to use it and when archaeologists discovered the artefact buried underneath the snow-capped peaks of Mount Coronet, they handed it over to the authorities and the Pokemon association locked the relic up in one of the most secure buildings in the region. The Pokemon league. Since the fall of Team Galactic and with them not operating on a public level, the divine flute had been secretly ferried to Veilstone and kept under high surveillance in the formerly Galactic building. According to the notes in her hand, similar to the griseous orb, the object had a safe dedicated to its protection with the addition of psychic and dark barriers. Blue cackled malevolently and Silver threw her an apathetic glance, what use were those barricades when she had their weakness written down right in front of her? Maybe she should send Rald a really expensive gift the next time they see each other, the diminutive blonde served to be an enormous amount of help.

Blue flipped a folio, "We know the Azure Flute is kept in the bowels of the Veilstone Building and it is protected by some nasty boundaries...I see that the police and associations are taking a page out of our book. It's a shame they even revealed how to dismantle the blockades...Oh well, more power to us right?!" No one cheered and her brother apathetically gurgled his quantity of coffee down. "This time, Silver and I will go." He choked on his drink, "aren't you excited to work with me again little brother?"

"Very" he coughed and put his mug down.

"You don't sound _very_ excited." She pouted.

"Sis, I feel absolutely over the moon to be going on a mission with you" he deadpanned and gathered his hair into a messy bun, "more importantly what are the mission protocols? I need to memorize them." The red headed male gathered all of his highlighted notes together and bound them. "When are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow during the evening," His older sibling uncrossed her legs and stretched, "I don't want this assignment to drag so we will simply infiltrate and steal the flute from under their stringent security. No month long reconnaissance anymore since we have the layout of the building. Copy it on to your phone or palmtop computer just in case." Silver nodded, leaned forward and questioned on the method of infiltration. "We might need to use a window and then crawl up a ventilation shaft...Ugh, I hate doing that! Remember to bring along laser cutters and night vision goggles. What can we do about the cameras Silver? And my conscious is telling me that the safe door has a password with it, we have no hints as what it could be and Rald told me that idiot head Green is using his porygon z for some dubious project. My only concern is the password; I don't want to type in the wrong thing and miss such a golden opportunity. Think Silver!" she grabbed her poor brother and subjected him to a bone crushing hug, "if Red's plan goes without a hitch, we can sell the artefact and become rich! And I can buy you all the things you ever wanted" she added softly and ruffled his hair.

Instead of sharing his sister's exuberant ruminations, he rationalized, "Sis...I've been thinking, don't you think this is too easy?"

"Hmm, not actually, you have to remember Rald is an excellent technician and hacker...Team Strategy survives off his money you know, Green does not get a stable salary all the time, his payment depends on his research. As for our midget friend, he patents gadgets and sells them both to the underground market and to well-known companies. Hoenn's PokeNav has a bit of his technology in it. Don't underestimate him."

"Yeah...I understand." The Johto native mumbled. Platina politely excused herself and left for her bedroom, leaving the two siblings conversing with each other, "you are right, I'm overthinking this." He pulled out of her embrace and packed up. "See you tomorrow Sis and I'm really looking forward to taking the field with you again." He smiled genuinely and she waved him away. In the corner, with the silky curtain draped over his form, Ruby drooled over his perfectly taken notes and muttered something in his sleep. Blue approached him and paused on hearing his sleep talk.

"I don't hate you..." he garbled, "and I wish...Just once in your life...that you would look at me as a son...And not just someone bound to walk...In your shadow."

Shadows...the lazuli eyed woman remembered them crawling all over her when Team Rocket holed her up in a grimy cell and tortured her. They needed fresh recruits and human experiment subjects and Blue, an affluent, coddled young woman proved to be a wonderful target. If she outlived her usefulness, her wealthy parents would be more than glad to pay a hefty sum of money to secure their broken daughter back. Unfortunately for them, the snivelling child who once cowered in the shadows, lashed out one day and managed to break free. Even worse, the brat took another boy with her. She closed her eyes and forced the unpleasant memories away. Crouching next to the crimson eyed teen, she shook him awake.

"Ruby darling" Blue called and he muttered a few more words and slowly straightened up. "Go to bed, we are done with outlining our mission." The boy had his gaze fixed to the opposite end of the room and she wondered what he saw, "you did great, get some rest now." Ruby huffed and pushed himself off the carpeted floor, both members pretended not to notice the way he discretely wiped moisture from his eyes.

Around midnight

Unova

Pokemon League

They assigned him to an important area, Hugh mused as dozens of Team Plasma grunts tried to overwhelm him with sheer numbers. Luckily, he stood at the end of a conduit and behind him; the passageway branched off to the Elite Four quarters. More league finalists have been posted in various key positions throughout the league and he hissed. The others had help from either the Elite four, or they oversaw a small squadron of the league trainers and what did he get? Nothing. Grimsley led him to the very centre of the gigantic stadium and through to the entrance leading to the residences. The area they left him in resembled a partially covered courtyard, he had a roof over his head and yet, Hugh could view the stars. Alone, the spiky haired male let all of his partners loose and the beasts roamed around. His wait was rewarded when his ears picked up the distant clamouring of stampeding people. An entire army clothed in navy blue and black burst on the scene and for a brief, panicked moment, he felt lost, his emboar retaliated with a plume of fire and drew a ragged line of flames between its master and the intruders. Hugh pressed his palms against his head and murmured something indiscernible, thereafter he added:

"Prepare yourself, I'm about to release my rage!" Several of the older grunts laughed at the absurdity of his words till Boar charred both them and their pokemon into oblivion, he witnessed the fear in their eyes and after a few consultations, the giant mass split into two and tried to surge around him, their shoes and boots echoing loudly on the terracotta tiles. Hugh shouted a few rapid fire commands and his beasts sprang into action. Flygon, boufallant and elektross grouped together and barred one side whilst emboar, simipour and unfezant posted themselves on the other. The grunts stopped; again, they were at a loss for what to do. A few brave souls sent their stolen, mid levelled pokemon out and suffered a bone crushing defeat. Digging into his waist pack, the teenager retrieved another potion and peered into his bag, if they assaulted him at this rate, he'd be out of potions and elixirs pretty soon and his berry inventory didn't look so good either. The writhing mass of people pressed against a light-screen he erected in order to keep them out. Parts of the translucent pane fragmented into sparks of multi-coloured light and disappeared. Relentlessly, he kept out barking orders and took a second to growl into the mike hanging inches away from his mouth. "I need back up...And I need it quickly, there are a large number of Plasma grunts trying to shove their way into the apartments." He listened, cupping one hand over the earphone as he tried to drown out background noise, "What?" he demanded and swore, "what do you mean I'm on my own...Listen to me you moron I'm outta potions and I nee-" Hugh convulsed violently when a stray bolt of electricity dissipated from some creature and hit him. Livid, he tore the smoking earphones out and ground them under his foot. The light-screen barrier had crumbled into nothingness and from his position; he could see the obvious exertion taxing his monsters.

The shoving mass of Plasma grunts stopped abruptly in their tracks and he wondered what new headache decided to make an appearance. Sluggishly, the people parted to allow an elderly man through. Hugh noted his moustache, a fluffy white cloud, covering his upper lip before the garb gave the sage's identity away. The plasma crest emblazoned on his cloak flashed when Bronius swept it aside and brought out a pokeball.

"I see the league likes to enslave children as well as pokemon" he tutted and released an amoongus. "My subordinates called in with a plea for emergency backup and I find it is a young child who bars their way. I am most disappointed."

"Huh?" Hugh inhaled sharply "well the methods you are using to 'free' the pokemon aren't so moral either. Stealing and forcing lifelong partners to split apart. Obviously you people haven't considered the emotional damage both humans and pokemon can suffer. You guys make me sick and if I defeat you, I hope the rest of your snivelling servants will follow suit and leave this area alone. No one..." he paused, "absolutely NO ONE is going past here." The crimson eyed teenager tried to sweep his mane of spikes backwards. "I'm about to unleash my rage."

He blinked and blinked again and repeated the action for a third time to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, even his other pokemon halted in their actions in order to come to terms with the spectacle presented before them. Till date, his emboar managed to burn any opponent to a crisp and even the ones who were at much higher levels than him, suffered a few third degree burns. Water types were not spared of his wrath so why? And to top it off, amoongus is a grass type, instead of being vaporized into a black smudge; the mushroom pokemon merely danced teasingly and blew several clouds of spores in the air. The veins on Hugh's forehead distended and one by one they became visible, he gritted his teeth and screamed a few commands. Boar lurched forward and then crashed to the floor. A quick glance at him told that the fire pig was poisoned and several tendrils buried itself under its thick skin. Amoongus leached off his emboar. The master had other worries, where did the poison come from? And why did the Team Plasma members cover their mouth and nose?

"Our databases told us that you might be a Pokedex holder but after the kidnapping of two potential holders and the subsequent stealing of two of those devices, the authorities decided to hold it off. It is a shame really" Bronius' eyes gleamed savagely, "if you had the Pokedex, you would've noted the move clear smog. As fine as a haze and as deadly as toxic. You and all your monsters are inhaling minute amounts of potent poison which my amoongus flushed into the air." Suddenly, Hugh swayed and choked; frantically he dug his rapidly stiffening fingers into his waist pack and pulled out everything he could use to combat poison. His vision dimmed and he heard the distinct crash of his boufallant falling to its side. The boy stared in his palms.

He only had a pecha berry.

Indecision added to the thoughts swirling in his head, his knees weighed akin to lead and he wanted to drop down on the floor and sleep. And he smelt something foul too. What to do with a single pecha berry? Does he give it to one of his suffering partners or have it for himself? Clenching his teeth together, be began to divide the berry when Bronius' snarling laughter prompted him to look up.

"You need to have the entire berry to antidote the effects of poison lad, if a fraction of it was enough, people won't be using entire berries in their competitions." Drops of acrid tears fell from his eyes and dropped into his hands, leaving smoking indents behind. _What to do?_ His flygon growled miserably, _what to do?_ The cries of his pokemon reverberated around the room and pain welled up in him. Elektross dragged itself across the tiles and painfully inched towards Bronius. More tears streamed down and left parallel scores on his cheeks.

Hugh still didn't know what to do. His pokemon, apart from Boar, could not battle effectively without a trainer commanding them. A crushing weight sat on his chest and he peered downwards to the single berry in his hands. The pink skinned fruit seemed to disappear and he held on to it lest it really does vanish.

"I don't see what the fuss is child." The sage spared a sorry glance for the elektross, the elefish spread a thick slime on the ground as it crawled towards him, "eat the berry, pokemon can endure pain and affliction due to their bizarre biological make up whilst we humans can't. Eat it and spare yourself the agony you are feeling."

Hugh took a bite of the berry, a tiny nibble and hurled the rest of at Bronius' sneering face. The fruity projectile soared and hit him square on the nose. "Scum like you" The teenager rasped and clutched his throat, "will never understand the bond between a master and a pokemon. How could you when you all use stolen pokemon? They only obey your orders because they believe that one day their original trainers will come looking for them and set them free." He heaved and failed to see the thunderous look on the Plasma sage's face as he picked off the remains of pulped fruit and tossed it to the ground, "If my pokemon are going down...Then I'm going down with them." Hugh retched and threw up at his feet, his body spasmed painfully. The Plasma personnel observed him with visible disgust as the purple haired boy emptied the contents of his stomach on the floor. After gagging for a good several minutes, he straightened up, wiped his mouth with a gloved hand and discarded the glove. Hugh felt much better, the horrible burning in his chest and throat were gone and his eyes stopped lacrimating diluted acid. He drew in shaky breaths and winced on tasting bile, moving backwards, his took in his pokemon, the monsters twitched on the floor like comatose flies. All his anger and pent up rage evaporated only to be replaced by regret and remorse. He saved himself instead of his pokemon and now he stood alone without any friends to fight for him. Friends, he considered them as such and made a remarkable effort to foster good relationships with them. They kept him company in dark times and saved him in dire situations and now...He betrayed them.

 _I betrayed them._

He lamented his actions. Calling the Team Plasma scum, Hugh inwardly snorted, was he any better? In front of him, Bronius burbled something unpleasant and his head snapped up. The pecha berry the executive commander threw rolled to a stop near elektross and the electric type happily gorged on the remnants of the fruit. The elderly man uttered a terse command and Hugh, his brain kick starting all over again, ran. Amoongus blitzed at high speed towards the fish and he, without any other weapon or pokemon, viciously kicked the mushroom and it soared over its master's head and vanished somewhere behind the mass of Plasma grunts. A series of pulses ran down the length of the elektross' body and unexpectedly the pokemon recovered and resumed its natural levitation off the ground. Hugh grinned devilishly as Bronius stepped backwards. What a coward. Four sharp fangs clamped over the man's chest and his underlings scattered on perceiving a black, ominous thundercloud hovering in the air. A brilliant flash of light pierced the glass roof and struck the tail of elektross, the electric creature conducted the bolt, amplified it and discharged it into Bronius' chest. It heard the deafening roar of the man's heartbeat before it dimmed. The white haired man dropped to the floor and Hugh held his hand out.

"Antidotes," the boy seethed, "and I want you and your cronies to scram from this place."

* * *

Before dawn

Unova

Pokemon league interior

Sirens resounded and large speakers blared with commands given by the authorities. The inside of the league happened to be a flurry of disorganized activity as Plasma grunts and officials clashed, spat threats to each other whilst their pokemon fired beams of multi-coloured energy, the foyer didn't look like one anymore with fragments of plaster, tiles and broken windows littering the floor; and proved to be a hazardous arena to battle in. Two figures slunk inside, past brawling groups and headed down a series of twisted, brightly lit passages. They avoided the warp panels at all costs because they could never be sure which chamber they ended up in. Keeping to the walls, the duo traversed with great caution and crept further into the league. Their target, according to the ebony haired male, is the Pokemon Association's headquarters situated opposite the Elite four and Champion's living stations. First to destroy the command centre and the rest shall fall.

Unfortunately for Whi-2, Execution's commander took a deliberate wrong turn when he spied a tall hat and a Plasma sage strolling pompously down the corridor. Stuffing the map in her hands, the older male brushed his bangs over his forehead, directed her to the very heart of the league and after telling her to meet him there, fled. The azure eyed girl peered at the map and sighed, the lack of discipline in Team Execution was a force to be reckoned with. Keeping faithfully to the walls, she slinked around akin to a shadow and passed unnoticed. Several cameras followed her every move before her servine rendered them incapable by firing a set of razor leaves. The higher ups of the league were saddled with a crisis, a pincer attack, they thought and the immediate threat happened to be the more visible Team Plasma. She rounded a corner and held her breath on seeing a member of the elite four dish out terrible assaults. It reminded her of Hugh and she admonished herself. Of course her friend won't be here, when the Unovian criminal organization re-reared their heads, the Pokemon Association halted the competition and escorted all the participating trainers out. Any chance of glimpsing her childhood friend washed away. Consulting the map in her hands, she traced a path to the accommodations of the Elite four. A closed courtyard separated the apartments from the main stadium and to the right of the residential area, lay the association. Fixing the visor firmly atop her chocolate brown locks, she flattened herself against a wall and let a large procession of Plasma grunts pass, they carried an unconscious sage between them. Whi-2 waited for another five minutes before gingerly setting off again. The carpeted hallway ended and gave way to a door. Grasping her ornate handle, she psyched herself and twisted a knob.

Her sneakers made no noise as they padded over terracotta tiles. The conduit opened up near the end and she sported blood stains, pokemon fluids and signs of a fierce war. A sniff alerted her to the presence of neurochemicals lingering in air, putting up her guard, she treaded closer.

"Yeah, blast it with more water and scrub that barf off the tiles Simipour, thank Zekrom we managed to salvage a few healing items from the old moron. Are you feeling better?"

She stopped. Hugh? Her heart leapt in her mouth and she wanted to find a place to hide, alas, the passageway held no ornaments and it didn't have any bends she could squeeze into. Glued to her spot, she studied him. Hugh grew taller and more muscular, from the back, his shoulders looked too broad. Her eyes trailed up his head and she saw his hair still remained the same. A headful of angry lilac spikes which refused to lie down even if they were smothered in gel. He seemed to be asking his monkey to clean the floor and his voice sounded the same. A guttural tone offset by an impatient lilt. How long ago did see each other? Three years was a short time for Hugh to change so much. Surely he would tower over her now.

The back of his neck prickled and he sensed someone staring holes in his head. An enemy? No, the presence didn't feel hostile and his pokemon did not shriek up a warning. Slowly, he turned around and saw a teenage girl intently studying him from the other end of the conduit. Familiar...She looked very familiar and as his mind pieced together all the facts and confirmed them, he felt the world stop turning.

"...Whi-2" He breathed.

And the world stopped revolving for both of them.

* * *

 **A/N:** Whi-2 and Hugh finally met, anyone wanna guess what's going to happen next? Does he join them or tear Whi-2 away from the Dex criminals? At Silver: An apocalypse? The way the world is going, I'll welcome one any day…okay forget I ever said that. Will Ransei nobles interfere with Dex? Your question will be answered in the next chapter. Green, irritation leads to stupidity no? And he ended up doing a favour to Steven and thanks for the warm compliments :) At Guest: Blue behaving flirtatiously might be a facade she picked up after releasing herself from Team Rocket's clutches. I think she keeps that persona in order to hide her true self and I'm not sure if she has any feelings for Green in the manga, but in this story she has zilch feelings for him. I'll keep your tip in mind, thanks for that and your praises are inflating my head :D Thanks for the motivation and I'll try my best to better my standard of work. Facial hair? I never actually thought about it…I guess not, I can't picture them with facial hair unless there is a picture of them having a beard. At Jack: Heh, I'm not answering spoilers, but yeah, she does something stupid. Steven getting closer to Green's identity huh…

Thank you for all the warm reviews and please keep on reading and reviewing. Constructive criticism is most welcome and virtual chocolate covered nuts for everyone (…now I'm craving those.)


	55. Open your eyes and see

**Chapter 55: Open your eyes and see**

Three figures crouched in the shadows of Greek styled pillars and waited with bated breath. The room they occupied bathed with shadows and starlight trickling in from the broken windows. Argent light fought to keep the umbra away and threw into sharp relief the decrepit state of the once grand chamber. The masked men kept a hawk-like watch on the entrance of the room and their stringent gaze veered ever so slightly to the green haired man sitting on a throne. Next to him, an ice dragon blew blasts of freezing air and dusted the room with fine coating of rime and a bone chilling cold.

" _Kill your employer and bring the black stone to me at all costs."_ A sinister voice in his head reminded him twenty times a day. The ninja pulled his mask up and adjusted his shock of white hair, he signalled to his co-workers and they shifted minutely in order to remain ready at a moment's notice. Their target was the dark dragon stone and the only way to get it, is to force the Dex-Criminals into a fight with Team Plasma. Lord Nobunaga orchestrated the events leading up to this moment and he hoped the two criminal organizations would finish each other off. Their lord did not care about Reshiram and he generously ordered them to either keep or destroy the sphere.

The masked operative heard commotion in the hallways. An ear splitting sound of a dragon landing and tearing something apart. A human voice screeched inelegantly and he tensed.

Soon, it shall begin.

He longed for it, to slide the thin steel blade concealed on his person into the neck of the man slouching haughtily on an alabaster throne. Thanks to him, his comrade almost met an untimely end and every time his co-worker removed his shirt or got changed, they beheld the jagged saw-tooth marks starting from his chest and ending up all the way to his neck. The punched out marks caressed his jugular vein and the covert ninja knew Lord Nobunaga showed them mercy. And they must repay the mercy by appeasing his never ending lust for power.

Three masked figures crouched in the shadows of a Greek styled pillar and adjusted their bodies. The time has come.

* * *

Dawn

Unova

Pokemon League, near Elite four accommodations

The world stopped turning for both of them as they soaked in each other's presence. Hugh didn't believe it, he couldn't believe it. After searching for such a long time, one of his friends whom he so desperately wanted to see, now stood before him bearing the same astonished expression he wore. He racked his brains, was she one of the finalists? No, he would've seen her name on the list of participants joining the competition. His body moved involuntarily and he didn't care anymore. The lilac haired trainer did not care how or why Whi-2 ended up in front of him, he only cared for the fact that she did. She stood in before him, living, breathing and her body felt small and warm against his own.

He wanted to cry.

Whi-2 stiffened as Hugh embraced her tightly, his ragged breaths brushed past her ear and betrayed the intense emotions he felt. Her friend's arms trapped her into a comforting vise grip and slowly, she threw her arms around him and chocked back a pained sob. None of them spoke, silence being a soothing accompaniment to their broken friendship. Didn't Hugh wonder how she ended up here? Whi-2 pondered and mentally detached herself from the tender embrace. Sooner or later he will piece things together and trepidation seized her for when he might finally understand. Her arms went limp and instead of letting go, Hugh held on to her tighter. The faraway sounds of battle seemed to have diverted away from this room. In this area, bared to the elements and cordoned off by simple white walls, the two teenagers, with very different lifestyles met and wished for a time when things were uncomplicated. With great reluctance, Hugh untangled himself from Whi-2 and his lips twitched into a full blown smile. A single tear dropped from Whi-2's eyes and she briskly brushed it away.

She never saw her friend looking this happy.

"So..." The mauve haired trainer laced his arms behind his head and peered at the watery light bleeding across a semi-darkened sky, "Is Lack-2 with you? Where is he anyway? And if you are thinking, I know for a fact that you aren't part of Team Plasma." He motioned to her outfit, a plain t-shirt paired with a skirt and comfortable sneakers. "You still look the same..." he paused and gave her a once over, a red tint spread across his cheeks. "Well not the same...A bit...Uh different." Scratching the back of his head, Hugh busied himself with ogling his pokemon and they stared back at him with impassive looks.

 _Smooth_ , they all collectively taunted.

"You do know that some organization kidnapped Lack-2 and me right?" Constellate's youngest operative held her breath, "Lack-2 is in Team Plasma's castle..."

"Yes I do and since the day you two evaporated, I've been searching. Just searching." Hugh's arms dropped to his sides. "You know, the police promised me that you two could be found, I went there every day to gather some information...I didn't care if they fed me half-truths, I wanted to know where they took you two...I wanted to know if my friends were safe and sound." Angrily, he kicked at the tiles, "But do you know what those police officers did?" She shook her head, "they tried to placate me, they gave me canned soda and shushed me with kind words and false promises. After four or five months, I knew they told me lies so I set off on my own. Unfortunately, everyone in Unova seemed to have forgotten about the presence of two brilliant children. Even the computers and databases had no traces of your existence. The only thing left of you two were those missing child posters and those too, were bleached white by the sun." He grinned sweetly again and clasped her shoulders, "come back with me Whi-2...Don't worry I'll keep you safe from anything that tries to take you away from me...And from your family. We can bust Lack-2 out as well..." his voice dropped to a murmur and he gently swept another of her tears away, his fingertips lingering on her cheek longer than he intended to. "Don't cry...Whoever kidnapped you won't be able to take you back. If they want to, they can do it over my dead body. I swear, I won't let you go with them. No matter what...So...Please trust me okay?"

Over his dead body. Whi-2 shuddered at his words. Clearly her best friend didn't know who he stood up against. If her commanders wanted it, they could very well leave a cold dead body behind.

"I don't want to go with you." The brown haired girl forced out her wavering tones and he took a step back, shock giving way to his seldom seen soft expression. "You don't understand Hugh...The people who kidnapped me...They don't treat me like a prisoner, they treat me like family and as much as it disgusts me to admit it. I like it there." She reached up and cupped his cheeks, closing his agape mouth. "Don't worry about me okay? Both Lack-2 and I are in good hands."

Stockholm syndrome?

No, she had to be lying.

If Whi-2 was happy, why did her words emanate such sadness? Why did she cry?

Why did her body tremble with such fright?

"NO!" He forcefully interjected and held her hands against his cheek, "You don't understand. Listen to me...those people did something to you alright? Perhaps they did something to Lack-2 as well. Don't worry, when I get you out of their clutches I'll book an appointment with a psychologist for you. I know those sessions are a bit pricey but I'll get myself a job and pay for them okay? You are safe now; the entire league building is crawling with police officers and Elite Four members." Holding her hand firmly he peered intently into her eyes and forgot what he wanted to say. Lazuli irises gleamed with a thousand different unspoken emotions and fears and he wanted to bury them and return to the life they shared together. All three of them. "...I know!" A sudden burst of inspiration exploded in his head, "let's get out of here, if I explain the circumstances to Grimsley, he'll protect you himself. You know Grimsley right?" His anxious babblings floated unheard by Whi-2, "He is part of the Elite four and a master of Dark types, the man packs a mean punch. Don't worry" Hugh didn't know how many times he repeated the particular phrase, "I'll protect you." Saying this, he tugged on her hand and started to drag her to the entrance of the courtyard, his friend kept up a slight resistance, however he burned with renewed passion. No one is going to separate them again.

"Boring..." In another area, Red stood over the fallen form of a sage and exhaled in mild irritation. He angled his head and gazed out of a long window. The raging inferno he caused in the earlier part of the night simmered down and reduced itself to glowing embers, fire fighters, with their neon uniforms, hoses and water types doused the remaining flames. Scratching an impatient Pika under its ears, the red eyed man took in his surroundings. "Yep I'm lost" he said to Pika and the rodent swiped a tail at him, "sorry there buddy, I thought this dude would put up a better fight...I guess he wasn't the one who tried to trap Black in a cofagrigus...So is the other dude in the Plasma castle? Tch...I guess I'll leave him to N and the others...hopefully they will come out unscathed." Pika darted downwards and pressed the switch on one of the pokeballs and espeon materialized in a flash of light. The two creatures conversed with each other with growls and squeaks and the psychic pokemon's fuchsia fur stood on end whilst its forehead jewel glowed. Fur still fluffed up, the feline padded down the twisting hallways and motioned its trainer to follow it.

The trainer chuckled and praised it warmly. And Pika shocked him out of spite.

Following Vee, Red kept up a conversation with himself and his beasts who marginally understood his verbose speech. "Thanks for guiding me; I didn't think of this myself. Use future sight as well, I don't want to run into any enemies." He bit his bottom lip, "Argh! If Whi-2 gets as much as a scratch...Blue will kill me! Let's hurry up...I'm worried for her." Espeon took him through shortcuts and passages known only to the league officials. The Kanto native ducked through restricted areas, traversed down grossly extravagant hallways and halted behind secret rooms. A farce...The league, the system was a giant ploy set up by the authorities to cajole infant trainers into enslaving themselves. And what beautiful champions they turn out to be. Tempered like exquisite weaponry, both he and Iris managed to hold their positions longer than their predecessors. Even the champions of the other regions could not hold a candle to him. Steven Stone came a close second before his injury forced him to an untimely retirement.

The man and beast trio exited into a carpeted hallway. Spying a double height door set into the end of the passage Red took two huge steps towards it and suddenly petrified.

Dread poured over him akin to a bucket of cold oil. The slimy feeling slipped down his throat and expanded into his chest. Pika squeaked loudly next to him but its master paid no attention. The crimson eyed male forced his breathing to even...He came here to destroy this place, not to be entrapped in it again. Coercing his erratic emotions to stabilize, he gulped in a mouthful of air and twisted the handle. Opening the door with more strength than necessary, he froze for a second time on seeing two teenagers engrossed in an amorous conversation; Execution's commander caught dulcet tones and sentimental whispers.

"Sorry..." he added and started to back out sheepishly, "please don't mind me...I'm a bit lost." The girl spied him and his eyes widened...hold on...Whi-2? And who was the incensed looking guy holding her hand? An opponent? Did she get caught? Lips pressing into a firm line, he raised his hand and she blurted his name out loudly.

"Commander Red!" Tearing out of Hugh's grasp, she put on an overly cheerful smile and bounded to the older trainer. Hugh reigned in his anger...the man looked too old to be Whi-2's...Wait Red? As in the Kanto's Champion Red? The guy who managed to hold his title for more than a decade? The blood eyed teen's wrath dissipated and reverence took its place. The man walked in smiling genially and enquired about Whi-2. Rifling through his little bag, Hugh brought out a notepad and a pen, the opportunity to acquire a legend's autograph should not be missed. Striding up to the man he well respected, Hugh thrust out his pen and tersely asked for a signature. The raven haired male laughed, graced him with a kind smile and gave his things back to him.

"I'm afraid I don't hold the title anymore Hugh." The Unovian's head inflated with pride, the man even knew his name! "I retired a few years ago and the current champion is Lance the Dragon tamer." Hugh packed his stationary away, "Whi-2...No one hurt you right?" She shook her head and reassured him for the seventh time.

Commander Red...

 _Commander Red_

Commander...

" _Your friends have been kidnapped by an organization known as the Dex-criminals. As for why we call them that...the entire ring consists of highly talented individuals and you've already guessed it; they are all Pokedex holders."_

Whi-2 called him commander and hanging off the waist of his slightly faded jeans and clipped to a belt, Hugh noticed an out-dated version of the Kanto Pokedex, constructed by Professor Oak himself. At school, the teachers forced aspiring trainers to study up on Pokedex history and this one looked very much like the first, ancient ancestor to the fancy, high tech ones professors gifted talented trainers these days. And moreover, the term his female friend used to address the once champion sounded weird...Commander? Why commander?

* * *

A muscle laden arm crashed into his face and Red staggered backwards as an arc of blood exploded out of his nose and dripped down his partially dislocated jaw. He shut his eyes, pain flared behind his eyelids and spread to his forehead. His head rung and he heard Whi-2 scream something incomprehensible. Still staggering, he tripped over and fell on his back, the hulking form of an emboar and its fuming trainer cast a shadow over his aching body. Pikachu leapt to the ground in front of him and squeaked up a storm whilst Vee calmly pinned the lilac haired teenager with an enigmatic gaze.

"HUGH!" Whi-2 screeched and placed herself between him and Red, "What..." she sputtered, "what do you think you are doing?" Instead of listening to her, he slunk forward and gently pushed her to the side. Boar followed him and bore down on Execution's commander who struggled with stemming the haemorrhage from his nose. The older male forced his jaw back into place with an audible grind and winced with agony. Pressing his wristband to his nose, he gingerly felt around the appendage and exhaled when it remained unbroken. Quickly, Red veered to the side and gasped when the fire pig hammered down an arm and crushed terracotta tiles into brown fragments and dust. Suddenly the area around him grew scorching hot and his skin popped with blisters, with growing horror; the Kanto native realized that the beast wanted to roast him alive. His arm shot down towards his belt and in the next instant, a fireball erupted in his face. Whi-2 watched the entire spectacle mutely, she witnessed the leader engulfed with flames and her heart stopped beating. The grey outline slowly dissipated and when emboar stopped firing, only a blackened smudge remained.

"Hugh...HUGH! Are you crazy?" She whirled on her best friend with angry tears streaming down her cheeks, "how could you! He's one of the most respected members in the public and you just...You just...incinerated him! Are you crazy?!" The younger male's eyes widened with shock when she whipped out a servine, two vines feebly lashed out and hit his Boar before retreating at high speed.

"He's not dead..." crimson irises scanned the room critically, "at least I think so. And respect Whi-2? For an Arceus forsaken criminal? I don't think so. They forced you to work for them didn't they?" He pointed at the Pokedex in her hand, "throw that thing AWAY!" Stomping towards her, he snatched the digital device and flung it with all his might. His emotions took another blow when Whi-2 ran after the sailing device in an effort to catch it. The pale pink Pokedex looked like it would hit a wall and simultaneously break apart into a million pieces, alas a green vine caught it and both Unovians stilled.

The entire chamber crawled with fat vines and in one side of the room, the ground rumbled and tore open. Tiles broke, the earth heaved up and a giant, pink petaled flower pushed out of the earth. Venusaur rose with its master lying limply on its back. One arm and a good portion of the ex-champion's upper body had been burnt and the flaccid limb had green vines buried into it as Saur pumped a blend of healing chemicals. The man, who was unconscious slowly stirred, moaned and curled up in anguish. When the saurian grass monster fully emerged from underground, its trainer's blackened body healed and gained a healthy flush and the blood eyed human sat up with tumultuous expression on his face. Whi-2's Pokedex dropped into his lap.

For the first time in his life...Hugh felt afraid. Swallowing the panic, the focused in on his opponent. Red. The man who ordered his friends to be kidnapped and kept against his will. Red. The person who forced his childhood companions into doing atrocious deeds. The scum of a human who currently looked down on him and sneered. Hugh felt fire coursing through his veins; he'd wipe that arrogant, self-satisfied smirk off that hideous man's face and take back Lack-2 and Whi-2. Putting a distance between him and venusaur, he glanced around the room. Very clever, ex-champion Red thought that he controlled the battle ground, the child snorted, not for long and grass types stood little chance against fire types. Briefly, he sent a prayer to the deity monsters and thanked them for type advantages.

"I almost died..." Red drawled and scratched the back of his head in a nonchalant manner, "what an unpleasant experience...Here Whi-2" another of Saur's vines picked up the electronic encyclopaedia from his lap and handed to the girl. She shook like a leaf battered with an autumn breeze. "Keep the Pokedex safe, even if the device defines us, it will serve as an aid during battling and times of crisis." His eyes shifted and took in the other boy whose face screamed defiance. Hugh, a friend of Whi-2, clearly the teen wanted his comrade back and was prepared to sell his soul for it. The man smiled and clutched his cheek when a throb pulsed through it. This action riled the boy up further and Red swore he beheld the child shooting out lasers from his eyes. "You wanna fight?" The Kanto native quizzed, Hugh gritted his teeth and cussed and Whi-2 shivered uncontrollably as she saw her best friend launch an assault, "then come at me... But don't expect any mercy from a man you tried finish." Red barely completed his sentence when his opponent tore at him with an animalistic growl.

 _I have to stop them..._

 _Without a doubt, Red might damage Hugh forever._

BANG!

Saur's vines and Pika bounced off a translucent barrier covering Hugh and his pokemon, meanwhile, emboar and flygon were restrained by vines and the two creatures struggled to wriggle out of the sinewy tendrils. Both battlers rotated their heads and their mouths fell open to see Whi-2 standing there, tear stained and a terrifying determination ringing her eyes. The fact that she managed to stop both of them, remained a long discussed topic amongst the Dex-criminals in subsequent weeks. She covered her best friend with a safeguard since, the brown haired girl pondered; he would be more prone to loosing and getting hurt.

"Please stop fighting both of you! Hugh...What I do is my choice and they didn't force me to do anything..."

"DON'T LIE!" The boy exploded and tore his protection apart. "Don't worry...I'll get you out of their clutches, you will be safe and sound again. Boar, let's go! Bulk up." He vigorously massaged his throbbing temples and pointed at Red who crouched like an invalid atop Saur. The mega fire pig curled and his muscles bulged as hyper growth took place, sweat poured out of its heated skin and after uttering a sound which sounded like the amalgamation between a squeal and a roar, it shot off and barrelled at venusaur with a flaming fist. The grass type's eyes widened, the fire beast possessed an agility hidden by its heavy weight appearance.

"Protect"

All the vines dancing around the room folded inwards and condensed into a tightly woven net in front of venusaur and its master, however, the flaming pig never reached them. A jet of pressurized water fired from jellicent, hit the careering fire monster and sent him off track and crashing into the opposite wall. In a split second, flygon took its place and soared above Red, opening its mouth, it fired a ball of fire which shot downwards. Desperately, Saur rearranged its grass net and held it above its trainer. Fire and grass collided and the vines charred instantaneously into grey cinders, fresh tendrils leapt up and smothered Red from head to toe as the sand dragon sought out a new angle of attack. The dragon swooped low and another beam of ice, coming from the middle of the room froze it; flygon dropped towards the ground like a meteorite.

"Jellicent, use Hex on all of them" Whi-2 relentlessly commanded and wiped sweat from her brow, "Servine, swagger go!" Plumes of mauve flame wreathed around all the monsters in the field and dissipated with a ghostly glow; the moment servine finished its infuriating walk, pikachu and emboar barrelled towards it and refused to obey any commands given by their trainers. Hugh shouted forcefully and one of venusaur's tendrils snaked towards the electric rodent in an effort to catch it. When Pika came into range, the grass snake struck. Lightning fast, it sprouted an uncountable number of vines and ensnared the mouse with it, servine itself coiled its taut body around the struggling creature and Pika squeaked and thrashed madly in a choking, leafy grip, streaks of electricity flew outwards from its body but it did scant damage. The more it struggled, the tighter servine closed in on it and soon Pika began gasping for air, Red shouted a few commands and with wide eyes he saw his partner make another feeble scratch on the serpent's emerald and white scales before outright fainting.

No way...

The last time Pika fainted in battle was when Gold challenged him for the position of Pokemon champion.

How many years ago was that?

He couldn't remember.

"No way..." Hugh whispered when Boar keeled over at his feet and went still after a series of painful convulsions. He couldn't believe that shy, sweet Whi-2 brutally sent his prized monster tethering to the edge of a coma. Water pulse bombarded into his enraged fire pig and hex doubled, no, tripled the damage done to it when the two status conditions activated. Emboar went on a rampage and hammered itself with fists and a hydro pump sent it crashing, sliding and halting at his feet. Securing his partner back into a pokeball, Hugh commanded all of his beasts to join the battle. With a furious cry, he set them loose on Red. Execution's commander busied himself with tending to Pika and he looked up sharply to see a multitude of beasts charging towards him. A snap of his fingers and Gyara along with Poli emerged from their pokeballs and took a defensive stance. Espeon stood in the rear and sent a cloud of psychic energy towards them. An ominous, black wind blew the invisible particles away and another barrier stopped the two parties from colliding with each other. At this moment, the Unovian female turned towards her servine and saw it evolving. Temporarily, everyone focused their attention to the growing, glowing creature as it shed its skin and morphed into an elegant servine, the regal pokemon lost its feet and grew thicker, a set of gleaming fangs poked out from its bottom jaw when it opened its mouth to deliver an ear curling hiss. Shedding the last part of its opaque, dead skin away, it slithered towards Whi-2 and leered at everyone else. Tick tock, the silent spell shattered and the two males resumed their murderous brawl.

"I said STOP IT you TWO!" The teenage girl screamed when Poli broke her barrier with a decisive brick break and proceeded to whale on boufallant. Punches reinforced with water and ice rained down on the buffalo and the bovine beast evaded and lashed out with its ringed horns. They peppered the wall and floors with gashes and holes. Away from them, simipour and elektross tried toying with an impassive espeon. The feline, a pink puffball due to its fur standing on end, confused the duo and observed as the elefish pokemon shocked the daylights out of simipour. A brief glint of the psychic type's eyes revealed an impromptu attack and seconds later, the sun pokemon scattered a procession of golden stars and sliced five vines coming her way. The grass tendrils were chopped into confetti and it rained down on top of Hugh's pokemon. Finally it erected a barrier around its opponents and sat back to enjoy watching the two of them bludgeoning each other into unconsciousness. Whi-2 inhaled crisply when the cat-esque pokemon locked in on her, she needed to put espeon out of commission quickly, the psychic beast's ability to predict attacks is a nuisance.

A pool of shadows gathered at espeon's feet and nimbly the feline sprang away and retreated towards the safety of its trainer and Saur's grass net. Unfortunately, the black circle kept up with her and with a yowl, the sun beast leapt to the side and avoided a shadow ball coming out of the circle on the floor. Another barrage had it veering left and right, evading the orbs with perfect accuracy, unbeknownst to the psychic, a second eclipse formed behind her and out of it; jellicent rose and wrapped its salmon coloured tentacles around espeon's throat. The cat let out a piercing screech and Red snapped his fingers. Return. A pokeball sucked Vee up and its human gently tapped the clear surface of the ball and told it to rest.

"..." Red took in the destruction of the room and glanced at his watch, his body still shrieked with pain but he could deal with it later. Poli, his last remaining able pokemon apart from Saur, had its movements and abilities severely thwarted by Whi-2. He could see the girl panting and pushing her sweat drenched, damp hair away from her face, one of her intricately styled buns came loose and a sheet of caramel brown hair cascaded over and hid half of her strained visage. To be honest, he felt surprised; never in his wildest imaginations did he think that this teenager, with little combat experience, would be able to topple two league finalists at once. She looked and behaved akin to a war goddess, fiercely pointing and commanding her troops into a well conducted battle. Did he or Hugh own this arena? No, Whi-2 did. A flicker of amusement and pride glinted in his eyes as she forced boufallant and Poli apart. The blue frog back flipped and dodged a torrent of emerald energy spheres. The projectiles hit the wall and floor instead and decimated the constructions. Meanwhile, boufallant kicked out helplessly as it lay suspended in a bubble of water; the watery sphere rose and Hugh uttered a string of curses. Prick. The balloon burst and the normal type plunged towards the earth from a considerable height, a waterfall squeezed the consciousness out of it.

"STOP!" The three of them reached an impasse and appraised each other from three different corners. "Hugh...Senior Red, there is no point in fighting any long-"

"Says who?" Hugh screeched and whipped out another pokeball "SAYS WHO?!" he repeated and threw the capsule in the air. Out popped unfezant, it uttered a cry and perched on his head, "I'm taking you back and I don't care how I do it...And not even an undefeated, living legend or whatever the heck people call him, is gonna stand in my WAY! Don't interfere with us any longer."

"Hugh! You don't understand" his companion pleaded, "don't you see he is going easy on you? You can't defeat him Hugh...You just can't! Please listen to me. When Red gets serious he takes the battlefield himself. Did you hear him commanding his pokemon?" Hugh didn't reply, "No you didn't! One word orders don't qualify as commands. Now imagine if he's standing in front of you and actually telling his partners what to do! Think Hugh!" She strode towards him and clasped him by his chest, "think! He would destroy you!" She quivered violently and hung on to him, "let us pass...Please. You won't stand a chance against him. Lack-2 didn't and you won't either."

"No."

"Hu-"

"No. I'm going to defeat him and I'm going to save you from his and the organization's clutches. Don't worry. I can and I _will_ do this."

"Whi-2" another low voice entered the conversation, "step aside. I like Hugh's fiery passion and it'd be rude not to grace him with a battle. I accept your challenge." The ebony haired man recalled Poli and made himself comfortable on Saur's back. Again, the azure eyed girl shuddered and hugged herself. Nodding, she retreated to a safe distance. "Right...I'll only use Saur since you only have one pokemon Hugh. I'll let you go first."

Muttering under his breath, the boy pressed his hands over his eyes and prayed. Relaxing his rigid stance, he surveyed the room and took note of the vines still screening his injured opponent. He was allowed the first move? Red's kindness disgusted him. Wiping the tiny scope lens clamped over his bird's eyes, he gave it a command. "Aerial ace" he droned and the bird leapt with talons outstretched. The proud pokemon blitzed over and Hugh held his breath, if the net of brambles covering Red and his monster could be torn apart, he would have a clear shot at the man and hopefully, a hyper beam would put the ex-champion out of commission. Then he and Whi-2 could esca...

"Saur...Use Solar beam."

A lurid pillar of electric green light erupted out of the seed pokemon's mouth and tore a jagged hole through the net, it caught unfezant straight as the avian soared and thrust it backwards. The beam continued and slammed into Hugh who failed to see it coming. Both boy and his beast ploughed into the opposite wall and the lilac haired teen heard his ribs, leg and arm shatter under stress. He howled, his voice petering to a hoarse scream as he clutched his leg and cried. Indescribable agony coursed through him and Whi-2 immediately went to him and offered him healing berries and herbs.

"You did well." Red slid down from his resting place and limped towards Hugh, "now please let us continue with our work. Come on Whi-2, we wasted a lot of time...we have to leave before the authorities catch up. Placing the berries in next to her friend, the girl nodded and pulled her hair into a ponytail. The two criminals stood and the crimson eyed man placed an armful of potions and other recovery items at the groaning child's feet. He moved away first and allowed Whi-2 to say a farewell. As the girl turned to leave, an arm shot out and grabbed her ankle.

"Please..." Hugh rasped and grasped his chest, "don't leave me...Don't go away Whi-2...Don't leave me alone again." He crawled across the ground and put his other, broken arm around her legs and held his breath, the mere act of breathing sent silvers of pain running down his body.

 _Protect Hugh_

Whi-2 gently shook her head and stepped out from his broken embrace. "I have to protect you" she muttered and wiped away her stubborn tears, "you don't understand...Or rather you don't want to accept the fact that I work with them. Frankly I enjoy my time with them and I once thought about having you with us would make me very happy." Hugh coughed and spat up blood, he still lay face down on the floor, "But I know you wouldn't...You shine so bright Hugh and I want to protect you. As long as I'm in the organization...They will heed my request and they won't lay a hand on you. Please understand, the Dex-criminals work this way. However if I go with you...I don't know what they would do to you Hugh." She started walking away from him and Hugh sputtered something incomprehensible. "Goodbye Hugh...For your sake I hope we don't run into each other again."

"I'm going to tell the POLICE!" The battered Unovian announced in a grating voice and gulped for air, a bone dislocated in his chest and sent him hissing with pain, "And I'm going to tell them everything!" Holding his breath, he pulled himself forward and left a thick coating of blood glistening on the terracotta tiles. "I'll tell them that Kanto's...Ex-champion is a ring leader of the Dex-criminals. The international police, the Unovian and Kanto authorities will... hunt you till the ends of the earth and put you behind bars. And my friends..." he took in a shallow breath, "they will be safe and leading a normal life like they are supposed to. I HATE YOU!" He reached out his hand again and held on to Whi-2, gripping her legs with both hands he sobbed.

The police...When Hugh mentioned the word; it sent alarms ricocheting inside Red's head. Anything but the police, he didn't want to be chained up and forced to do things against his will ever again. He beheld the boy desperately holding the girl...It can't be helped. "Police? I suppose you forgot that your friends' lives are in our hands now." The male Unova native's head snapped upwards, "go ahead and report me...You will have to deal with the consequences for your entire life." He let the threat hang, "and if our spy department gets a whiff of your whistle blowing...You best say your last farewell you your friends now already. Come Whi-2, I need to rest. Let's get this over and done with." She marched ahead, stiff faced and without looking back. Hugh curled up and started spouting raw expletives and begging Whi-2 to reconsider, the boy writhed on the floor and cried.

"Whi-2...WHI-2! Please don-"

A door slammed on the other end of the room and cut his agonized wails off.

* * *

Morning

Unova

Pokemon League

The duo stepped out and an early morning breeze buffeted their clothes, the wind carrying the scent of charred flora and ash. Watery sunlight filtered through puffs of white clouds and washed the earth below in dappled rays of light. Far away from them, the two criminals could still hear commotion and the roar of helicopters intermingled unpleasantly with sirens coming from both the police and the fire trucks. In front of them, a cluster of grandiose buildings stood apart from the mountainous terrain and after consulting his map, Execution's leader set off with a swaying gait whilst Whi-2 followed mutely.

 _Ring ring_

 _ring..._

Exhaling, Red picked up his poke-gear and took a moment to confirm the identity of the caller. White. He wondered if they managed to secure N and conclude their mission smoothly. Accepting the call, he reeled backwards when a burst of static hit his ear forcefully.

"Senior Red..." White exclaimed, "this is terrible, Black and N are... they are."

A hollow feeling opened up in his chest and expanded filling his body with profound sense of foreboding.

"...Are?" he prompted the frantic female to speak and after a few more squeaks of static, she replied:

" _Dead"_

* * *

 **A/N:** Another cliff hanger which I hope will have everyone losing their minds! I'm kidding. Enjoy the chapter people, I hope I portrayed Hugh's desperation properly and didn't overdo it. At Guest: I like pizza and I love chocolate even more. If you want to offer food, offer away, I'll virtually munch on them, gladly. I have fantastic friends and they are the main source of inspiration for this story, some of the interactions between them are based on real life experiences. Friends with members of different regions? I'm exploring that (as in the chapters I'm currently busy writing not posting) Look forward to how their interactions play out. At Eevee: I'm doing well, thank you for asking, hopefully you are doing fantastic as well :) Ahahaha, your love across the oceans is much appreciated, continue to be healthy. At Jack54311: Story Silver is right, the catch and their shenanigans will be revealed in the next chapter. And you can see how unfortunate Whi-2 and Hugh's encounter ended up. At AceTrainerLeaf: Time flies when you are having fun…sorry I just had to sound old. Anyway, I never have enough time for reading, literally and I don't remember when was the last time I came on just to read. Either than that, I'm happy to hear my chapters are interesting and detailed (and they are just getting longer) and will continue to strive to make it a better experience.

Thanks to all those who have read and reviewed. Please keep on dropping a line of your thoughts and telling me what you think. As always, constructive criticism is much appreciated. Virtual pizza for all!


	56. Stone sanctuary for lost souls

**Chapter 56: Stone sanctuary for lost souls**

A little bit past midnight

Sinnoh

Veilstone city

Weavile inserted a claw and smoothly rotated a rusting screw securing the dusty grate on the wall. Gingerly picking the grille up, it squeezed out of the shaft and dropped in the security room silently. The chamber was dim, lighted by a few flush lights set into the ceiling and the electric blue glow of the monitors. An entire bank of screens whirred and hummed and before them, a single guard sat in one of the three swivel chairs placed before the wall of screens. A lone overseer. The dark beast mingled well with the shadows, it crept forward and nimbly scrambled up the backrest. Undisturbed and satiated, the guard stretched out a hand and gulped down the remains of a lukewarm coffee and adjusted himself. All the screens showed their normal feed and the Veilstone building had a security tighter than the Pokemon's Association ever since the breaking in and stealing of the Griseous orb a few years back. The higher ups did not allow any cleaners or security guards to remain after working hours and each employee in the building, no matter how menial their task may be, had their entire background, history, family and genealogy checked up on by the officials. The Veilstone building's staff had been thoroughly investigated and equipped with special identification and so far, it remained fool proof. Yawning, he rubbed his baggy eyes and wriggled in his plush seat, the leather creaked slightly and he stilled on spying a shadowy reflection on the bottom left monitor.

Something sharp pressed into his Adam's apple. A sharp, metallic claw.

The dark pokemon held out a damp cloth and pressed it over the terrified man's nose and partially agape mouth. Perhaps the man fainted from fright before the sleep inducing toxins claimed him. A few minutes later, he slumped over and weavile shredded the rag. It searched the man and found the master keycard as well as several data chips and special digital passes. Pushing the occupied chair away, the dark type pulled in another one and hopped on it, claws hovering over a projected keyboard, it waited for further instructions.

"Well done Weavile" a disembodied voice droned from an earpiece, "now time to disable the security, I can't see what's going on so adjust the camera a little," the monster obeyed and pushed its forehead camera a little higher and activated a switch, a circle of light poured out, "hmm...Better. Now follow my orders precisely alright? We have to do this delicately, one wrong move and the building will scream and dozens of police officers will rush over and swarm the building. First, swipe in the keycard and confirm authorization, if they ask for a password, use the emergency override function, the button is to your left..."

Outside, two figures crouched in the penumbra of a skyscraper. Blue looked up and noted a cloudy sky blotting the light of the moon and plunging the environment into an abysmal darkness. A perfect night to carry out the theft of the most treasured artefact in the history of mankind. Even the street and building lights seemed to have dimmed, holding their breath in anticipation of a heinous crime. Cars rarely travelled down the streets and the few strollers who preferred to walk around in the night, were all chased home by the pregnant clouds hanging in the sky. Twirling a slim laser cutter in between her fingers, she tapped her night vision goggles and observed Silver delivering a set of instructions to his weavile. He spoke deliberately slowly and keenly perceived the proceedings with the palmtop computer strapped to his hand; and despite the moderately chilly surroundings, his face beaded with sweat. The most critical phase, if the cameras and other high fangled security devices in the Veilstone building were disrupted or jammed, they could shimmy up the main ventilator and take their prize before the night ended. One hour and thirty minutes max, the brown haired woman contemplated and smiled. She traced the exterior of the main ventilator and tried not to imagine the consequences should the ventilation shaft thin in some places and become too small for her to squeeze through.

"...Now press the other data chip to its side...yeah, just like that. Tsk, it needs fingerprint identification..." Silver muttered to himself and shifted on his haunches to make himself comfortable, fifteen minutes had already lapsed since weavile's infiltration and he urged his partner to work faster or else his sister's meticulous schedule will fall behind. "Get the unconscious man's thumb on the scanner and no! Don't slice his finger off!" Thankfully, weavile understood, it dragged the comatose man over and slapped his thumb on the scanner. A brief flash on the screen and all the lights dotted in and around the building paled considerably, on the tiny display, the red head saw two words which made him grin akin to a Cheshire cat.

Security disabled.

"Sis, we are good to go, weavile will clean up in the monitor room and meet us at the E2 junction." Blue uncurled a map and briefly gave it once over, she had the entire layout memorized already but it didn't hurt to reconfirm. The azure flute safe was located in the middle of the domicile, an archive on its right and a decontamination room to its left. The shaft ended in both rooms and bypassed the target room. She smiled, rolled up the map and thrust it into her pocket. Taking out the cutter, she expertly sheared a large space and both of them climbed in.

Suffocating. The metallic walls closed in on them and in some parts, became unbearably hot. To the duo's horror, the owners of the building concealed several button cameras in the niches of the pipe and when Silver ripped one of them out and studied it, he declared that the edifice had a second, hidden security system which relied on a remote operation and was completely detached from main security. Blue unclipped a pokeball from her body hugging latex suit (perfect for covert missions, she declared to an aghast Silver) and sent Ditty out, the pink slime crawled along the walls and deactivated the cameras by seeping into the joints and short circuiting it. Constellate's leader exhaled and slowly dragged herself forward whilst contemplating on adding another hour to their mission time. The two operatives shimmied forward without a word, only the occasional flare of orange sparks and a hiss of a bust camera broke the cumbersome silence. Up ahead, cobalt irises picked out a lighter patch in the shaft and the commander felt the blowing of a slight breeze. They arrived at E2, a bend connecting to the outside and forking to the most confidential rooms inside the Veilstone building.

Unfortunately for them, weavile didn't arrive yet and Silver spent a good precious minutes internally fuming and alternately worrying for his monster. Five minutes later, to their chagrin and relief, the dark beast shuffled forward and threw its short arms around its owner before remembering to be docile. The Johto native gave it a few words of praise and secured it back in a pokeball. With renewed determination, the two humans set off again, crawling through the tiny space and after another half an hour of fumbling about in a dark, narrow tunnel, Blue spied her destination and whipped out her pen-esque cutter. Drawing four lines, she caught the grille before it clattered to the pristine floor of the hallway. With a dexterity born from years of practice, she unfurled herself and dropped gracefully on the floor, Silver admired the way she made no sound, not even a slight tap despite her feet clad in stiletto heels. He too joined her in the obscurely lit hallway and stared at the blast doors closing up the safe leading to the Azure flute. Ditty slithered out, plopped on to its master's head and disappeared.

"All according to plan hmm?" Blue's voice echoed in the stark space and she confidently strode to the impregnable doors, "this thing is made of metal so nothing but the most corrosive of acids will corrode it. That or we can just use a keycard and a security pass to go inside." The woman chirped and slid the master keycard into the device, the screen asked for a special pass and she fed in the slim chip next. Behind her, her brother held his breath, if the thing needed a fingerprint or iris identification, he'd either have to slice a finger or gouge an eye off. Beep. The computer confirmed and the doors began to moan and grind as they opened sluggishly. Silver blinked in confusion as the interior became visible. He could see nothing, all that lay in front of him is a shroud of darkness. The sort of black which sucked a person's senses in. His sister briefly placed a hand on his shoulder and anchored him back to reality. "Don't look; this is the dark barrier I talked about, designed to make anyone who enters this place, mad. Literally. There are four pokemon manning this barricade in the shape of a pyramid and it is layered with the psychic one. I know it sounds absurd but this is how they shaped it, in between the two barriers, there is a vacuum. If one breaks and the other remains unbroken, the vacuum will activate and suck the room inside it. According to the notes Rald downloaded, it has a specific formation and we should disable it as such. Let's see...normally, the pokemon would be disabled with a slight electric shock delivered by a highly trained official and their pokemon...these shocks are also recorded with a device those monsters carry. In our case, we can do it in a much simpler manner." The red head nodded at her words and called forth his kingdra "we put them to sleep." A yawn courtesy of the water type made all the beasts occupying in the room drowsy and soon, Cleffy, protected by its natural ability of magic guard, phased through the swirling darkness and sent each formation holder into a sleep by a series of well-aimed, pressure point punches.

The beasts crumpled into a dreamless sleep and the layers of the liquescent blockade flowed away to reveal an unornamented room. Similar to the chamber of the griseous orb, this one had more than a dozen of lasers poking out of the four walls. Undeterred, the female thief marched forward and Silver followed behind cautiously. His stomach churned.

"Thanks to weavile, all the lasers are disabled," Constellate's leader murmured. Heels clacking, she climbed a set of short steps to the podium holding her prize, "finally we can have the Azure flute in our hands and the mission...Hassle free wasn't it?" Her brother nodded and came to a stop, argent irises gave the corners of the glass box a once over before he lifted it up. "I wonder how much it'll fetch on the black market; I mean the flute does not look really expensive or beau-"

They stopped breathing.

Lying on a bed of royal purple velvet, the artefact emitted a shallow sound. The tune sounded so morose and yet divine that a few tears escaped Blue's eyes. In a trance, she brushed her gloved fingers over the surface of the object and heard it utter a sigh. The flute was breathtakingly sublime and the surface of it shimmered gold, silver and in colours she couldn't describe. Scooping up the object with its velvety wrapping, the two infiltrators gaped at it in a bewitched manner, forgetting the fact that they should leave as soon as possible.

"Did you honestly think that the original Azure Flute would be in Sinnoh?" Both Blue and Silver now held their breath for an entirely different reason, "What you are holding is a magnificent replica...But I suppose it did the job of luring you two in. I have to thank Falkner and Lt. Surge later; they surely devised a formidable trap."

 _Trap...A trap! And they fell for it, hook, line and sinker._

Blue turned; the mesmerising effect of the fake flute suddenly shattered due to the unexpected arrival of Cynthia and a whole army of police officers as they crowded inside the room and stood guard all the way to the blast doors. A trap...She inwardly berated herself for being so short sighted. The crafty law holders left a delicious thread of information swimming around the deep web and knew that the Dex-criminals would not forego such a coveted relic. She should've listened to Silver when he hinted that everything went too easy. Letting the object drop, she watched it crumble to pieces and turned towards the blonde woman.

"Secure them!" Cynthia commanded with Virizion by her side, before any of the humans could move, the sword of justice disappeared into a whirl of wind and leaves and Blue felt tears in her suit, seconds later, the regal pokemon reappeared by its trainer's side and dropped two pokeball studded belts. "...Thank you." the lady murmured and pointed two the two convicts, "cuff them and haul them back, we will contact chief Anabel and interrogate them when she comes." The masses of police surged towards them and the two Dex-criminals squeezed against each other.

Helpless.

"Wait!" Blue screeched and held up a wavering hand, the police halted and turned towards their superior, the Kanto native grabbed Silver and pulled him forward, "do you know who this is?" she queried in a wavering tone.

"Silver...Phantom thief blah blah blah...We know he is wanted by every law official on the face of the Poke-verse" Volkner droned and apathetically slunk into the room and scratched his ear. "Now if you are done stalling for time...Please get a move on."

"Yes...Everyone knows the phantom thief Silver" the azure eyed female added and her foster brother wondered why she did this...Using him? "But did you know that he is also Team Rocket's boss...Giovanni's son as well?"

Silence. Blue revelled in their astonished expressions as they viewed him with renewed curiosity and disgust.

"Sis... _Why?_ " his shocked whisper barely fell from his lips as his adopted sibling held him out like a prize. The petrified officers suddenly moved and closed in on him. Abruptly, Blue clasped him towards her chest and dove to the side. Commotion rang out as the duo weaved and shoved people out of the way and came to a crashing stop when a ring of pointed rocks hovered mid-waist, one of them nearly sliced Blue's abdomen open.

"Stealth rock...we were well prepared for you," Sinnoh's champion flicked her mane backwards, "you cannot escape from here, there are no windows to climb out of and if you want to make it past the arc of deadly stones, you will have to perform acrobatic feats that we humans are incapable of. Your gig is up, come quietly and we won't harm you." Turning away, the Sinnoh native failed to see Blue delivering a vicious chop when one of the police tried to pull Silver away.

"Deal...we will come with you. But!" Constellate's commander took a deep, shaky breath and her heart hammered a million beats per minute, "you cannot separate Silver away from me or I swear, I will tear everything apart!" Silver felt his ribs folding as she gripped him tighter, he felt limp and confused.

Doomed...

They were caught and doomed.

* * *

Night

Unova

Team Plasma castle

The hallways seemed to stretch on endlessly. N jogged and tried to avoid the screeching and assaults aerodactyl, which currently raged a few meters behind him, rained down on them. The ground dragon was adamant to bring them back with it and both he and Black juked left and right in order to avoid it, in fact, the only advantage of having a homicidal wrym on their tails' happened to be that it chased away any opposition. As soon as the Team Plasma grunts and occasionally, a sage spied the ancient creature chasing down two adolescents, they discreetly crept away and agreed not to interfere with the aerodactyl's meal. Those prehistoric pokemon were known for their aggression. Identical columns and rooms blurred past and N had no idea where he careered to, or where he ran from. It dawned on him that he forgot the castle's layout and now that the domicile had been completed, it only served to confuse him further. All he saw was a maze of white, frost coated walls.

Frost...The walls had frost on them so somewhere in this labyrinth of turns and rooms, Kyurem had to be hiding along with his fath- along with Ghetsis. An idea popped into his head, he needed to go towards the coldest part of the castle, taking a split second decision, he dodged to the right whilst Black went to the left.

"N!" The teen screamed, "What are you doing? Didn't we decide to go left five minutes earlier?" Aero hovered on leathery wings and contemplated which one to go after. It veered to the left and Black shrilled in indignation and fright. "Left dude...Why on earth are you...Oh, there is a cold breeze coming in from the right so Kyurem must be in there right? Cool, let's go after it and you can settle things with that creepy sage. I'll be with you every step of the way." The male threw his hands up in the air and ducked past the rock dragon as it dove down to him. Throwing the incensed living fossil a peace sign, the duo set off.

The next few corridors crawled with tendrils of mist and a heavy chill infused the area, N could see tiny particles of sparkling dust suspended in the air around them and their breaths came out in white puffs. Aero slowed down considerably and flew a good few meters behind them, it didn't want to venture in this unnatural cold and its instincts warned him to stay away. Danger, it repeated, some evil creature lurked within the corridors and it didn't understand why the two brain dead humans willingly ran towards it. Ice was its natural weakness and slowly the wyvern felt its wings freeze over. The thin screen of flesh slung from one hollow bone to the other did not warm up efficiently and with a mighty heave, Aero doubled back and resolved to put as much distance between itself and an icy tomb. Not hearing its growls any longer, Black spared a glance backwards and cheered when he saw that Red's pokemon left them. However, N didn't stop in his brisk pace and pushed forward. After taking a few more turns, the duo found themselves shivering and gazing up a set of double doors. A thick layer of ice decorated it and obscured the carvings of the doors. Like everything else in the palace, the doors were stained in a rich ivory.

N placed a hand on the door and allowed the gelid surface to bite into his skin, "Black...If you want to leave now...Please do. When I'm done settling things with Ghetsis, I will have to take responsibility for all the atrocious actions Team Plasma did. I am their king after all, I must see this through." The teen next to him replied in negative and droned a string of unrelated words. He spouted strategies and warned that Kyurem could fuse. At the moment, N didn't know what he meant and dismissed the latter's ramblings when he spied Musha crooning happily and resting on the brown haired Unovian's head. Taking a deep lungful of frigid air, the leaf haired adolescent pushed with all his might, the rime coating the hinges cracked and the door swung open smoothly. Inside the throne room, his slate irises fixated towards a cloaked man reclining haughtily on a snow white throne. N felt an angry throb go through his body, Ghetsis sneered arrogantly and next to him, Kyurem, starved and yet majestic, roared angrily and strained its bulk against iron fetters. The chamber, with its cracked pillars and floor, lacked proper windows and ice clung to it on every visible surface. Icicles dripped freezing droplets on the floor, wreaths of verglas climbed up the pillars and walls and trailed akin to frozen ivy. A cloud escaped his lips, despite everything; his throne captivated anyone who laid eyes on it. The man occupying it rose, a calculated slowness in his movements and leaned his weight on the staff, a single, bloodshot eye layered with hate pinned N and expressed utter disdain for Team Plasma's former king.

"We have no place for traitors...Natural Harmonia Gropius" Ghetsis rasped, "however, you do have something I want...you and the cocky brat standing next to you and I will acquire it at any cost. Once I have both the dragon stones in my grasp...I can rule the world! Not even those impertinent nobles of Ransei will be able to stand up to ME!" Ghetsis wheezed and Black recoiled and his patted his bag. "Now be good children and hand them over to me and no one will have to get hurt. It pains me to see you side with the opposition N, I really thought of you as my son you know." Unbeknownst to the people in the room, the shadow triad crouched in the shades of pillars and in the crevices of the room and spied on them.

"No you didn't" N fiercely whispered, Kyurem growled and struck the glacial floor with a claw, "my existence is nothing more than a tool to further your own selfish goals and you treat the entire organization the same way. I will defeat you and scatter the organization by taking responsibility for them...Team Plasma no longer exists!" The nefarious sage's eyes grew wide upon seeing the dark dragon stone in N's pale hands, the adolescent spoke a few words to it and instantaneously Zekrom materialized and shot out bolts of lightning. The sparks ran down walls, shattered ice and the fetters keeping Kyurem down. Suddenly free, the two dragons roared in tandem and the sound shockwaves brought a wall crumbling down. Ghetsis laughed madly, reached deep in his robes and brought out a small object, he held it up for the Dex-criminals to see.

"You have just dug your own grave..." he tumidly declared, "Do you know what this is? No? Of course not you ignorant fool! These are the DNA splicers I've managed to steal from Drayden...Hmpf, did you know he was part of Blackthorn City's Dragon clan? The tribe exiled him after he brought in an outsider. Enough of the history lesson." In his gnarled fingers, the splicers glowed and separated, the slices flew apart and buried itself in Zekrom's flesh. Black immediately screeched at N to take them off, alas..."too late you idiot. Anyone who knows about Kyurem knows that the dragon is incomplete...They all are, but Reshiram and Zekrom accepted their imperfections and morphed into sentient beings. The boundary pokemon could not come to terms with its hollow reality and cursed itself into this monstrosity. When combined, it shall wield a power unrivalled to any creature inhabiting this Poke-earth." N couldn't help but watch in a disheartened manner as his Zekrom wailed in pain and terror. Coils of energy erupted from the little chips and ensnared it; the electric monster flew in the air in an effort to shake them off. Instead, the bands curled around it and soon Zekrom disintegrated. With Ghetsis' revolting laughter echoing in their ears, the duo witnessed how the representation of ideals condensed into two ropes of black energy, these streams formed a double helix and surged towards Kyurem who absorbed them without restraint. The ice dragonoid morphed and once absofusion completed, it resembled something else entirely.

"What...What did you do to my ZEKROM?!" N exploded, perhaps for the first time in his life. "I can't hear him! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?"

"I see you lack the brain cells even the most dumbest of humans posses...What do you think I did with him? See for yourself." Kyurem came forth; slamming its ice encrusted hind legs on the tiles and shattering them. A black turbo replaced its formerly stumped tail and with a cackle, it ignited and blazed with blue tendrils of electricity, the dragonoid's spindly forearms elongated into two huge hands that were characteristic of Zekrom. Its wings, one black and leather and the other white and scaly, flapped in tandem and sent Musha toppling off Black's head. The extra layer of dense bone lining its maw fell away to reveal a protruded chin, the edge so pointy, it could stab someone to death. N looked into its eyes and found Zekrom's irises staring back at him.

"...H/eL...Me. Pa...I/n fu/ll" The acid green haired man recoiled, he could hear a sorrowful cry of help radiating from deep within the creature and he could hear Zekrom's pain and anguished cries for salvation. "...H/eL...Me. Pa...I/n fu/ll" it repeated over and over again and he tried to piece the incoherent words together.

"You sick moron!" Black hissed next to him, "Can't you see the creature is in pain? You fused them together! Undo the fusion immediately!"

"Silly child, why should I? The one eyed man leaned on his staff and grinned diabolically, "Black Kyurem is more powerful than before and this fusion will start to piece together its broken remains. It seems my wyvern is rather hungry, feast all you want Kyurem, because I'll need you later." Limping, Ghetsis sat himself on the throne and gleefully watched as the electric ice dragon bore down on N and opened its jaws wide. The slate eyed adolescent could smell its foul breath as it washed over his face, yet, he refused to budge. Black screamed at him again and pushed him away. A flash of brilliant white light ignited in the periphery of his vision and abruptly, he found his view of Kyurem's jaw blocked by a sea of white, creamy fur. Reshiram. Sighing, N sunk his fingers in the vast white dragon's tuft of fur and cried.

"...H/eL...Me. Pa...I/n fu/ll"

He could still hear Zekrom's warped pleas of help.

Around the same time

In another part of the castle

"It would've been wise to have a map of this place and why on earth is it getting colder?" Lack-2 irritably kicked away a piece of brown rubble and stopped, "where are seniors N and Black? I sincerely hope they aren't in the heart of this freezing fortress...Man I can't feel my fingers anymore!" The child flexed his fingers and spared a listless peek at his companion. White cautiously edged forward with an unhealthy solosis clasped safely in her arms. The gel like substance covering the pokemon thinned and its oval eyes remained perpetually shut. Treading further in the castle, they came across broken bits of construction along with a strip of newly dug earth. "This must be the way...I can already picture commander Red's Aero tearing this place up. But seriously...It's getting really cold." Silently, the two trekked through the hallways and kept an eye out. The place remained quiet as a grave and only the occasional sniff from solosis and a high pitched squeak from Pibo broke the monotony.

"I hope Black and N are all right..." White trailed off and bit her lower lip in anticipation.

"Don't worry!" her companion snorted and laced his hands behind his head, "they have two legendary dragons at their command...Who's going to maim them? If they team up, I'm sure they'd be able to plough through any adversary standing in their way so you don't have to worry for them...rather, I'd me more worried about myself because there is a member of the Team Plasma SCUM trailing me." Whipping around, he drew a slim iron rod from his pant pocket and hurled it at the ground; the spike drilled through a tile and struck the earth. "Show yourself!" Like water, several grunts and the smirking form of Zinzolin emerged from several rooms and pooled together in front of White and Lack-2.

"I see you are still the same insolent brat I met two years ago in the forest...Have you come to stop us little man? Unfortunately that won't do...our leader has already sprung all the traps and I can assure you, you have already lost." Lack-2 didn't waste time on any jibes; he sent his trusty partners out and grabbed pichu by the scruff when the tiny rodent tried to join in the battle. "A little pet?" the sage mocked, "...How cute." Shielding White from the masses, he stood before them and implored her to escape.

"And leave you here alone Lack-2? I can't do that!" She exclaimed and he shook his head.

"No, please go. And besides..." he looked at the grunts with obvious scorn, "I can handle some small fry by myself. Team Plasma needs to be whacked so hard, that they won't _dare_ ever raise their heads from the underground again." Samurott and swanna spread out and formed a barrier between White and Zinzolin. Articulating another thanks, the chocolate haired girl bounded away and sped down the frostbitten passages, a few grunts tried to pursue her but a timely whirlwind from swanna sent them flying backwards and smashing into the opposite wall, to drive the message home, the quadrupled water type stabbed its horn next to one quivering grunt. The sage smiled at Lack-2's ferocious display and sent his cyrogonal, the floating ice creature lashed samurott with two chains of icy globules before floating safely out of way when the beast retaliated with a burst of scalding water.

White ran down the halls and took a customary glance at her surroundings. They all looked the same anyway. Her legs got numb and she berated herself on wearing only a pair of short shorts and not having the sense to pack warmer clothing. Solly, in a sort of a half hibernation in her arms, flashed feebly and she took a right turn. A spark of indignation took root deep in her chest, just because she was more of a planner and organizer didn't mean she couldn't battle. As she thought this, an army of grunts descended on her. The girl stood her ground, stared them straight in the eye...And fled. Swinging from her hip, her serperior, Amanda, hissed in a displeased manner and after a brief struggle, it broke free from its pokeball. She knew White did not fear or despise battling and the only reason her master did not command them to battle was simply because the human thought their potential for acting would decrease. Slithering to a stop before an assemblage of liepard and garbodor, the regal pokemon lifted its head and ignored the heated sputtering of its trainer. It waited patiently for a command. White repeatedly called Amanda back, however the serpent refused, it did not attack nor try to defend itself when the opposition swiped a claw over its glistening scales and drew a fine trickle of blood, the girl wanted to catch up to N and Black as soon as possible but her pokemon wanted to fight.

" _Experiences Prez.._." Her best friend said these words when he kidnapped her and coerced her to join the Dex-criminals. Black needed little persuading and when he saw his department sported the then Champion Red as the leader, the teenager integrated himself into the organization with stars in his eyes. She had been a bit more sceptical but opened up when her skills of planning and organizing were much praised and needed. Turning around, she trudged back to her pokemon and faced the group of sniggering grunts who bore down on her with pitied expressions. Before she finished uttering two commands, her grass snake already struck. A flurry of razor edged leaves erupted from beneath the opposition and sent them scurrying for safety, the leaves swirled, formed into a cutting tornado and swept through the hallway tearing through clothes, fur, skin and leaving thin gashes on the walls. Some of the higher levelled beasts on Team Plasma's side tried to strike back furiously, a leaf storm shredded them and White looked the other way and started contemplating the roles her savage Amanda could star in...She'd definitely be a villain, the girl bemoaned and delicately stepped over severed limbs and groaning people to continue in her quest to find her comrades.

Aero swooped over her head and she peeked upwards to see the rock type speeding outwards with a strained visage. A second later, the guttural roar of a dragon echoing from deep within the castle buffeted her ears. The passageway shook and tiny pieces of plaster dislodged and pelted her. Amanda slithered forward and White followed her courageously. No need to be afraid, she told herself, her pokemon was right next to her.

A vast chamber with partially open doors beckoned her and she stepped into an entirely different part of the palace. Heat and cold clashed with each other, one moment a block of ice formed a pillar on the floor and in the next; the ice melted to form to steam and add to the general stuffed up atmosphere commanding the room. She beheld Black, sitting atop Reshiram and shouting commands and her eyes sought out N who stood agape on the floor and followed the battle. They fought a dragon White had never seen before and her brain whirred as she pieced facts together, some sort of fusion? Still enthralled with their war, the two males failed to see how she crept in undetected and N only noticed her appearance when she tapped him on the shoulder.

Startled, the leaf haired adolescent explained to her the circumstances. "Ghetsis used some sort of DNA splicers and forced Zekrom and Kyurem to fuse together. Zekrom is trapped inside him and he is in pain. Currently, Black and Reshiram are trying to keep Black Kyurem at bay since the ice dragon wants to have us for dinner. I can't speak to it...Before, I could sense a presence and calm him down but once he fused...It's as if their minds have been torn apart and stitched together haphazardly. I don't understand what they are saying anymore." He diverted his attention back to the conflict and added, "your solosis is very sick, he keeps on mumbling about death and disasters."

"Ahahaha..." The female chuckled weakly in an effort to disperse the tension building up in her, "whatever Solly predicts...Eventually comes true but I hope that this time he's just sick and spouting nonsense. I sincerely hope so." The duo quieted down and gasped when Reshiram smacked into the side of the wall. Ghetsis held his walking stick like a conductor's baton and used it to order Kyurem around and the dragon responded with a ferocity and agility one could expect in verbal commands.

Black exhaled in pain and felt his neck. Unbroken. Good. Reshiram absorbed most of the impact and the vast white creature peeled itself off the wall and shook itself free from cement fragments. The turbo on its tail ignited, belted out a plume of flame and sent the temperature in the room to suffocatingly high degrees. A screen of mist rose and obscured the field. Reshiram kicked off from the ground and flew in the air, tumbling to avoid an arc of electricity which shot past its left, Jaws open wide, it followed Black's directions, plunged finger sized teeth into a black wing and furiously tore the appendage off Black Kyurem. The dragon roared and rampaged around the room, spilling tar-esque blood on the already slippery, wet floor. Another order had the wyvern blasting a wall of searing blue fire. It enclosed its opponent and Black watched as the ice monster doused the flames with its element. Unfortunately for it, the sacred flames did not go easily out in water and they most certainly won't vanish in the presence of ice. The tongues of cyan fire licked over and consumed Kyurem. The dragon became still and when the fire finally died out, their eyes fixated upon a burnt carcass.

Stab.

The next few surreal events happened in slow motion and changed the entire course of the fight. Kyurem was far from death and defeat and despite being scorched till the very marrow of its bones, the beast shot out a spear-like pillar of ice. The projectile, propelled by electricity, lanced right through Reshiram's thick fur and dragon hide, it slid between the ribs, through a sheet of tough muscle and came to a stop in the dragon's beating heart. The thick cardiac muscle prevented the spear from penetrating further. Its partner gawked at the red stain rapidly spreading from the left side of Reshiram's chest. The heart kept on beating for a few moments more and very suddenly it stopped. The legendary beast of truth plummeted to the floor and sent up tile fragments. Instead of sliding off the dragon, Black kept sitting on it, his fingers curled in the pokemon's fur. He felt Reshiram's leg bones shatter when it hit the cold floor and several meters away from them, their adversary regenerated an ice wing and limb and studied them with a cruel gaze.

The warmth of his partner's body rapidly faded. White and N stood dumbstruck and rooted to their spot whilst their friend slid off the mythical beast's body and struggled to turn the monster to its side. He wanted to inspect the site of the wound. Surely potions could work...No! They must work, or a revive, a max revive...Berries and herbs...Black had them all. Frantically rummaging through his bag, he brought out an entire set of healing chemicals and laid them down on the floor. Again, he pushed against Reshiram with all his might but the wrym refused to budge. If he didn't know any better, he would've thought that the monster fell asleep, but everyone knew legendary creatures were not affected by puny status effects. A pool of crimson liquid stained the floor and the dragon's glassy irises slid slightly to the left and it whimpered. Immediately, the teen rushed towards its head, stroked it affectionately and spoke words of comfort. To White's dismay, he began crying, fat tear drops falling on stained fur as the Unovian clutched and wailed miserably.

And then...

The dragon started glowing.

Ghetsis clutched his staff and swore under his breath. The spear pierced its heart so why didn't that damn creature die? Kyurem itself did not pose a pleasant sight and it took the brief reprieve to rest and regenerate. He saw N and White pleading with Black to get away from the vast white and a realization dawned on him. The stubborn teenager refused to budge and still held on to his dear companion with all his might. Fed up, N strode over and tugged him on the arm only to receive an elbow to his gut. White pulled on him and Black begged them to stay away.

"Black!" the leaf haired man wheezed, "your Reshiram is not getting better! Don't you see its reverting into its stone form? Please move away Black, you will be sucked in!"

"Listen to him Black! Please listen to N!" Solly drifted into a coma and White panted, "I don't want to lose you! BLACK!"

He didn't move, even as it shined, the brown haired male forced a max revive down the dragon's throat and the ethereal from condensed and sucked everything in, he observed N shielding and pulling a distraught White away from the affected radius. A queer sensation overtook his body and his vision blanked.

Black and Reshiram transformed into a pure white sphere. The process occurred so quickly White felt weak and dropped to the cold floor. She didn't feel real any longer and worse, when her friend deliberately allowed himself to get sucked into the stone. He was smiling.

Smiling...

Why? Didn't he want to become Unova's champion? What happened to his dreams?

"Hahahahahaaaa!" Ghetsis dissolved into a fit of chortles and rasped, "How wonderful! How truly wonderful, now I have one less brat standing in my way!" He stopped prattling and balked when N fearlessly hiked to a blackened Kyurem. "Get away from him boy! Do you also have a death wish?" A tiny quiver entered his voice when instead of attacking him; the exhausted creature stooped to his level and eyed him ponderously.

"Zekrom...I know you are in there and you have great strength...You have power to overcome and break the bonds tying you down. Kyurem...everyone believes that you are a remnant...a hollow being who needs its existence to be filled with something else. You are your own creature and you should stop craving to be whole. We are all halves, quarters and pieces...and we should learn to accept it. Your friends make you whole and simply accepting your presence amongst Zekrom and Reshiram will make you whole. You are part of them and they are part of you. So please...release Zekrom already." N trod back to White, smiled at her and grasped her by the shoulders. "White..."

"You are going to do something stupid like Black!" The female's form stiffened. "No, you are not doing anything or settling anything here, we are going back and we will take that..." she hiccupped, "...the light dragon stone with us and Commander Red will resolve this crisis. No N! Please don't be rash...I can't lose you as we-"

"I love you" N confessed abruptly, "and I'm sure Black...loved you as well. Staying in the organization taught me a lot of things. It taught me that humans and pokemon can coexist together and remain lifelong partners. I admire Black because he made me realize this and because...In the very end, he sacrificed his ambitions to be with his partner. I also learnt how to take responsibility for my mistakes and not to run away from my problems or hide from them. This..." he gestured to Ghetsis, "is my problem and as a king, I cannot let my wayward subjects do as they please. It's going to be dangerous...Please let me pr-otec...T...Y-..ou" The front of White's shirt sported a spray of blood and N slumped against her with red fluid dribbling down his mouth and a gaping hole in his chest. This time, she didn't scream...She didn't have the energy to and mutely she watched as four shadowy hands wrapped around him and dragged him backwards into a golden sarcophagus. N's corpse was neatly placed into it and the lid shut with a bang.

A nightmare...

Something roared and it sounded like it came from a distant planet. Nothing reached her ears anymore and White sat there like a puppet whose strings were cut. A volley of tears cascaded down her face and plopped rhythmically on Solly's head. The pokemon woke up and the gel coating around it thickened. The disaster it predicted finally came to pass and it did not have to fear anymore. A torrent of negative energy assaulted the newly wakened pokemon and it diffused the malevolent whispers with a psychic wave. A huge black thing landed in front and White blinked.

Zekrom...So they un-fused.

" _Experiences Prez..."_ she saw Black's lopsided smile as he uttered those words... _"let me protect you..."_ the expressions swam in her head and she wanted to bury herself in a corner and cry.

And cry

 _Cry..._

But crying would do nothing. On the opposite side of the room, Ghetsis struck his cane on the floor and Kyurem responded. The Unova native wiped her tears and got up shakily. She whipped her Pokedex out and commanded: "Zekrom...Use bolt strike!" The first monolith of electric energy clashed against a dragon pulse and dissipated into the room, striking and hitting anything within its range. The second column struck true to its target and the surroundings became blindingly blue. The smell of electric burns hovered in the air and when the move completed, the occupants gazed at the shattered fragments of a glacial rock.

Kyurem...Finally at peace.

Zekrom channelled its energy towards Ghetsis...The man stood defiantly with his legion of well-trained monsters. The dragon ignored them and whaled on cofagrigus instead. A screeching din alerted the humans to the coffin pokemon being torn apart and the black dragon gently picked N's ashen body out of the casket.

Then it promptly morphed into a stone while still holding the dead body.

"The dark stone...While it may have gathered some unneeded impurities...we still have to take it. The light stone as well. I'm sure a method to awaken them exists...We just have to study up on it." The shadow triad stood up and confirmed their strategy, "I kill Ghetsis, the other grabs the light stone and you will go for the dark stone, understood?" His companions nodded, "kill anything that gets in your way." Akin to black water, they seeped out of the cracks and rushed towards their targets. A thin smile spread across the leader's face as he took sadistic pleasure on seeing the horrified look on Ghetsis face. One second: he slid the slim, assassin's sword out of an ornamented sheath, two: his target spoke rapidly and rallied his pokemon, three seconds later, a thin blade of steel served his opponents nerves and blood vessels and he jumped away in order to avoid the starburst of blood erupting from Ghetsis' neck. A glimpse told him that the dark dragon sphere was secured however his other colleague veered off course when a prehistoric creature swooped in with a brat dangling from its maw. It grabbed the light stone with one claw and the female teenager with the other and thereafter disappeared as fast as it came.

Dangling from Aero's dirt encrusted talons; White fumbled for her Xtransciever and stifled her sobs.

Dead...She informed Execution's commander.

Her friends, sucked into two respective stones...Were as good as dead.

* * *

 **A/N:** Much thanks to CaptainAzenor for favoriting the story, I hope it continues to be a pleasant read for you. At Silver: Some romance blossoming between Whi-2 and Hugh? Heh, the romance has already blossomed. You have a point, he will keep quiet for the sake of his friends. N and Black aren't dead…they are stuck permanently in limbo. At Eevee: The goodbye sounded very sad, but if you're at least reading the story then that makes me glad :) Same to you, take care of yourself as well. At Jack54311: I like stories with grey morality, I believe it makes more sense than a story with defining 'good' and 'bad' guys. They weren't mentioned in the beginning of the arc. Heh, your question (are there any good guys in here?) just made me nod my head and pat myself on a job well done.


	57. Let the tears and rain fall

**Chapter 57: Let the tears and rain fall**

Morning

Unova

Pokemon League

"We are going back..." Red ordered and Whi-2 gave him a puzzled look. "Black...And N...Are...They..." the words didn't want to come out, "they are dea-...They passed away." With great difficulty, he forced himself to speak and angled his face to the sky. Whi-2's mouth formed a perfect oval and involuntarily her tears started flowing again. "We are going back..." Red repeated in a barely perceptible tone and spoke into his poke-gear. "White...Regroup at the Plasma frigate...we shall return to Undella shortly." He stared at the Pokemon association building standing teasingly several meters in front of him. Maybe if he let Saur loose...No, his friends were more important than blowing up a stupid piece of architecture.

Aero gently dropped its load on the deck of the ship and flew over to Red who waited patiently for them, the rock wrym noted several burns lacing its master's shoulder and arm. The ebony haired male petted him and returned it back into a ball. Lack-2 said nothing; he stood apart from them and decided to ogle at the scenery instead. White came forward and held out the light stone to Execution's commander, formerly the sphere was snow white and smooth, now the white grew a shade darker and a visible crack spanned the circumference of the sphere. Whi-2 hugged her senior and the latter broke down crying and clutching the younger Unovian tighter against her.

Dead...

Black and N...

"Where is...the dark dragon stone? Did you manage to bring it with you White?"

On hearing his superior's question, Lack-2 answered for White, "no, the Shadow Triad faction of team Plasma stole it...And they killed Ghetsis as well." The teen spied a twitch on his commander's raw face and wondered who on earth managed to damage the ex-champion to this extent, "I suppose they had a falling out between themselves or..."

"Or what?" Red sharply queried, "tell me everything you know or I'll get Pearl to interrogate you, he'll make your ears bleed with the amount of talking he'd do."

Lack-2 snorted before continuing, "I think the Shadow Triad works for someone else. I didn't tell you this before, but my parents were murdered by them so I looked up some information on their inner workings and found out that they work for anyone as long as the pay is good. Most likely, their target was the dark dragon stone because they stole that first...Sorry, I don't know anymore. I came in later when Aero picked me up in the corridors and swooped into the throne room, by that time Ghetsis breathed his last and the triad took the dark dragon stone already, they aimed for the light stone as well but aerodactyl snatched it up and together with White, we escaped."

 _I'm sorry_

 _I'm so sorry White and Whi-2_

The words merely danced in his mind as crimson irises zoned in on them.

How unfair.

"...Get down to the station, we are leaving by train...If you have any luggage, leave it here, we are abandoning the frigate." Red commanded, "Please change your clothes, we don't want to be caught simply because the police could guess what we were up to when they look at our dirt stained gear." The three members shuffled below deck whilst he stood alone on top and shielded his face when a helicopter flew overhead. Clasping his hands over the dragon stone in his possession, he uttered a long prayer for both Black and N. They deserved much more than this.

One hour later, White sat with her face pressed against the glass as the train made the journey down towards Undella. Earlier, Red gave the light stone back to her and asked her to keep it. Rock faces and cliffs flashed past and she closed her eyes and opened them again. Every time she shut her eyes, an image of either N or Black would pop up in her head and she knew that when she retired to bed tonight, she'd be dreaming about one of them. N, with his gentle smile, a tendency to befriend pokemon faster than humans and an aura of harmony; and Black, with his ambitious dreams and a passion which blinded everything around him. Musha, who had been outside its pokeball when Black got sucked in, perched on her head and dozed. Didn't it feel any pain? She wondered, perhaps the pokemon slept its anguish away, musharna and Black were inseparable and the dream eating pokemon feasted on his ridiculous goals.

" _I love you..."_

N's confession broke her heart, not because he said it right before he expired, but because she never realized his feelings towards her. The acid green haired man always occupied himself with his pokemon and most people, including her, thought that he regarded those beasts on a level higher than humans. He could feel their thoughts, speak to them and even connect to them in a way that other people couldn't. His ability to communicate with pokemon was amazing and it dawned on her that it must have taken a drastic change in order to feel the same way about the humans whom he despised. Why her? Out of all the females working in the organization, why her? Slumping further into the plastic leather seat, she exhaled...She'd never know the reasons why N fell for her, never would she ask him about his favourite things or childhood memories or about the time when zorua mimicked him and pranked a local shop keeper. Her eyelids grew heavy as the scenery changed from brown cliffs to a dense green forest of leaves and trees; soon, they would see the sea.

Why did the sun shine so bright? She viewed the world with half lidded eyes. Why didn't the sky pour rain the way it did in the movies? When someone died, the world shed tears and everything was grey and monochromatic.

She fell into a sleep, welcoming the prospect of nightmare.

Maybe she'll see her best friends in them.

Afternoon

Unova

Undella

"What... happ-ened to you?" The donut in Dia's hand fell to the floor as his cobalt irises traced the burn marks on Red's cheek, the young boy took in his miserable looking comrades and further enquired, "where is senior Black and N?" A hand clasped him on the shoulder and Gold pulled him aside and ushered the returning members in the lobby. Having a whole bunch of people congregate at the door of the villa might attract attention; the Johto native said and escorted them to the common room. On seeing the familiar environment, Lack-2 crashed on a couch and let his pichu free; the tiny rodent bounded over to its former master and perched on Gold's head.

"So where are N and Black?" Gold queried, both he and Dia scrutinized their commander who shrugged his jacket off, "and why...Do you look like that?!" Suddenly a vein pulsed in the amber eyed trainer's forehead and he shouted: "I TOLD you not to go ahead with you plan but did you LISTEN? Look at YOU! Who the heck did this to you?" Red ignored him and implored Diamond for a meal whilst Gold kept up his uncharacteristic rant.

"Black and N...are dead."

 _What?_

"As for how I got these burns...they are of no concern to you. I'm fine...really, Saur healed me right up." The Kanto native replied and dug into his food. On the couch, Whi-2 momentarily paused in her absentminded petting of Foongy, this action of hers did not go unnoticed by Lack-2 and russet tinted irises inspected her critically before feigning innocence when his mentor sauntered over. The angry man sat down heavily and turned on the television. A feeling unease hung in the air, Gold didn't know what went on and his commander refused to divulge the details. Still he couldn't believe it, Black and N, dead?

How...And why?

A crushing feeling of loneliness and pain expanded in his chest and his eyes briefly flickered to White...She napped on the couch with the light stone clasped to her chest.

* * *

Unknown time, night

Sinnoh

Route 214

The back of an armed police van was dismally dark, Silver sunk himself in a corner and sat away from his sister. Following the commotion in the Veilstone building, the two of them were given a customary search and the officials removed all weapons and like objects from their person. Then came the daunting task of forcing the criminals into strait jackets. The starched clothing pressed into their bodies and a dozen or so police looped the belts into the buckles and secured them tightly. By the time they finished, the red head had trouble breathing and he gratefully shuffled to the back of the van and got in. The doors clanged shut, a lock and a steel bar sealed it and half an hour later, the driver and two other people climbed in the front seat. Silver jolted as the engine revved, the tires squealed and they shot off to Palkia knows where. A tiny, thickly barred window let in air and since the sky was cloudy, no light filtered through. Leaning on her back and a few paces away from him, Blue remained eerily quiet. He didn't mind, Silver did not want to talk to her anyway.

"Did you think I would use you to save my own skin Silver?" She shattered the silence with a question.

"...Of course not." He replied and shifted, backing up further in his corner, "one upon a time I'd think that...But now I'm not sure anymore."

She exhaled like someone punched the breath out of her and he knew he hit a sore spot. "Just remember...You will always be my little brother Silver...No matter what I do and no matter what happens between us." Blue lapsed into a brooding silence and he let her words sink in. How could she? How could his sister, whom he adored and looked up to, do something so painful to him? Reminding both him and bringing to light the fact that Giovanni was his father. The heinous boss of Team Rocket. He calmed his rampant thoughts down and forced himself to ruminate...Could he think of another way to stall for time when the local police forced them into such a narrow predicament? The Johto native raked his brains and tried to think up an alternative solution...their pokemon? No, the blindingly fast grass type next to Sinnoh's Champion took the belts before he could blink. Plus they were led into a trap like sacrificial mareep. So the only way to snag their attention would be to spout something utterly flabbergasting and that is what his sister ultimately did. People knew about Giovanni...Everyone talked about him but no one knew the fact that he had a son. A red head by the name of Silver who turned out to be every bit nefarious as his father. The silver eyed male did not like associating with his parent and any mentions of him sent the silent adolescent further into a slump of anger.

Over the cold and uneven surface of the floor, Silver wriggled his way to his sister and parked himself next to her. "I'm sorry..." he mumbled and leaned against her. Blue merely smiled contently and strained her ears for sounds other than the humming of the engine. Too quiet...And she inwardly snorted, what did she expect? A party in the middle of the night? And clearly the police might be using unfrequented lanes. She wished to see the outside or at least get a bearing of her surroundings. Never in her wildest dreams did the Kanto native think of getting caught, unfortunately here she sat, buckled, bundled and with no one but her own wits to rely on. Forcing down the feeling of dread and nausea that repeatedly threatened to overcome her, she meditated on possible routes of escape. Cynthia, Volkner or perhaps both of them also rode in this van to contain the criminals should they entertain thoughts of escaping. A camera trained its lens on them and she knew even if they made as much as a wrong move, the police would automatically hone in on them. Thankfully, they didn't think to bug the back of the van with a mike and the brown haired woman minutely shifted and angled her head on her brother's shoulder. A gesture of wanting comfort and helplessness it may seem to the viewer, however, it served a different purpose as well.

"Silver, whatever happens next, do not panic or look alarmed...Although I'm pretty sure there are only a few things in the world that could startle you

"What are you going to do sis?" he queried, "we are stuck with means of escape...I've been thinking...the only opportunity we will get is when they escort us to our cells..."

"Hmm...You could do it, if you were alone I guess but with two people, the chance decreases exponentially. And they will use us against each other. Now be quiet, I have to concentrate and don't move...Ditty, disable that camera will you?" Silver blinked, in the dark, he saw blackish slime ooze out of the folds of his sister's clothes and condense into a blob on the ground. It slunk, unseen, up the walls of the confinement and slipped into the camera. A brief spark and the device stopped transmitting. At once, Blue snapped upright and fired a series of commands so quickly, they phased into each other. "Good, now transform into scyther and slice these bindings off Silver and myself." The morphed bug drew a razor sharp appendage neatly over the straitjackets and other impeding cuffs and those fell away. Not wasting a breath, Constellate's commander sprung up and inspected the sides of the van with her hands. "Not good," she muttered whilst her brother watched and decided not to interfere. A phantom thief, they called him and he took pride in the title, however the public forgot that Blue was a master escape artist and as a young girl, she escaped the stringent clutches of Team Rocket and even managed to take him with. "Ditty...As your trainer I hate to ask you this but we are on a time constraint...the minute they figure out that the camera is busted, the van will stop...Please transform into electrode and use self-destruct, place yourself in the middle of that side there." She pointed to the middle of the opposite wall. "Right, now Silver...Prepare to jump out when self-destruct activates." His jaw tightened, a crazy plan...He thought...Although, he'd rather face a jump to his death than a life spent rotting in jail.

BOOM!

With an alarming crash and a scream of the tires grinding to a brusque halt, the van toppled sideways and collapsed on the side of the road. Volkner cursed, Cynthia warned him that the duo might try something, alas; he'd been too busy ogling the criminal's pokemon rather than keeping a watchful eye on the camera. The window to his side shattered and glass fragments cut into his neck and face, the pokeballs on his lap rolled away and the driver fell heavily on him. He saw stars and his vision threatened to blank out, instead, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay conscious. Shoving the bumbling driver off him, he fumbled for his ball and released Raikou. The moment the thunder beast appeared, a flash of lightning arced against the sky, the heavens opened their gates and it rain poured in the gallons.

"The pokeballs..." The electric type gym leader rasped, instead of obeying his commands, the beast tore the front part of the van off and proceeded to free them from deadly bits of crumpled metal and glass. "Leave me...get...the pokeballs and two humans. Lady and a man. Thief." Volkner clutched his throat and coughed, speaking proved to be painful, "get them and bring them...Oh for Zapdos' sake! Just do what I tell you!"

Silver and Blue jumped out of the van after Ditty blasted a man sized hole into it and managed to bring the speeding vehicle to a stop. The moment they stepped out, the clouds burst and a flood of rain gushed over them. The azure eyed woman pushed her wet hair behind and smiled, apart from Silver banging his head quite painfully when the van lurched sideways, no other permanent damage occurred. Creeping past, she spied a dozen pokeballs rolling away from the van and the presence of a legendary beast who untangled its master from the smashed car. Her throat became dry...having a mythical beast chase after them, she didn't think of this possibility. Glancing back, she saw her brother peering intently at their capsuled monsters and the made a sign. She nodded and observed with bated breath when Silver pressed himself against the vehicle and crept forward slowly. The rain dampened all smells and mixed them together so he knew Raikou would not pick up his presence so easily and the beast busied itself with giving Volkner a thorough lick. Crawling, he inched his way right under Volkner's dangling legs and held his breath. The international police member, his mythical beast and the driver had all been hoisted to the top of the toppled lorry and he crouched underneath them. Sticking out his arm, he gathered all the balls and when he reached for the last one, another flash of lightning lit up the sky and threw his profile into sharp relief. The change in Raikou happened instantaneously, its pupil narrowed and locked on to its quarry, a shivering red head, with a howl, it sprung down and Silver bolted, kicking up mud and fiercely signalling at his sister to get away. They split and went two different ways. Without hesitation, the electric monster chased after the male and caught up to him in a few bounds, lifting a massive paw, it thwacked the human and sent him flying straight into the other one. Blue gasped when Silver's body bashed into her, the duo came to a heaping stop.

"Quick! Get my nidoqueen and your honchkrow out!" She said and after a few fumbles, the two beasts materialized and nidoqueen bared its teeth at Raikou. "No, don't fight it! Stall for time till we get away." Honchkrow grabbed its master by the shoulders and allowed Blue to sit on its back, with a bit of effort, it rose in the sky. A yellow spark passed from one black cloud to the other and Silver paled...No, please not thunder, he silently prayed. More sparks congregated and built up charge whilst the avian flapped harder and picked up speed. An eye searing flash rendered the world into black and white and he closed his eyes and gave up, they couldn't survive a thunder of this magnitude and seconds later, the three of them would plunge to the floor and his honchkrow will be nothing but a carcass.

Thunder never hit them.

Nidoqueen grounded the electricity and watched as the piece of land underneath its feet absorbed the teravolts of lightning, the ground super-heated, melted the individual grains of sand and then fused them into a crystalline material, she now stood on a little glass stage and Raikou growled in her face and one of its eyes veered ever so slightly to the rapidly escaping humans. Lashing out with a pointy tail, it smacked the ground type hard in its face and followed up with a hit of its paws. Roaring, it descended on nidoqueen with jaws open wide and snapped them shut in air. The beast had been recalled in a timely manner

Too far. It only saw a speck in the sky and Raikou's enhanced vision picked out a brown haired woman waving a pokeball in her hand. Articulating another furious roar, it padded back to a comatose Volkner.

* * *

"We should really get back to work!" Crystal sternly stated and sat next to Emerald and Yellow on the sofa, her eyes reflected the scenes shown on television, "I mean if senior Green comes back and sees us doing this..." her hands gestured to the mountain of papers on the leader's desk as well as several books and unfilled data sheets packed neatly on the polished floor, "he's not going to be pleased in the slightest...Oh wait! I missed that, Rald...Rewind it up for a bit will you?" the diminutive blonde snorted and heeded her request and the Johto native lapsed into a spellbound silence. Ever since Strategy's commander left a few days ago, they neglected all their work and spent time entertaining their hobbies. Emerald's eyes snapped to the laptop that lay open on a small coffee table, he had total command of the primitive security system that Sycamore protected his laboratory with. His senior tasked him to feed the camera with false feed and edit out any illegal activities, so far, he saw nothing scandalous and with a sigh, he pushed his device away and made himself more comfortable.

Middle of the night

Kalos

Sycamore's laboratory

Theft.

Was the pesky woman's job, Green thought as he crept out of the guest room and took a moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the dim surroundings. Normally, she'd call him every single day without fail and a few hours earlier, he phoned her in order to enquire about basic thieving techniques, however, Blue didn't pick up and he exhaled...So much for friends in fair weather. The jade eyed male stood ponderously in front of the next room and contemplated on jamming Steven's door. One never knew when the man needed a toilet break. His mind erupted into a hive of activity and he found it difficult to focus. How ironic, Green prided himself in his logical thinking and here he was, standing outside an ex-police officer's door and absentmindedly toying with the handle, after a mind harrowing decision, he sheepishly wiped his fingerprints off the golden knob and padded down the overly familiar corridors, he had every nook and cranny of the building memorized and yet a digital display of the building flashed in the palmtop he carried in his hand. In the dark, the friendly surrounds appeared menacing and before long, he had to pause and calm down his breathing. Oak stuffed two pairs of latex gloves in the oversized trench coat he wore and caught a glimpse of himself in a reflective surface...A harried man stared back at him, brown spikes of hair a tangled mess and sweat collecting on the sides of his temples, the Kanto native groaned and closed his eyes…there goes his dignity down the drain all over again. Sighing and senses into a hyper drive, he ambled his way to the one of the two work rooms situated on the second floor and paused. Tomorrow, both he and Steven will be returning to their respective regions and if he wanted those mega-stones, he'd best take them tonight.

He wanted them, badly. Not only to increase the might of his already well trained pokemon, but as a means to ask amnesty from his friends. Pulling on a pair of latex gloves, he contemplated and punched in the seven digit password required to enter the room. Augustine Sycamore was not a particularly careful person and he trusted those who worked with him too easily. The man did not bother to keep his research materials in a safe place nor did he upgrade the flimsy, out-dated security system of the laboratory and he never urged his subordinates to routinely maintain the camera circuits. If they did so, they would've noticed a bug in the system. However, the security remained lax and the young professor felt thankful for it. The door finally opened with a hissing noise that sounded a bit too loud to his ears and Green held this breath and waited for some someone to storm down the shadowy corridors and arrest him on the spot. His heart rate speed up till it felt like his chest would burst. Fortunately nothing happened and after waiting for a full five mind numbing minutes, he went inside the room and expertly navigated towards the table. His eyes picked out no less than four cameras and their indicting gazes bored into him. Glancing at them and assuring himself for the umpteenth that Rald did his job correctly, the spiky haired brunette peeled off his sweat stained gloves and swapped them for another pair. Near him, something woke with a hum and he almost jumped out of his skin.

"Just a machine...doing its scheduled defragmentation..." he muttered to himself and took deep breaths, "darn it Blue...how on earth do you do this for fun?" Still mumbling, he bumped his shin on a corner, uttered a few expletives and finally brushed his hands against the leather case he searched for. The thing sat right in front of his nose and angrily, he opened it and stared. The marbles emitted a vague glow of energy and he quickly pocketed three mega-stones and their respective keystones. Best not be greedy, if Sycamore decided to take a customary glance at the stones in the morning, with some luck, he'd notice nothing. Work done, he meticulously wiped traces of his existence and bolted back to his room. His breathing only stopped hitching once he dumped his mortifying outfit in a disposable bag and ordered his scizor to take it somewhere faraway. Green didn't sleep that night, his thought processes tumbled over each other as he replayed his thieving scenario over and over again.

The next morning:

Sycamore bid them a warm farewell and Steven along with Green Oak both succumbed themselves to the Kalos native's overly friendly nature as the man engulfed them both with a hug. Green's heart hammered a million times and after saying goodbye for the last time, they left for the station. Hands in his pockets, his fingers brushed repeatedly against the stones. They felt cold to the touch and reminded him of his brazen actions. Steven kept up an amiable chat and talked about the future of mega evolution.

"I suppose the authorities might not want to make it public after all...the risks are too great and I'm sure Ransei would rather monopolize this method of evolution instead of allowing everyone else to benefit from it." Metagross saved him from smacking into a street sign, "although, I have an inkling that the Pokemon association would use Augustine's research to develop ultra-powered beasts of their own...A sort of military backup in case of inter-region wars."

"Do you really think an inter-region war will break out in this day and age?" Oak queried, his guilt at the theft already forgotten.

"I don't see why not..." The Hoenn ex-champion replied, "you may not remember but Kanto had been ravaged by a civil war twenty years ago. Media will tell you otherwise, however, the war started when scientists resurrected a pokemon from a fossil...A week after that, another team of professors and researches, managed to make Mewtwo...People revolted, the Association cried foul and a war erupted, plunging the once flourishing region into a shadow of its former self. Anyway, where are we? Don't we have to part?" Pondering deeply over Steven's words, the brunette failed to see the intersection.

"Yes...Thanks for everything...This trip proved to be a rewarding experience." Green inclined his head respectfully and set off for the airport, he decided to take a direct route to Hoenn instead of taking the train. If Sycamore suspected anything, it'd be too late and by that time, Oak would be out of Kalosian soil and airspace.

Later in the evening, Augustine, who spent the entire afternoon hunched over his laptop, received several e-mails in rapid procession. One contained a letter from Professor Samuel Oak asking about the fruits of his research, another came from Lysander's laboratories, a third one came from the Kalos Pokemon Association and he scanned the contents with a grin splitting his stubbled cheeks, they wanted to conduct a trial run of mega-evolution before giving him a verdict. If things went well, the government would fund the research themselves. A fourth one came from Ransei and here, the slate eyed man froze. A summoning from Pugilis, the fight type region in Ransei, the electronic letter bore an imperial seal and he wondered if he could just ignore it. Holding his breath, he read the rest of the letter and exhaled in relief...They invited him because the research he did fascinated them and piqued their intrigue. The ruler of the region, Lord Yoshihiro, beckoned him to spill the secrets of mega-stones and right there, Sycamore decided that yes, he would tell them everything since a beating heart is far, far better than a non-beating one. Giddy with pleasure, he pushed off his swivel chair and walked over to his mega-stone carrying case. On opening it, he realized that something looked wrong.

Very wrong.

A head count of the stones revealed three missing.

Three stones with their respective keystones.

The ones needed to mega-evolve the Kanto starters. Frantically, he reached for his Holo caster and desperately made a call to the security room downstairs, he waited till the men sifted through the camera records.

"I'm sorry Professor," his secretary responded, her holographic image flickering slightly on his end, " the camera feed is clean...We are reviewing them again but we see no suspicious events taking place. The laboratory has not been broken into has it?"

No...Sycamore didn't want to think about, however a nagging suspicion rooted in his mind.

It's either Steven Stone...The rock maniac or Green Oak who took them. His mind poisonously whispered. Far away and up in the clouds, Green reclined into a seat and transferred the gleaming spheres into a small leather sack and stuffed the pouch deep inside his backpack.

Mission accomplished, he contemplated, the euphoric rush of pulling it off successfully settled into a happy haze and he now understood why Blue was addicted to stealing. If executed properly, the results were very rewarding. Sinking back into the chair, a wry grin formed on his lips.

* * *

Night

Undella

Execution's base

Diamond came down the wooden steps to the first floor and strolled aimlessly to the common room with a rice ball in his hands. The lights in the chamber still burned and after internally bad mouthing Gold, who had a habit of leaving lights on, he stepped into the room and paused. An individual sat in the rather empty room and on closer inspection, Dia found Lack-2 slouching on his own and the child glued his russet irises on the television, he watched the news as it reported the aftermath of Team Plasma's and the supposed Dex criminals' attack on the league. Stuffing the rest of the food rather roughly in his mouth, the indolent teenager shuffled deeper and sat down next to his junior. The Unova native gave no notice nor did he spare a glance. When the news finished, the boy merely shut the monitor off and tiredly lay back on the couch.

"Were...You there when senior Black died?" Dia asked and got a baleful look in return.

"No."

"Why?" The Sinnoh native continued.

"Because I had to deal with a bunch of Team Plasma scum that were trailing me in the corridors...Ask senior White, she was with me when we split up." Lack-2 answered and poked Pibo gently in its stomach, the little rodent uttered a cheerful squeak and then turned tail and bounded off, probably to Gold, the boy mused.

"Do you think...You could prevent Black's and N's death...If you happened to be there?" Azure eyes probed deep into his soul and Lack-2 felt uncomfortable, his senior's scrutinizing gaze seemed to penetrate through everything.

"I don't know..." copper tinted irises shifted uneasily and the Unovian realized how fragile a person's existence is, "I don't think so...Maybe...I'd just get in the way. Or, I'd be killed and resting with my parents now."

Dia patted his junior with a pudgy hand and smiled, "Do you see night-mares when you sleep Lack-2?"

"Yes..." he hesitantly replied and wondered if the Sinnoh teenager didn't have anything better to do rather than sit here late at night and interrogate him on matters that he didn't want to talk about. "Do you have nightmares senior Diamond?"

"Not really..." The older male admitted, "altho-ugh I started getting them after I banged my head. It still hurts sometimes. I get them when...Something bad happens and when Pearl or Miss Platina are not there to cheer me up. That reminds me...Gold called for you upstairs." Nodding his thanks, Lack-2 got up and left the room. Alone, Dia feebly slid off the stone coloured couches and onto the white ash floor and stared off into space. Earlier, he barged into Red's room unannounced and caught his leader mooning over a picture. Apologizing profusely, he was about to leave the room when his commander beckoned him and showed the image, the picture showed a faded, blurry image of a black haired toddler and two adults. Red pointed at them and said that they were his parents and Diamond strained his eyes. The photo had been damaged and after gazing at it for a few more minutes, Execution's leader reveredly put it away. Next, he pulled out a picture of Black with his arms around White and N and here the Sinnoh native found himself shedding tears.

"Dia...Do you think separating into three was a bad decision?" Red asked and Dia couldn't give a coherent reply. "Black's ambition... I think, I need some time alone Diamond...If you want, please come back later."

He didn't want to go back, once again, Diamond questioned himself on why his leader favoured him, Red never talked about his deceased parents in front of anyone and here, he just got a glimpse of a part of his leader's most precious memories. He didn't understand, thinking hurt his head and he felt the beginnings of a migraine. Blinking rapidly, Diamond trotted to the back of the room and peered out of the windows. Still not a cloud in the sky and he silently beheld countless twinkling stars decorating the black canopy. Tomorrow morning, he decided, he will ask Red to re-group. Functioning as an entire organization rather than isolated clusters reduced their chances of making mistakes and if they were together, he could take comfort in his friends. The gradual throbbing in his head reached a crescendo and he clutched his head and moaned in pain. Minutes later, his prone body dropped to the ground and he lay there, comatose and undiscovered by anyone.

* * *

 **A/N:** I apologize if Green's thieving episode didn't meet anyone standards…I wrote him the best I could and I picture him more as a timid (I'm too dignified to do this) kinda thief rather than how Blue or Silver would steal the stones. At Silver: Blue and Silv didn't betray the dex (Congrats) and Giovanni…hmm, I totally forgot about him. Sorry, I have no idea what/who MAT is. At Jack54311: I started favouring 'grey stories' after watching Code Geass, I used to find politics really boring and nothing could convince me to read my school recommended novel (Animal Farm), but after watching that anime, it made me realize that there are no true good and bad boundaries in this world. Okay, that just got a whole lot philosophical so I'll just stop there. I enjoy books with clear cut characters as well though. Hahaha, overconfidence, I wanted to write something where it leads them to their downfall.

Much thanks to all those who reviewed. Please keep on reading and reviewing. As always, constructive criticism is appreciated. Is Halloween over already? In any case, Happy Halloween. (My brain is a total mush right now)


	58. Rewind

**Chapter 58: Rewind**

Afternoon

Hoenn

Mount Chimney

Yellow felt guilt churn deep in her stomach. The guilt evaporated the moment she beheld her underlings bouncing happily around in the room, most of the members crowded around the large flat screen television and whiled their time away watching movies whilst the chamber, formerly neat and well organized, now resembled a cosy room with blankets covering the Persian rug and cushions scattered everywhere. Crystal brought the coffee maker from the kitchen and the machine whirred in one corner, supplying them with a never ending amount of caffeinated goodness. All the peach coloured couches had been lined up and Rald seized the opportunity to live in the common room instead of retiring to his bedroom. The female blonde wondered when her superior would return, ever since he left, he didn't contact them and Emerald admitted that Green only called him up once for a job. She hoped the spiky haired brunette fared well. Walking past the pillow fortress Pearl and Rald built for themselves, she squeezed in next to Crystal and Chuchu clambered on to her lap. The two females resumed staring at the monitor. They watched their fourth movie, the first two had been subjected to much scrutiny and analysis till Yellow pointed out that Green might return any day, with the time constraint in mind, the duo made it their lives' mission to cram as much screen time as they possibly could before their superior came back and saddled them with paper work and a never ending list of tasks. Emerald and Pearl on the other hand grew disturbingly close and the duo often drew up blueprints for software that obviously could not be put to good use. Crystal often admonished Rald for being a bad influence to his junior.

A heater diffused the stone cold layering the room and the occupants shifted and looked forward to the end of another lazy day. The flowers in the oversized porcelain vase standing next to Green's desk, withered and wilted and no one bothered to change them. The two eldest members gave the common room and base a customary sweep every morning and did the daily task of checking up on the legendary pokemon. Tapping furiously on one of Rald's many laptops, Pearl wrestled with an online game and after losing for the fifth time, he inhaled a lungful of warm air and looked up to see the door creaking on its hinges. He blinked as the wooden door opened wider and their commander stepped in.

Time froze along with the people inhabiting the room.

"Welcome back Green!" Yellow piped in a cheerful tone whilst her junior scrambled up from the table and shut the television off. Pearl's mouth hung open and Emerald, in total disregard of his superior's return, slouched further in his bed of comfortable cushions. The jade eyed man's eyes gave Strategy's common room a sweep, pupils dilating and betraying his incensed emotions. "You didn't inform us that you will be coming home soon..." his aide made a feeble attempt to make light of the mess in the chamber, "we checked up on the legendary creatures every morning and since you were not home...We...Uh...Took a break. Anyway, did the trip to Kalos prove to be beneficial? What about mega evolution?" The blonde kept on smiling blindly in hopes that her superior won't explode or pack his things up and move to another room in order to work. Oak had a habit of working alone and in their previous bases; he always set up some sort of partition between his workstation and the rest of the common room.

"Is that a pillow fortress?" Green deadpanned and Pearl jumped up and replied in affirmative, his chatot wriggled out of the mountain of pillows and screeched "...Clean this place up and get to work...we have lots to do and I'm not tolerating such slovenliness. If anyone of you needs me, I'll be in my room, holding a video conference with Red and Blue, there are urgent matters I have to discuss with them." Saying this, he turned around and left, his trench coat tails billowing in tandem to his movements. Mechanically, the rest of the department unwound and started to clean up.

"And there goes our merry making." Pearl loudly muttered as he flung the wilted flowers out of the window and watched the wind whisk the dried petals away, "I'm going down to Lavaridge to buy new flowers and other necessities, if you want something, speak up now." He received several requests for energy bars, herbs and pills. Great, he mused, might as well buy energy drinks as well; his future loomed up with the prospect of pulling many all nighters.

Morning of the same day

Unova

Undella Town

Diamond woke up to see Lack-2's head on his chest and the boy drooling all over his clothes. With much difficulty, he rolled over and came to a stop at the edge of the bed, on the floor; the unsightly image of Gold in his boxers prompted the Sinnoh native to recoil and dive back into the covers. Thankfully, his headache dissipated and after stretching and yawning, the azure eyed male clambered over his junior and tried his luck with the opposite end, to his dismay, the laminated flooring was covered in so many things that Dia didn't know where to step. He spied figurines and comic books strewn with discarded snack wrappers and drink bottles. Did Lack-2 and his mentor have a party here or what? Seconds later, a knocking on the door forced him to wade through the mound and open up, Red stood there with a watery grin on his lips and implored Diamond to wake the others up and come down to breakfast. Adjusting his hat securely on his head, the azure eyed teenager shook Lack-2 till the Unovian woke up and then poked Gold. The Johto native snored and rolled over, mumbling something about Crystal in his sleep. Dia almost gave up trying to wake up the amber eyed man when said person's student whacked him awake.

"If this is how you treat your mentor...I'll give you up for adoption one day...Tsk...I feel nauseous."

"I feel sorry for senior Red if he had to keep up with you for so long...Besides, you want to give me up for adoption? Heh, you aren't even my parent."

"Well you nag like a freaking baby! What else should I think of you?" Gold yawned and wiped stray tears from his eyes, he fixated on the poster decorating his wall, it showed DJ Mary and her smeargle posing together.

"And you groan like a grandpa! Your room is filthier than mine!" Lack-2 pointed at the pile of clothing heaped on Gold's chair, "Commander Red put you on cleaning duty and I do all the work."

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that..." Gold reached up and sifted through his clothes, "go down to eat you two, I'll join you in a minute." The two boys left and the door shut with a bang, instead of dressing himself, the amber eyed trainer threw open his curtains and stared out of the window and to the sea. Sunlight streamed in and he saw clouds of dust rising up in the air. A sneeze forced itself out and he mumbled to himself, "ugh...I really gotta clean this room." Shuffling, he dumped all his clothes on a messy bed and sat on the wooden chair pondering on the events that occurred the day before:

 _He couldn't find Execution's commander anywhere and where could the ebony haired adolescent be at this time of the night? Gold briefly glanced at the clock in the empty room and decided to give the base a sweep. Carefully closing Red's bedroom door, he poked his head in the kitchen, peeked into the game and recreation room and snorted at the dartboard. (Diamond is horrible in darts, he mused and the child couldn't throw a single one straight to save his life). Eventually, he sauntered into the common room only to find it deserted as well. A queer feeling at the back of his mind prompted him to give the large chamber a thorough search and he came across Dia's groaning form pressed against the cold floor to ceiling length windows. Picking the teenager up, he hiked back upstairs and dumped him next to Lack-2. Finally deciding that Red might not be in base, the Johto native ventured outside and jogged down to the beach. Sitting on a boulder and cradling the light stone in his hand, Red gazed out to the black ocean and stared akin to a zombie. Pika scampered up and down on his shoulders and nudged its owner; however, the action elicited no response. On spying Gold, the electric rodent squeaked a greeting and poked its trainer again. The crimson eyed male uttered a languid nod and went back to ignoring everything around him. Scrambling up an adjacent rock, Gold made himself comfortable and waited for an opportunity to speak._

" _I wonder...If it'd be better for everyone if we just disbanded and carried on with our everyday lives..." Stifling a yawn with much difficulty, Gold gawked at his senior, "Will everything go back to the way it was or-"_

" _Of course it won't!" The Johto native furiously interjected, "how can you think for a moment that everything will go back to normal huh? Are you dumb?" he shook his fist, "our lives are ruined, the moment we disband, most of us will be locked up in an itty bitty cell and have our faces and deeds plastered all over the media...And I'm sure none of them will be about how awesome I am or the fact that I actually beat you fair and square! You said it yourself, the world is rotten and you want to create a new one so why...Why are you just giving up now? Don't tell me you took this path expecting the walkway to be lined with roses. Casualties occur and if you aren't strong enough to shoulder the burden and carry on...then you disgust me." Pika hissed and its fur stood on end as it eyed Gold in a deplorable manner, "and why is your mouse so worked up? If anyone needs brain cell regeneration, it's you." Muttering under his breath, he slid of the boulder and jerked his head back when Red laughed. "What is so funny?" the younger male demanded, "I fail to see the joke."_

" _You are funny...Ouch Pika, stop that will you?" The commander gasped and grinned, "I'm not going to give up Gold...It's just...In the past, I used to think about disbanding when I knew the tasks given by the organization could put you and the others in danger, now, I won't ever let the thought surface in my head again. Black's ambition, although I won't ever be able to accomplish it on his behalf, at least I hope to emulate N and take responsibility." His pikachu crooned and delightfully rubbed its head against its owner's cheek, "From now on...No matter what happens, I won't falter, I'll forge ahead and see this project till the very end." An amiable silence stretched between them and Gold queried him on his health condition, "my burns...Ahahaha, Do you remember Hugh? The finalist in the Unova Champion's league? Yeah, he is a classmate of Whi-2 and we had the unfortunate pleasure of bumping into him...dude almost roasted me alive. As for Pika, he's fidgety because he fainted in battle." Red let the titbit of information sink in as his underling crawled up the boulder once more and shook his head in disbelief, "I know...I mean the last time Pika got knocked out was when you battled me...He's even madder because Whi-2's mid-evolved servine managed to make him unconscious. Pika's been enraged since then...Entertain him will you?" Without warning, the electric mouse jumped to the ground and squeaked up a storm. Gold stared at the only pokeball hanging from his belt and after a shrug, let loose his sunflora._

 _Two humans watched the potent display of two pokemon fighting each other. Blades of leaves danced in the air and tongues of cackling electricity shot them down and lit up their dark surroundings. Sunflora elegantly weaved itself from pikachu's deadly assaults, twirling and dodging them in the last possible second whilst the rodent side stepped and flashed away from sinewy tendrils as they snaked, unseen, across the shifting sands of the beach. The trainers did not speak; one resumed his thoughtless stargazing and the other, golden irises reflecting the violent exhibit, scrutinizing his grass type's moves, whispered and directed his monster with tiny flicks and gestures. A storm of leaves, caught by a sea breeze, sailed past and glinted silver under the moonlight. And as abruptly as the wind carried those razor edged leaflets away, the match between the two beasts ended. Pika had its tail, stiffened and pressed against the tender spot just beneath the flower pokemon's head._

" _See Pika?" Red drawled and clambered down, "I kept on telling you that you haven't lost your touch but you don't believe me...next time, I'll pit you up with Saur." He held his arms out and the little rodent jumped into them, "come on Gold; let's go back, I'm tired, I need to sleep."_

He stepped into the rustic kitchen and saw all his team mates staring back at him with inquisitive looks. Lack-2 rolled his eyes expressively and beckoned him to sit next to him. Swaggering over, Gold playfully cuffed his student on the head and took his place, he tried to steal one of Diamond's donuts but a hand chopped down viciously down on his arm. Sapphire grazed him with a dirty look and soon, the duo started their daily bickering which didn't quiet down even as Whi-2 and White made their way into the raucous room. The Hoenn native perched nimbly on her stool and haughtily looked down on Gold who sputtered indignantly. Red came in, took the scene and blissfully ignored them. He opted for a seat next to Diamond and the cobalt eyed teenager showered him with snacks. Dia took a quick peep at his senior's arm and cheek and felt relieved on seeing the raw red burns fade into ugly brownish marks. The older man irritably pulled on the too tight tank top he wore and told his subordinates to keep it down. Unsurprisingly, no one listened. Sapphire twirled a bagel in her fingers and with frightening accuracy, launched the food projectile straight in Gold's face. When it hit home, the girl dissolved into giggles and soon thereafter, everyone roared with laughter.

But losing their friends...Still hurt.

"CAVE GAL!" Gold screeched, "have more respect for food and pipe down! I'm trying to eat. No Lack-2 you can cut that roll by yourself and I'm not going to...Oh for Lugia's sake! Pass me the butter someone, instead of growing older, my lackey here is regressing! When did you get so annoyingly childish anyway? Hey Whi-2..." the girl jumped and smiled sweetly at him, "want me to butter your roll as well? I won't mind," he suavely added, "since it's for you." Breakfast became an orderly affair after that and everyone ate in silence. One by one, the members excused themselves from the island and left, White didn't feel hungry and stared intently at her bowl of cereal. When it dawned on her that only she, Whi-2 and Red were left in the kitchen, she hurriedly shoved the food down and opted to leave.

"Please wait...Both of you," Red implored them, he collected the dirty dishes scattered all over the marble counter top, placed them in the kitchen sink and swept the surface clean. The two girls held their breath as he pulled up a chair and sat solemnly before them. "First of all, I am sorry." Red bowed and the duo gaped and requested him to lift his head, "I apologize for all the bad experiences this organization put you through...Both of you were ingrained in here against your will and I'm truly sorry for the last few days. I put you two through some very horrible events and I know that merely an apology won't suffice. So...In order to make amends I want to give you two a choice...If you desire, you can leave the organization permanently and my only request is for you to keep quiet." Scarlet eyes bored into identical pairs of blue as both of their faces twisted into expressions of astonishment. Freedom? White pondered, from this organization?

Truthfully it sounded like a dream come true. Now that Black is no more, she didn't have to stay here any longer, but what about her direct superior...Green? She knew Red's decisions overrode the spiky haired brunette's verdicts because Execution's commander is the original founder. Suddenly a torrent of fear squeezed her chest tightly and she found it difficult to breath. Freedom? No, it didn't feel like being free. An invisible noose tightened around her throat and she spied the younger Unovian mirroring the shock painted on her face. If she left, she would have to constantly look over her shoulder for both the police and her former comrades, if they could commit theft, kidnapping, arson and toy with the legendary pokemon...Why not a step further? Of course the organization never betrayed any of their friends, however, if she left them...Would they still consider her as a friend?

Would they...

Still consider them as friends?

"No..." her voice trembled, "I'd like to stay here if you don't mind Senior Red...You option to allow me to leave is well received and you are very kind, but I want to stay here and carry on Black's and N's will to see this through in the end...He...He respected you a lot so please..." she hiccupped and wiped away the stubborn tears falling down her face, "don't make me leave." Red nodded and gently squeezed her shoulder.

"I understand, here..." he thrust a cloth covered sphere into her hands, "this is the light stone...I'm not sure if Reshiram can be summoned any longer, I'll ask Green to look up on it when he has the time. This sphere belongs to you know and I don't have any right to keep it...Please use it as you see fit." Still sniffing, she clasped the stone in a venerated manner. "Whi-2, I want to hear your thoughts as well."

She took a moment to answer. "I have the same thoughts as senior Whit-"

"Nope..." the male cut in, " _I want to hear your thoughts._ "

The girl shivered involuntarily and exhaled, "Commander Red...can we make a trade?" Though surprised by her words, he grimly nodded and motioned her to continue speaking, "I will stay in the organization and render my services unconditionally...In return...Please don't go after Hugh any longer. If...If he goes to the police, allow me and Lack-2 to deal with him, I don't want this mess to escalate any further than it should. Hugh can be a bit hard headed and unpredictable...Even after you threatened him, there is a chance that he still might go to the police and report everything."

"I understand...I give you my word as Execution's commander that I won't allow anyone to go after Hugh...However" Whi-2 gulped inaudibly, she knew this pact came with some strings attached, "if his actions harm any of my comrades, they have every right to defend themselves. I cannot condone their acts if their lives are in danger." He leant forward and stared at her meaningfully, "I hope you understand my point of view." She nodded her head slowly, "either than that, please forgive me and...Try not to think so badly of your superiors, our top priority will always be your safety." Giving them another smile, he let them go and watched sadly as they discreetly wiped their tears.

* * *

Ruby watched as Blue's poke gear buzzed on the coffee table. He waited for Silver to pick it up but the red head engrossed himself with reading the latest news which detailed their failed thieving of the fake Azure flute. Grumbling under his breath, he put down his sewing and crawled off the divan, snatching up the device, he walked down the marble corridors and eventually located his senior's room. Knocking politely, he entered and handed it over to her.

"Thanks Ruby..." His commander trailed off and stared at the multiple messages popping up on the tiny screen, "It's from Red and Green, they are going to hold a video conference soon to discuss urgent matters and the meeting starts in less than five minutes, if anyone needs me, tell them I'm busy okay? Toodles" He nodded and she waved him away. Connecting her gear to the laptop, Blue waited for a few more minutes before the device rang, accepting the call, she smiled brightly on glimpsing her friends again. On seeing Red, her lips curved downwards and she spied the same bewilderment flickering on Green's visage.

"What happened to you?" They queried at the same time and to Blue's dismay, he simply chuckled and nonchalantly ran a hand through his unruly hair.

"Accident-"

"Accident?!" Green snarled, "What? Did you go fist to fist with an emboar?" His query sent the ex-champion sniggering some more. Blue on the other hand asked him again, worry twisting her face.

"Let's say I messed up." Red conceded and held up his hands, "we didn't have much contact with each other and I had this project I desperately wanted to undertake...Unfortunately I'm sure Green would not approve so I grabbed the chance when we split." Crimson eyes turned morose when the spiky haired brunette questioned his goals, "I wanted to burn down the Unova league." A short, tense silence descended on them before Red continued, "and in trying to do so...I ruined many things. I ended up killing Black and N and ruining Whi-2's friendship with Hugh, the scars on my face and hands are from when I fought Hugh and his emboar, they looked worse before but thanks to Saur's healing spores and some stuff Gold bought me, the marks are fading and it's safe to say that my mission was a massive failure...watch the news guys, the event is making international headlines." Exhaling in a defeated manner, he leaned back in his swivel chair and stared absentmindedly at a trophy sitting proudly on his desk. "And what were you two up to? Nothing bad I suppose."

"Black and N...Are dead? How Red...Just how? _You killed them?_ "

"He is using a figure of speech Green!" Blue cut in exasperatedly, "dear Mesprit! Try to understand how Red is feeling for a change, he blames himself for not being able to save them...Look Red," her voice dropped into a tender tone, "don't blame and beat yourself over something you couldn't prevent. I'm sure you tried your best to save them and as for what happened between Whi-2 and Hugh, you don't have to worry about the consequences, I'll take care of it." She barked out a short, humourless laugh, "nothing bad? Hahaha, Silver and I almost got caught by the police."

"What?" Now Red and Green sported horrified looks.

"Yeah...Forgive me for saying this Red but you hardly ever have a backup plan should things go awry. In case the creation of the Red chain fails, I asked Emerald to search up on the Azure Flute." Grabbing a photo of the relic off her table, she held it up for her friends to see, "this is how it looks and this object is the only thing that can summon Lord Arceus to our dimensio-"

"Oh, and what are you going to do when Lord Arceus comes waltzing into the Poke-earth Blue? Ask him to graciously tear open a hole leading to the distortion world so we can go take over his son's dimension? Cool, I'd like to see how he responds to that." Red snarkily delivered his thoughts and Green held his stomach and fell off his chair from laughing too much. Constellate's leader remained prim, even as her cheeks tinted pink with embarrassment."

"Silly Blue...Good one Red." Oak agreed and wiped tears of mirth.

Tossing her luxurious locks back, she waited for her snickering friends to stop commenting on her skills before speaking. "...I get it, dumb thing to do, however it would've fetched a handsome price on the black market. In any case, Sinnoh's Pokemon Association had the artefact locked up in the heart of the Veilstone building which formerly belonged to our dear Cyrus. Similarly to the griseous orb, the Azure flute had an entire chamber dedicated to its protection and they barricaded the interior with both psychic and dark barriers. Silver warned me that the setup seemed too easy and I did not listen to him. Turns out, the original thing rests in Ransei and the one in Veilstone was a manufactured one designed to lure us in. A trap Green," she answered the male's inquiring gaze, "an intricately woven trap, the police are getting better so we should watch our step. They bundled us in the back of a van and I managed to escape with Ditty and honchkrow." Blue shivered and hugged herself, "I felt so scared and the events were so surreal...Like I watched them happening through someone else's eyes. What about you Green? Anything good or bad happened to you?"

"I bumped into Steven Stone, by the way, due to his disability, he is not part of the International Police force anymore and I got these," rummaging in his backpack, he extracted a small pouch and poured the contents into his palm, six marbles tumbled out, three smaller than their counter parts. "Stole them actually," he confessed and held them up when Red craned his neck to get a better look at them, the ebony haired man opened his mouth to ask a question and Green answered before he uttered a word, "these are the mega stones I researched on and they hold the power to send our pokemon to a new, primordial form of evolution. However, this process is temporary and needs to be controlled by the stones. Uh...I...Brought them as gifts" Blue's mocking grin split her face and he wanted to drown himself, "Red asked for souvenirs okay!" he heatedly defended himself when his male friend smiled, "And I didn't want to give anything meaningless! You have to be careful with these things because they haven't been publicized or confirmed by the government yet...Stop smiling both of you or else I won't hand them over!" He timorously threatened.

Red leaned forward again and graced his squirming friend with a dubious smirk, "thanks so much Green, it's very thoughtful of you, all I wanted was a simple memento…You didn't have to steal a research object for that." Oak sputtered and hissed when Blue chortled at his expense. "Thank you, I'll use it wisely." Strategy's leader quieted down on hearing the sincerity in his voice. "I have another proposition to make...Let's re-group."

 _Let's re-group._

A brief silence severed the animated conversation the three conducted mere seconds ago. Execution's leader's words echoed inside their heads and they came to a unanimous agreement.

Yes, let's re-group. They nodded. In Sinnoh and they can function smoothly as one organization again. No matter what happens, they will never fork into three.

Ever again.

* * *

Evening

Unova

Castelia

A voice bled through the speakers and urged the passengers to buckle up their seatbelts. Red fumbled with the straps and drowned the muted chatter in the pressurized cabin, a few minutes remained before take-off and he opted for staring out of the tiny porthole window. He observed blackness descending over the city as the sun sank in the distant horizon. With a gentle hum, the aeroplane rose smoothly in the air and raven haired man watched the buildings and landscape shrink into insignificant blobs. Lights, mere pinpricks at this altitude winked one by one into existence and soon, the dim landmass underneath him blazed with a million glows. Shifting in his seat, he undid the restraints and made himself comfortable, next to him, White breathed heavily with a blanket covering her knees, headphones clamped over her ears and the light dragon stone cradled in her lap. She slept, chocolate brown hair tumbling messily over her serene face. Her hushed snores somewhat calmed him and he angled his head backwards to check on Whi-2. The girl sat next to her best friend, reading a book whilst the male's eye's reflected the electric glow of the device he clutched in his hands. He seemed to be preoccupied with a game.

 _He could hear the deafening cheering of the crowds before he emerged from the building, two officials, dressed in charcoal tuxedos and wearing sunglasses stood on either side of the entrance as he exited and stepped on to the strip of carpet lining the passage. At once, a thousand camera flashes went off in his face and he smiled genially at the crowds chanting his name and showering him with flowers and graces. Speeding along the red carpet, Red signed autographs, got a pat on the back from Steven Stone who faced the same predicament as him and almost made it into the lobby designated for champions when he spied a cinnamon haired child pushing through the crowds in a desperate manner. The boy looked left and right and thereafter seamlessly ducked through the ropes cordoning off the walkway and stood defiantly in front of Kanto's champion. Instantaneously, the security in charge of the annual Pokemon World Tournament, held in Unova, closed on him akin to predators. Screaming a war cry, the boy hit the men, flailed, dodged them haphazardly and came to a scrambling stop in front of Red and looked up at him with adoration. The champion, a teenager at that time, smiled and stooped to his level, he accepted the pad the child handed over to him and scribbled an autograph._

" _So, what's your name? And I must say that you were brave to come all the way here." The Unovian grinned at the compliment and puffed out his chest._

" _My name is Black and," he took a deep breath, "I'M GOING TO BE UNOVA'S YOUNGEST CHAMPION! WHOOHOOO!" The boy announced at an ear-splitting volume and all the champions from the other regions who lined up behind Red, guffawed at his passionate declaration and praised him for his goals. Tiny Black, blushed, grinned, thanked them a hundred times and vanished in the crowds_

And he vanished from this world too, without being able to fulfil his dream.

Lack-2 heard it...An indiscernible sniff coming from the front seat. He shut his gaming device off and listened keenly, it came again. Taking care not to disturb Whi-2 who had her concentration ensnared by a novel, he sat upright and witnessed his commander wiping his face. Was that man crying? He wondered. Did criminals, who had no qualms of kidnapping two children, have the capacity to shed tears? Red put up a facade when he mingled with them and the Unovian questioned if his superior would be able to smile if Gold or Diamond met the same fate as Black. Maybe he would...Criminals are known for having stone hearts anyway. He saw the commander ease into his chair and pull a sleeping mask over his face. Night fell, the light fixtures in the plane cabin dimmed and stowed his gadget away and turned to Whi-2. Despite half an hour passing after take-off, she still stared at the same page and he knew that his companion had her mind too preoccupied with something else entirely rather than losing herself into the realm of fantasy. Leaning closer to her, he questioned:

"Tell me what happened with you and Red...When we split up at the league," he whispered, taking care not to wake the snoring Dia and Gold who sat behind him, "I want to know everything and especially how he got those scars...not anyone can go against our commander and damage him like that.

Whi-2 shut her book with a snap, "it doesn't matter anymore Lack-2. He apologized for his actions and I've accepted it. I don't want to dwell on it any longer all right? Please let me sleep, I'm very tired." She reached over to her hand luggage and rifled through the contents, searching for a sheet to cover herself with, the blanket they issued in the plane did not suit her.

"It matters to me Whi-2"

"..." She sighed and deliberately took her own time adjusting the fleece blanket over herself before answering, "We...ran into Hugh..."

"Hugh..." Lack-2 echoed.

"Yes, Hugh. He told me that he's been searching for us ever since our disappearance and now, as they showed on television, he is participating in the Unova league. When Team Plasma popped up, the league officials used him and three other finalists to defend the buildings." Grabbing a small bottle, she drunk a healthy amount of water and ignored her friend's impatient gestures, "They situated Hugh right at the back, near an area leading to the Pokemon Association headquarters in Unova and the Elite four apartments. Unfortunately, commander Red's target happened to the Headquarters and Hugh didn't allow him to pass. He kept on insisting that they let me off the organization and he used his emboar to sear Red like that. I tried to mediate their fight but it didn't go as planned...hopefully they will take him to hospital; Hugh has been injured pretty badly as well. Not as bad as your senior though." She finished her narration and looked at him, "don't bring this up again Lack-2 and please...Don't do anything stupid as to try and escape from here, they will hunt you down and Zekrom knows what else the leaders might do to you."

The russet eyed teenager leaned back and laced his hands behind his head, "I won't do anything dumb" he reassured her, "and I don't feel like leaving this place anyway," he jerked a thumb at Gold who had his head squashed against Dia's chubby cheek, "I don't have a choice do I? It's getting late...Or rather, it is late. Let's get some sleep; we'll be in Sinnoh by dawn.

Dawn

Sinnoh

Resort Area

Emerald and Ruby feigned interest at the classical paintings adorning the walls of the mansion lobby. Rich people had disgusting taste, the pair snorted and inwardly agreed. They waited for Execution's members who were reported to arrive very soon. The Hoenn natives ambled around the marble tiled foyer and gazed up at the decorative pillars stationed on either side of the grand staircase leading to the upper floors of the palace. The Victorian styled architecture was offset by modern art and statues, two of them stood on raised pedestals, flanking the entrance of the mansion with their frozen, graceful postures. Bronze girls, their forms twisted into delicate stances and Rald, his height bolstered by platform shoes, stood on his tip toes and reached up to the figurine's head, with a pocket knife, he gouged out a small silver of metal and studied it carefully. Ruby watched him dispassionately and admonished him for vandalizing the sculpture because for all they knew, those ugly effigies might've cost Platina's parents a fortune. A fresco depicting the three creation titans, Dialga, Palkia and Giratina glared down on them all and Rald sheepishly stowed his catch away and decided to focus on the decorative trim lining the walls. Too much white and gold, he thought but he whole heartedly accepted that the building oozed luxury and finesse.

"Rald! Ruby!" Sapphire strode briskly into the mansion with her trolley case rattling behind her, her friends jumped up and welcomed her with cheerful smiles. "I'm BACK!" The trio huddled together in a group hug and the rest of Strategy and Constellate traipsed down the stairs to greet their friends. Gold, on spying Crystal looking fine in a form fitting knee length dress, dumped his luggage carrier in Lack-2's arms and flew over. Silver pulled his female friend aside and saved her from being crushed to death. Blue gently traced the scars on Red's arm and hugged him, a few meters away; Pearl squeezed Dia till the latter wheezed.

"Welcome back Diamond" Platina chirped regally and brushed her hair backwards.

"It's good to be back," the teenager gasped and dissolved into a fit of light hearted giggles.

* * *

 **A/N:** I apologize for the delay, but I have this horrible flu bothering the brains out of me and I had to stay in bed for the time being. The three factions are re-merging again...At HeyYouYaYou: Thank you and let me say that you are amazing as well. I don't read many fanfictions, but I've yet to come across one that portrays him as antagonistic. The ones I read either makes him into a complete moron or a Gary-stu. At Jac54311: Ditto could've transformed as a disguise and later slipped inside with Blue when the police weren't looking. Okay, I'll admit, I didn't think much about that. It might me a personal nitpick of mine but I hate the move self destruct...it's like telling you pokemon: Dude, faint for my cause. Lol, that sounded a bit funny. At Silver: I've been reading you review for the past few days and now I've reached a new state of enlightenment...I agree that there are clear cut moral boundaries written in the various holy books...but what I meant was, as a person, there are no definite good and bad people. Let say, that person who murdered someone over a bar of chocolate? Is probably suffering from some deep seated mental disease; and although people might and will point fingers and call him a murderer, to himself, the action of his is perfectly plausible and makes sense to him. For me, people are grey. That girl in class who is super polite? Is probably being nice to everyone because of some ulterior motive. In any case, your review was really awesome and I look forward to see what else you can come up with. I learnt a lot to be honest.

Anyway, read and review people. Once again, I'm sorry for the late upload, I suffer from photo-phobia whenever I get a flu or a headache. Reviews and constructive criticism is much appreciated. For all those who are also suffering from a flu: Virtual medicine to you all.

...I just realized that Virtual medicine is going to do absolutely nothing. Take care of yourselves people. You don't want to end up as sleeping sloth like me.


	59. Festival of monsters

**Chapter 59: Festival of monsters**

Several weeks later, mid-morning

Sinnoh

Resort Area

"And so, we should devise a solid strategy should the police come knocking again. This time, we decided to include every member in the organization because input is precious...If the words coming out of your mouth are valuable and aren't simply nonsensical locution." Green announced and tapped on a board. "I want feedback from all of you and please...Keep your stupid ideas locked up in your brain." A hush of words arose from the mass crowding obediently in the common room, flanking him on leather wing backed chairs, Red stifled a yawn and Blue ignored his lectures in favour of texting on her Poke-gear. In light of their misfortune several months back, when the police came extremely close to catching them and putting them behind bars, the department supervisors agreed to gather together and propose a strategy to be used in such stressful times. And so, after a chaotic breakfast, the three factions squeezed together in Constellate's common room. The white divan disappeared under a mound of people, a few sat on the coffee table and looked the other way when Blue glared at them and the rest of the members made themselves comfortable on the velvet carpet. At first, every one listened with rapt attention and when Green, who liked to keep his diction clipped, asked for ideas, they all blanked out and opted for staring vacantly at each other or out of the large windows instead.

A fine day in Sinnoh and they had to be holed up in this stuffy room and subjected to rack their brains. White didn't want to think, she wanted to sleep and take a break from reality, if Black were here, he'd be churning out ideas and projecting the probable success or failure rates of his theories in a robotic manner and everyone would be falling over him and scribbling down his words. A buzzing feeling overtook her and she peered around the room and saw her fellow members ogling her, on looking up, she spied Musha lazily levitating over her head and a sudden flash of anger overtook her. Did her team mates think she could replace Black simply because the dream eating pokemon trailed after her? No! She is an organizer...And...And a generator of ideas. In the end, it dawned on her that she and Black were not so different after all, they both worked with one track minds and their friends admired them for it.

"Are you feeling okay White?" her superior enquired and she mumbled a reply, "If you want to say something, do not hesitate to speak up. If you don't want to participate, it's fine, you may leave the room." Muted whispers rose around her and she heard snippets of pity directed towards her...They felt sorry and for some reason, it made her feel weak and insignificant. Since Black and N's death, Green had been unconditionally kind to her and at times she wondered if someone rewired her commander's brain. Pulling out a pen and paper, she forced herself to think. Alas, her mind gave nothing, like a clean slate, it offered no concepts, opinions nor any solutions. She meekly listened as her companions spoke up; their conjectures either approved by the top trio or shot down by Green. Red chuckled at some suppositions and added one of his own and this prompted the spiky haired brunette to massage his temples vigorously. To her dismay, musharna crooned and hovered off, pausing for a short while at each person's head before lazily moving to the next. A trail of pink smoke hung in the air and at last, the drowsing pokemon came to a stop by Silver. The red head tried to wave it away and the beast smiled. With an uncharacteristic display of its viciousness, it swerved to the side and clamped down on the Johto native's head and he keeled over. His sister and friends rushed to his side and once Musha detached, instead of waking up, the silver eyed man fell into a comatose sleep.

"I guess...It can't break its habit of sucking dreams," Blue muttered and dragged her brother out, "Silver will be fine, I'll just leave him in his bedroom to rest, the rest of you please continue." Chirping cheerfully, the pink monster retraced its steps and blissfully plopped itself down on White's head, she felt guilty, occasionally, Musha would prey on her dreams and instead of doing so today, it clamped down on an unsuspecting individual. The meeting resumed and she forced herself to pay attention.

"I think...Cutting up the base is the best strategy." Platina's frosty voice commanded attention, "This time we should expect a more brutal assault because the police will not give up easily. The last time, we used Execution's common room's emergency exit in order to evacuate however," she held up a neatly drawn sketch of the current mansion, "this resort has too many exits and each one of them can be clearly seen, our escape routes will be the first targets of the police and it is laughable to think that they will wait for us to first secure the legendary pokemon and other necessities and simply let us leave. According to my calculations," the Berlitz heiress punched her Poketch a few times and wrote the figures down, "we have two priorities."

Pearl shot his hand up and after face palming, his superior motioned him to speak. "The legendary pokemon holding cell and the red chain creation room. Senior Blue froze it the last time since we can't run with those machines..."

Nodding at Platina's words, Green scribbled the options down on the white board and quickly drew up a map of the mansion, he crossed out all the exits and entrances, "thank you for your insight Pearl, none of us noticed," he jibed and added, "Platina is right, this time, we will have to split up in groups and do our work before withdrawing from the base. Previously, we had all the younger ones leaving in one congregated mass. This time, you will split up and leave from different exits, this will reduce visibility and make it easier on you." Oak listed the members of each department and noted down their dormitories, "write this down," he ordered, "you will have to take the exit that is closest to you."

"And who's gonna do all the work?" Lack-2 drawled, "The seniors again? Let us help you for a change, if my mind is preoccupied, I won't feel so scared..." he pleaded, "I threw up the last time because I was worried sick!" Whi-2 whole heartedly agreed to his proposition and Saph nodded her consent as well, sensing a revolt, Red stood up.

"No!" Dia opened his mouth to deliver something and his superior cut him off, "and I want no arguments either. As your elders, it is our duty to protect you and make sure that the police do not get their hands on you; you will listen to Green and follow his instructions precisely okay? As for the Johto trio, they are well adapted in working under stressful conditions and they have the authority to step up as the next in command should something happen to us." Gold coughed and Crystal shifted uncomfortably, "they will work with us and we will keep you safe." Saying this in a penetrating tone, the ebony haired male sat down and implored his friend to keep on speaking. Green divided the tasks amongst him and his companions. Since the base had to be cut in two entirely different places, two teams were designated to the job. Also, a new problem arose, the villa was at least three storeys and the target chambers were situated in the lower areas. Their pokemon might run out of PP before their objectives were met and thus strategy's leader mused on the possibility of assigning Yellow to help them. He drew a little stick figure in the middle of the mansion map and tapped it.

"Alright, first of all I'll designate the teams. Gold and Red, you two are the most gifted in terms of battle prowess and therefore will be situated inside the centre of the mansion, your job is to prevent the Police from arresting our team mates and interfering with our job." Oak drew a few dotted lines and brought their attention to those marks, see these? They are your boundaries; do not cross them or else you will be cut up along with the base." Red scrunched up a piece of paper and threw it at Green's head who dodged it calmly, "next, Blue and Crystal, your station is on the west side, near the south end and it is your duty to sever the red chain base and freeze it. Do what you want with Cyrus and Charon. You could ask them to help you if you want." Under Constellate's list of members, the spiky haired brunette added two more names and Blue twisted her face in offense, "Thirdly, Silver and I shall take care of the legendary creation room, as Berlitz pointed out, it is improbably to gather them up in capsules and flee with them...The process takes too long and if the mythical beasts are not drugged correctly, they might break out and cause more chaos." He etched two more figures on the layout, "if our formation is like this, we can cover each other perfectly and the Johto natives can provide accessory assistance. Hmm, Yellow...You...stay with Red and Gold, they are the ones most prone to danger and may need their pokemon's levels to be raised if the opposition is great."

"I'd like to be with you." The blonde plaintively stated and her superior blinked. A lull descended on the conversation taking place in the room and Blue whistled purposefully. Yellow's cheeks tinted pink as she understood the implications of her words, "what I meant was...the legendary holding cell is in the basement right so...You need your pokemon to-"

"Ohohoho! How bold Yellow!" The Kanto native interrupted, grabbed the petite blonde and enforced a hug, "we could all learn a lesson or two from you right _Green?_ " She leered at the lab coat wearing male and he hissed under his breath. "Sure you can be with Green, why not? I mean his pokemon needs to be reinforced if they need to cut all the way to the basement."

The blonde extracted herself from Blue's gasp with some difficulty and faced her, "now that I think about it, senior Blue, you also have the same duty...so I guess, you need help as well. That's it...I'll come with you," she abruptly decided and the brown haired woman furiously shook her head. The two females divulged into a petty squabble and the more Yellow spoke, the redder she became till Gold interjected that he and Red won't need Yellow's help and she could go with whomever she liked. Sensing her opportunity, Blue hammered the last nail in the coffin and outright ordered the girl to stay at Green's side. The spiky haired brunette hummed, shrugged his shoulders indifferently and hurriedly glanced away when Blue gave him a knowing smile. In the midst of it all, Red sported a confused visage, what was all this fuss about? He pondered and sunk lower in his chair.

"So is everyone clear of the plan?" Every member in the room bopped their heads in affirmative and some waved their handwritten notes about, "excellent. Memorize these protocols and the layout of the mansion in case of an emergency...the Police are getting craftier and we cannot rely on hacked material any longer because it could be a trap." Blue tossed her hair backwards, "trust me, I know. Well...we are still busy with the creation of the red chain and the project is in its semi-last stages, once one is complete, I'll bring it and show all of you. Another thing...If any of you are having problems," her cobalt irises rested for a brief moment on Whi-2, "please be sure to talk to us. We do not want our members sinking in a depressive slump, your health and problems are a big concern to us and I've discussed this with Red and Green in detail...If anyone of you wants to leave this organization, you may do so." A heavy silence seized the air, "we only ask that you keep quiet should the police come knocking." No one said anything and some of the members held their breath, afraid of shattering the dreadful silence. "We are altogether now and we have to depend on each other to survive," she smiled, "right people, you are dismissed, be sure to study up on the map of this resort!" The Dex-holders poured out and the mood lifted as they moved off into groups and muttered about the latest orders. Pearl grumbled about how the meeting felt more like a lesson at school rather than a measure to protect themselves and White agreed with him. For the first time since Black and N's death, she cracked a genuine smile and immediately, the Sinnoh natives set to work and dragged her with them to the kitchen.

Afternoon

Resort area

Dex-criminal's base, common room

Crystal pored over the gleaming spheres sitting on the table and gingerly picked one up. The DNA in the marble shone turquoise and pink. Setting the stone down, she peered at the accessories and smiled to herself. Her superior even went through the trouble of fixing those keystones, or whatever he called it, into fancy jewellery pieces. She beheld an intricately designed necklace, no doubt for Blue, a black and red cuff for Red and a bracelet probably for himself. The top trio entered through the door and she dipped her head in a greeting. Green pulled up cushion and sat behind the coffee table whilst Blue, Red, Dia (who ambled in with his senior), Silver and herself made themselves comfortable on the divan set against the wall. Picking the accessories up, he tossed them over to his friends.

"How much did this cost?" Constellate's leader fired and her co-worker mumbled the price, both of his best friends paused in their actions to stare at him. "Seriously? Red's cuff too? Wait, are those real garnets lining that thing? Oh my Green! Since when were you this generous?"

"Now I'm a bit afraid to wear this..." Red admitted and fiddled with the cuff, "what if it breaks and Green goes for my neck?"

"I bought the real things so that it won't be easy to break Red...And yes Blue...Those are real diamonds on your necklace" Oak curbed the urge to toss the mega-stones and let his friends figure out the intricacies, "if I didn't buy them, I'm sure you would never allow me to live the rest of my life in peace." The chocolate haired female fixed the chain around her neck and sincerely thanked him, "I emptied my savings for that so...Be grateful." next to Red, Diamond reverently traced his chubby digits over the rhodolite encrusted cuff and tapped the keystone set in the middle. "Let me explain how the process of mega-evolution works and for Red's sake, I'll try to keep this simple." The occupants in the room snapped to attention, "There are two key factors into triggering this evolution, first are the stones. The pokemon capable of mega evolution has their prehistoric DNA fixed into irradiated evolutionary stones known as mega stones. Mega stones are kept by the pokemon and they activated by their corresponding keystones which are held by the trainer. Instead of carrying them around in a pocket, I thought having them as an accessory might be more...fashionable as Ruby would've said it." Said teenager snickered whilst entering the room and joined the posse listening to Green, "the other factor is the bond between a trainer and their partner. The more the pokemon trusts you, the faster the evolution occurs. The keystone has a stop and start activation code which is necessary fo-"

Red snored.

"...S-sorry for that." The man stirred and rubbed his eyes when Dia jabbed him, "all this explanation is..." he yawned heartily and wiped tears from his eyes, "putting me to sleep and I didn't understand half of what you said...Apart from that fact that you emptied your savings for us. Can't we have a practical demonstration in one of the underground rooms? Oh HEY!" Suddenly, his crimson irises lit up, "why don't the three of us have a duel? Man it's been fossil ages since we last brawled with each other! Come on! What do you say Blue? Please Green?" Red animatedly pleaded and turned from one friend to the other. "It'll be a blast. Dia, ask the others to get the training room ready." The boy sprang up and zoomed out of the chamber.

"I suppose...why not..." Green exhaled and offered a wry smile. "Sounds like fun and I can finally avenge myself from the time you humiliated me at the league."

"Heh..."

"Boys!" Blue cut in before they could stir up their ancient rivalry, "let's all enjoy this battle okay...and this is the first time many of our underlings are watching you battle in flesh Red. Do try to restrain yourself please." Her tone dripped saccharine, "Let's agree on using our starters which can mega evolve and keep this clean? Alright?" The two nodded and vacated the room.

"Arceus, he looks beautiful..." Red exclaimed; the trio were alone in one of the unused rooms and Green took the opportunity to show them how to trigger the mega evolutionary process. Charizard morphed into charizard X and sent a bone chilling cold billowing through the room. The midnight black dragon pranced around the undecorated chamber and eventually came to a stop near its trainer. Red cooed and ran his fingers down the dragonoid's velvety fur and rubbed its turquoise belly. The drastic change in the wyvern's personality did not go unnoticed by the others and Blue grinned fondly on seeing the creature pressing and butting the professor affectionately. "Was Charizard this friendly?" the ebony haired man queried and got a playful snort of blue flames to his face, "I dunno...He seems less, how do I put this? Reserved?" Gleefully, the dragon glomped on its master and the jade eyed man irritably implored the others to reveal their mega evolved creatures. Execution's commander didn't need any prompting but he stopped abruptly when Blue beat him to the punch. The female leader held her breath and let it out in one rush when her newly evolved creature towered over her. Articulating a delighted scream, she bounced over and engulfed her Blasty into a hug. Once more, Red's mouth hung open and forgetting about venusaur who stared coolly from its pokeball, the human twirled gaily around the tortoise and examined him from all angles.

"Blasty has some neat cannons, a huge one replaced the two on its back and it has two smaller ones on his arms...Oh my...his stats" The azure eyed female tapped the screen of her Pokedex and looked up, "he has the ability mega launcher which powers up pulse moves...I can demolish entire buildings with a measly water pulse! And his hide and shell became extra thick as well." She ran her hands over its back and tapped the pockmarked shell, "guess he doesn't have any personality changes...My Blasty is still the same old pet I know and love!" Stowing her electronic encyclopaedia away, she gave her monster another hug and the creature spat out a tiny fountain of water and patted her head with a scaly claw. Done with ogling his friend's mega evolved beasts, Red finally turned his attention to his saurian grass monster and let it out. Holding the mega-cuff proudly and childishly up, he mutely beheld the transformation. Like all evolved creatures, venusaur bulked up in size and underwent a few changes, when the light shroud peeled off; the three leaders stared at it impassively.

"Nice flowers Red..." Green couldn't supress the mocking undertone lacing his voice.

"Cool!" Blue agreed and returned to petting Blasty. Crimson irises regarded Saur with a bit of apathy and the tiniest hint of disappointment. Unlike charizard x or blastoise, mega venusaur still looked the same save for additional blossoms sprouting over its bumpy blue-green skin and the large flower growing taller in size. The foliage on its back increased in density and its owner noted a curious mark on its snout. Shrugging, Red put the Pokedex away and fondly stroked his starter. Picking up its master's sorrow, the seed pokemon shuffled backwards and grunted.

"Saur...it's okay buddy, I like you just the way you are and besides, we all know you are a mean beast without evolving into your mega form. Lift me up will you, there is a forest growing on your back!" Only when Saur revealed his vines did the three look at it with renewed curiosity. The tendrils hung above Red's head as the beast contemplated on wrapping its beloved owner with barbed vines. "Barbs..." The Kanto native warbled and took a few steps backwards as the turgid vines oozed fat droplets of potent poison. Myrtle green creepers rose one by one in the air and the humans inwardly agreed that if nature ever produced an ugly weapon of mass destruction and pain, it'll look exactly like the coils of death venusaur currently wriggled about. Thinner shoots tentatively grabbed Red by the waist and pulled him upwards and the ebony haired trainer dissolved into a fit of laughter and jubilant shouts. "Come on guys" he urged his friends as the grass beast carried him out, "let's go! It'll be a festival!" Shaking their heads, the two companions followed him out.

"Place your bets here!" Gold screeched and stood still as the rest of the organization ran haphazard circles around him. They rushed to get the training room ready and to their utter delight, White took the stage and organized the entire process. The entire organization worked seamlessly under the guidance of Platina and White, the former bribed Lack-2 with a handsome sum of money and the brat could be seen toiling away with Pearl, Silver and Sapphire near the back of the enormous chamber. The three of them painstakingly shifted a large circular dais as Emerald meticulously lowered a second platform on the base. Click. With a smooth pop, the pieces slid into one another and the stage was complete. Wiping sweat from her brow, Sapphire ducked past Ruby and nimbly climbed up the metal graters with a heavy bag of equipment slinging from her back. Carefully, she set up the lighting and under Rald's strict instructions and angled them accordingly. Ruby and Diamond, their faces covered in cloth masks, dusted the auditorium and pulled up a mismatch of chairs, couches and recliners. The team worked feverishly and akin to ants; scurried about enthusiastically to get ready for the most anticipated battle. Shifting to let Yellow, who had her arms crammed full of scrolls and a box, aside; Gold called out again: "Place your bets here!" The blonde paused and placed her load down.

"Here," She handed him a slip and some money, "I'm betting for Green."

"...Seriously? It's obvious Red's going to win" the amber eyed trainer rolled his eyes as Crystal came up to him, "hey Crys, wanna bet for Red? He's soo gonna own this."

Crystal eyed him with scorn before handing her slip over, "I'm betting for senior Green as well," her comrade's mouth hung open, "what? It shows loyalty, he is our department head you idiot! Besides, I'm looking forward to the battle itself, I'm sure whoever wins, it's going to be lovely spectacle to behold." The two females ambled off to their duties and Gold did a quick count of his money...Still not enough, he needed more people to vote for Red if Execution needed to improve their budget. Thanks to Gold's gambling tendencies, the funds took a sharp dip and he hid the papers when Red asked for them. Spying Whi-2 balancing precariously on the outer edge of a metallic catwalk, he grinned devilishly and set off. They were going to be rich today.

* * *

To him, it felt like standing on the league arena again as thousands of people cheered from the stands. Although the champions had an unofficial rule amongst them, he broke the regulation by showing and allowing all his pokemon to flank him. His beasts did a spectacular display of power and pride and this sent the audience cheering up a storm. Red didn't hear them; he used earplugs to drown out the cacophonous roar. Standing on the stage, he beheld White furiously dictating last minute orders as the underlings scattered to comply with her orders. Smiling, he showed a thumbs up to the hardworking girl and the heavy weight in his chest dissipated on seeing her cheerful yet sweaty face. The teen pushed up her damp shock of hair and jumped off, Musha trailing behind her faithfully all the way. The setup looked impressive and lavish as the younger ones did their best to emulate a fantastic stage. Powerful spotlights beamed down on six figures who stood on the platform and Red spied the tiny audience spaced around the length of the circular arena. Beautiful. Waving at them and feeling a tad foolish, his spirits soared when Diamond and Pearl sprang up from their seats and upended a bucket of popcorn between them. The indolent boy and his hyperactive friend cheered and waved with all their might. Facing his opponents, he blanched on seeing Green.

"You...are not serious are you?" a quiver ran through his voice.

"Oh...I'm very serious." The spiky haired brunette smirked and rolled up his sleeves, "I'm going to beat you to a pulp." Saying this he moved a few paces backwards and dropped into a defensive stance.

"Relax Red," Blue chimed in, "Green is probably rusty...He hasn't been practising his martial arts for ages."

"Yes..." a low voice agreed, "I'm probably rusty." Red didn't believe his friend one bit, those lean muscles lining his arms were all the evidence he needed, besides, even if their sessions were sporadic, Green still trained Sapphire to some degree. Taking up their positions on three corners of the stage, they waited for Crystal, who doubled as the referee, to give the signal. The indigo haired female got up on stage and all the attention fixated on her as she introduced the challengers and their mega evolved pokemon. As was the norm, the trainers first dismissed Saur as nothing flashy but gasped when it displayed its venom dripping vines. Bowing and earning a whistle from Gold, she rung a bell and immediately hopped off the stage. And in good time because in the next second:

The stage exploded

Venusaur went into hyper growth; its barbed vines tunnelled underground and blew the quickly constructed podium apart. One of the creepers snaked outwards and caught the flying piece of metal before it hit anyone else, crushing it and eroding it to nothingness in a few mere seconds; the mega evolved beast focused its attention on the blue-black charizard who commanded the air. The two leered at each other and completely forgot about blastoise. To remind them of his existence, the shellfish pokemon announced its presence by firing several water pulses in rapid succession. Vines, a sensory net concealed beneath the ground alerted Saur to the move before its execution. Blasty shifted, crouched and aimed its cannons at the grass monster. The first pulse of water jettisoned out of the three cannons and instantaneously the seed pokemon fashioned a protective net of brambles and protected itself. Charizard X wasn't so lucky and a throb of highly pressurized water blasted the dragonoid out of its aerial formation. It hit the graters and involuntarily spewed a rush of ice-cold flames. A sharp command from its trainer had it sweeping down and grabbing a persim berry in its talons. Jade eyes regarded the water type critically before Green charged over and barehandedly slugged the turquoise reptile in its unprotected jaw, Blue screeched something incomprehensible before witnessing her Blasty being subjected to a roundhouse kick. To everyone's astonishment, the kick sent the bulked up water monster skidding to the other end of the stage.

Red and Blue collectively cursed under their breath. The raven haired man snapped his fingers and Saur complied with is orders. From above, keen eyes noted a swirl of razor sharp leaves heading straight for its owner. Diving steeply, charizard froze the deadly projectiles with its flames and then churned the air with a wing attack. Obeying the series of rapid fire orders issuing from Oak's mouth, the dragon followed up and sent out a heat wave. Hot wind billowed outwards and Saur recoiled from pain, Red watched as the tumid vines shrunk and ripped, spilling corrosive acid all over the platform. Seconds later, he heard a female call out and a swell of water washed the area clean.

Charizard and Saur resumed their glaring. The seed monster contemplated on the new bit of information. So his nemesis could spew both hot and cold flames. Next to the saurian grass type, his trainer mused over the same thing. "Saur...Use sweet scent." Red finally ordered and his partner complied, the flower on its back convulsed and released a sickly sweet aroma. Both charizard and blastoise stopped in their preparing and stumbled closer to the pleasant whiff emitting from venusaur. Green sensed a major problem and after gulping in a lungful of untainted air he advanced aggressively, with a nimble leap, he climbed on to the grass type's back, holding on to the dense foliage for support. Once on top, the tore off several large leaves and proceeded to stuff them in the pores of the humungous bulb growing on venusaur's back.

"Blasty! Use hydro pump!" Blue commanded and the seed pokemon did not bother blocking the attack. The tortoise-esque pokemon crouched low and let pillars of water rip out of its cannons. A wall of freezing water hit them and the spiky haired brunette gasped before being flung away. The force lifted Saur off the ground; however the monster kept itself anchored with its vines. Constellate's leader noted this and briskly ordered her partner to stop.

Soaking wet, Green limply hung from charizard's talons. The lizard pokemon opened its cavernous maw and bombarded the occupants with a brilliant blue flamethrower. Ice rimmed the platform and froze Saur and Blasty on their spots. A sunny day burned the ice and the frost turned into steam and wafted up in the air. The audience grumbled, they couldn't see any the battle properly any longer. In the haze, Blue listened intently to the sounds and plotted, Saur could predict their attacks due to the mesh of veins buried underground, she needed to break up those vines and disorientate the creature before her next move. Whispering a command to her monster, she beast hefted her off the floor with its beefy arms and then created an artificial earthquake. The ground rippled and cracked, charizard took to the skies with its trainer and a vine seized Red and held him up. Saur felt its appendages crack and tear one by one and the pain blinded him. Its owner his snapped fingers and instinctively it let a solar beam loose. The viricent blast headed straight for the water type and here the brown haired woman barked another word:

"Negate it!" A pulse of water clashed with the beam and rendered it apart. Scarlet irises widened and reflected pearls of emerald light as they scattered across the air. Minutes later he felt venusaur shift unnaturally and to his greatest astonishment, another hydro pump lifted his unanchored beast in the air and sent it soaring out of the arena. Red blinked as he flew through the air and glimpsed the aghast faces of his subordinates. Gold appeared distraught and Dia had his mouth half crammed with a rice ball. Returning to the realm of reality when charizard hooked its claws in his shirt, he fumbled for a pokeball and recalled venusaur. His match was over.

He lost.

"And...Red is out of the ring!" Crystal announced from her seat much to the shock of everyone, on the podium, Constellate's leader tossed her hair back and waved enthusiastically. Silver and Ruby's grin widened and the former threw Gold a diabolical smirk. Depositing the ebony haired male in the stands, Green patted his dragon and the duo dropped on the stage. He grinned, with Red out of the way; it'll be easy to take down Blue. Charizard X had the fortune of having dragon type genes, despite having water as its weakness; the professor knew his beast won't bow so easily. Unfortunately for his mega evolved dragon, Blasty shot a dragon pulse and decimated the area near Green's feet. The male sidestepped, swung forward and smashed the palm of his hand into the water type's face. A second later he ducked to avoid another pulse attack and cursed when it hit the floor and splintered the already damaged stage. The wyvern took to the skies and apprised its opponent with calculating eyes.

"How on earth did that happen? You were supposed to win!" Gold leaned and hollered over the din of the battle, Red sat two seats away from him and chucked popcorn into his mouth. "Seriously? how did this happen? I bet on you to win! Now our funds are going to be in the red!" The amber eyed youth moaned and tore up his slips.

"Green and Blue took advantage of each other's strategies. When he created the steamy screen, Blue used earthquake and disabled Saur's vines. Unable to see or sense what's going on, he used solar beam and it hit Blasty's water pulse...then she commanded for a hydro cannon and we went flying." Red grinned, "I'd never thought Saur would fly, I mean he is a heavy creature. Heh, they played well."

"I'd accuse them of cheating." The Johto native grumbled, "if you knew they worked together, why didn't you do something?"

The older male shrugged, " I lost myself in the thrill of battle. To be honest I didn't pay much attention, I simply revelled in the fun."

"Well you can revel in your misery after one of them wins all the money. I'm telling you, we are seriously lacking resources!" Muttering lowly under his breath, he turned his attention back to the stage.

In a spectacular imitation of its trainer, charizard X shoved an ice cloaked claw into blastoise's face. The water type absorbed the attack and skittered across the bumpy surface of the ring. It came to a harrowing standstill right at the edge of the arena and Blue held her breath as Blasty gingerly poked its arms, legs and head out. The moment it stood up, Green and his monster went charging after it again. In retaliation, it fired another pulse of water and forced the intruders to reroute. The backward thrust sent the reptilian monster skidding off stage and it fell.

Only to angle its cannons downwards and propel itself with a volley of water. The front row audiences screamed in delight and annoyance as a jet of water splashed over their form. Spotlights followed it high up in the air; the water type withdrew and curled up into a ball. With frightening accuracy it cannoned straight down into an incoming charizard. Oak swore, he heard the crunch of his wrym's hollow bones before mega evolution undid itself. A bruised vermillion dragon torpedoed into the stage, sending up sheets of concrete, dust and metal and lay deadly still.

 _Silence._

"I WON!" The female Kanto native hopped gleefully and giddily danced around the ruined stage with her blastoise. "Take that you two!" She childishly pointed at her dour faced friends, "they need to crown me as the new champion of Kanto!" Her team mates rushed onto the stage and showered her with congratulatory phrases and words. Little by little, the clamour in the makeshift stadium increased and soon everyone chanted her name. Silver smirked at Gold once again and took a commemorative photo of his crushed expression. Red laughed mirthfully whilst Green stabbed his tablet in an effort to recalculate the percentage of him winning against the pesky woman. When the figures failed to add up, he hissed and rubbed his sore knuckles. Hitting a mega evolved beast with his bare hands...Was not such a good idea after all.

"Cheer up will you."

"Cheer up?" the professor turned to his crimson eyed friend, sighed and offered a lopsided smile. "I guess...Although I'm not sure whether to be happy that I managed to win against you...Or curse the fact that the pesky woman out of all people managed to defeat me. Either way, letting out stress felt really good."

"Ahahaha! Let's have a one on one the next time Green." Red chirped, "how about tomorrow?"

The brown haired man listlessly took in the battered room and eased up from his chair. "How about not? If we keep on destroying things, we'll spend most of our money on reconstruction. Bear in mind that our budget is on tight strings, we squandered a lot of money when we moved from base to base and then by splitting up. Gah! The thought of asking Blue for money. Just...You know what," the male shuddered, "I'd rather not think about it...I hope my payment from Sycamore comes soon..."

* * *

Middle of the night

Unknown location

The screen lit up with an incoming message and the device emitted a ditty. Roused up from a deep sleep, an individual extracted a hand from underneath warm covers and grabbed the communications gadget. Eyes peered tiredly at the liquid crystal display before a finger tapped down gently and opened the note. The message contained within was short and simple, it told him that Team Plasma has been disbanded once and for all, the remaining members are on probation or sent to rehabilitation centres. Also, the authorities suspect that the Shadow Triad took the dark dragon stone and fled to Ransei. Snorting, he left the rest of the message unread and shut the gadget off. He knew what they wanted already, the police wanted him to come back and peruse the Shadow triads. The male sniffed in indignation, stop the investigation on the Dex criminals and return to Kalos is it? Why should he do that?

When he was this close to catching them?

* * *

 **A/N:** And Blue won the match. For those who are a bit disappointed, let me just put out that Blue/Leaf is severely under-rated, it's always about Red and Green/Gary and I wanted her to win for a change. In terms of cunning and cheating people, I think she'll top both her male counterparts. Hopefully everyone enjoyed this chapter, I had a lot of fun when writing this. At Jack54311: …I meant condemn, thanks for pointing that out, one word can change the entire meaning of a sentence. I'll have to remember that from now on :) Red wanted to make up to Whi-2 because she first hand witnessed the desperation in Hugh's actions. It must have been traumatizing to see your best friend try and take on someone way out of their league. At Boss Salamence: Let me happily inform you that it keeps on getting darker, hope you enjoy the later chapters and let me know what you think. At AceTrainerLeaf: Heh, school is hard work; make sure you crush it and not the other way around. I'll really miss you if you don't review once every few chapters. Speaking of school, it's completely understandable, just make sure not to stress too much. After this chapter, it starts getting crazier again so look forward to that. The last time I had and injection was when I was five. Not that I have anything against needles, but I prefer to let my immune system take care of me. And if I'm sick…I can sleep all day long so it's a bonus.

Anyway, keep on reading and reviewing people. Thanks for all the reviews, when I first started writing this story, I didn't dream of having this many so it's pleasantly overwhelming and hugely motivating. I'll try my best to keep on upgrading my standard of work. Much gratitude to all.


	60. The General's game

**Chapter 60: The General's game**

Dawn

Unova

Pokemon league

Grimsley barely perceived his surroundings as he tore down the hallways and opened the door. He paused. A bloodied figure lay curled at the end of the area and without thinking; the elite four member passed through the narrow conduit leading to the chamber and knelt down to the boy. Hugh was barely conscious, his crimson eyes glazed over with pain and some unfathomable feeling the older man couldn't quite read. Blood dribbled past the teenager's cracked lips and his chest rattled horribly every time he took a breath. The child clutched a pokeball in his gloved hands and the gambler forced the rigid fingers apart and collected the capsule. Few minutes later, a group of people stampeded in the otherwise quiet place and he let the doctors take care of Hugh. The elite four member spied Skyla and the twin train conductors along with a man identified as Falkner, the vice chief of the international police. Grimsley let out a breath he didn't know he held and waited for one of them to approach him. He knew the situation had escalated out of his control and the arrival of the international police warranted nothing but unnecessary danger and complications. The nurses and doctors gave Hugh a quick once over before declaring that the boy needed emergency medical treatment. Just as the elite four individual moved forward to confirm the situation, Falkner blocked his path.

"Thank you...we will take it from here. This boy, Hugh, is now in the custody of the international police." Falkner intoned in a calm voice and saw anger flare in the gambler's eyes, "please rest assured we will not harm the boy. We simply have to ask him a few questions regarding the perpetrator-"

"I don't know anything..." The boy rasped and coughed up blood, "you won't get anything from me...I don't know anything." he repeated in a broken voice.

"Hugh is a competitor participating in the Unova league." Grimsley spoke with controlled wrath, "he is our responsibility and I'm going to see that he is put in a Unovian hospital and sent back straight home to rest and recuperate before he resumes his normal life at school. He is not part of the Dex-criminals, I've checked, the boy hasn't been given a Pokedex since the kidnapping of his two best friends almost three years ago. Right now he nee-"

"He needs to be in safe hands should the people who attacked him come for him again." The Johto gym leader coolly interjected, "you are misunderstanding us, we do not suspect him of being part of the Dex-criminals, we are sure that he ran into an executive and we simply want to identify who that person is."

"I told you...I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" Hugh tried to sit up but screamed in pain and spat out more blood, he dissolved into a coughing fit and the doctors quickly injected him with a blend of painkillers and sleeping drugs. The boy stopped spasming and fell into a fitful sleep.

"He says-"

"He is lying. Hugh is no longer under the authority of the Unova League associations; the right has been transferred over to the hands of the International police." Falkner brushed past an incensed Grimsley, "please understand that we are doing this for his safety and for the well-being of the general public. We just want to know and confirm a few bits of information and that is all." Forced aside, the Unovian man watched the twin train conductors and Skyla flank the vice chief as they walked out of the door. The doctors and nurses followed them, carrying an unconscious Hugh on a white stretcher. Blood oozed out of his chest wound and dyed the starched, white cloth an ugly red. The teenager's words rung like a broken recorder in the man's mind and the desperate voice hammered against his head. Sunlight seeped through the transparent ceiling and washed the filthy area with a liquescent gold. Grimsley grimaced at the sight of uprooted terracotta tiles and the numerous multi coloured blood stains littering the floor and walls. He sighed and ran a hand through his neatly groomed head. Perhaps, he reassured himself, letting Hugh go with the police had been the best choice.

A few days later

Castelia city

Police headquarters

"He says he doesn't know anything."

"Preposterous! How can he not know anything? Obviously the child is lying!" A blonde man banged a fist on the rectangular desk and roared. "The kid looks like he fought a hell hound!"

"We are well aware of that Lt. Surge." Anabel cut in neatly and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She rifled through a sheaf of papers lying in front of her and extracted a sheet. Putting the one document aside on the glass topped conference table, she turned her attention back to the members seated around her. "The boy has been threatened by whoever assaulted him. A check into his background reveals that he is best friends with the most recently kidnapped victims of the Dex-criminals. Whi-2 hailing from Aspertia city and Lack-2 who comes from Castelia." A few sighs and snorts were heard, "this bit of information is important, we can correctly assume that he is trying to protect his friends. If he tells the police, the ring leaders of the organization might harm his friends who are most likely being kept hostage or...Used as lower leveled grunts." The chief waited as some of the members scribbled notes down or ruminated on her words, "we interrogated him thoroughly and he refuses to speak. Unfortunately we cannot disregard his right to silence so I proposed another...Off the record method to extract information from him." Anabel leaned back on her swivel chair and scrutinized their reactions. Falkner did not twitch, Cynthia arched a perfect eyebrow and Sabrina, from Kanto, looked at her sharply. The Kalosian felt foolish, of course the woman endowed with psychic powers would be able to foretell what she thought and the chief inwardly prayed for their plan to work. "We will begin cross-examining him shortly. For now, meeting dismissed."

For a while no one moved then, one by one, the superintendents rose and left the chamber with their direct subordinates following them. Anabel gathered her sheets up from the table and downed her lukewarm coffee in one gulp. Sabrina tapped the glass surface with her polished nails and stared at the various diagrams and objectives projected onto a large screen in front of her. When the room emptied out save for Looker, Falkner, Anabel and herself, the fuchsia haired woman spoke up again.

"Where is Hugh kept?"

"He is in the infirmary on the third floor for the time being. The physical damage done to him was superficial; however we are worried about his mental state. His parents came to visit him all the way from Aspertia and for their and Hugh's safety, we discretely monitored their home...Nothing invasive." Falkner quickly pointed out when his superior made a face, "As of now, we are keeping Hugh here, at the moment; he is waiting for us in the interrogating room." The chief of police nodded and got up wearily, brushing her hair backwards, she motioned the rest of the group to follow her. On stepping out into the corridor, a blast of cool, recycled air hit them in their faces and several people murmured greetings. Taking the elevator down to the third floor, they promptly made their way into the interrogation room.

On opening the door, they found a purple haired boy sitting alone in the dingy chamber. The walls were painted an eye watering shade of peach and a single, bare bulb illuminated the surroundings in a ghastly yellow glow. Hugh sat impassively on a bench and kicked his legs back and forth, in front of him a small wooden table held a glass of water. The four adults squeezed into the room and at once the boy screeched that he didn't know anything. Waving his arms about, he folded them with a huff and maliciously spilled the glass of water across the table, the colourless fluid dripped down the sides. Sabrina's eyes bored on to him, taking note of the veins pulsing in his forehead and the perpetual frown lines stamped on his forehead. The boy tucked his chin in his high collared jacket and peered at the world with stormy, distrusting eyes.

"Yes we understand you don't know anything," Anabel soothed and he angled his face the other way, "so we will release you from police custody shortly." The boy shrugged nonchalantly but the Kanto gym leader could see a victorious spark in his crimson irises, "However, before you go, you will need a last minute check-up-"

"I don't need any last minute check-ups!" Hugh hissed, "I just wanna go home."

"You parents asked for this..." The police chief smoothly lied, "they understand that you hit the back of your head rather roughly during the fight, your ribs had shattered and a piece of it lodged in your lung. To make sure that you won't suffer from any long lasting damages from your injuries, we are doing everything we can. Please co-operate, after this session is over, we will personally escort you home and you will be free from us." Irritably, the teenager got up and accompanied the adults out of the room. It was only after stepping into another stark, windowless chamber did it occur to him that something seemed very off. Sure the theatre had all the medical equipment needed for scans and tests; and he saw the huge off white imaging device humming eerily, however, there were no nurses nor any doctors present and when he spun around to question them, he saw the four adults trailing after him into the room. One of them, the black haired, almond eyed lady, had her pokemon out and the hypno swung a magnetized pendulum whilst smiling teasingly at him. Hugh locked eyes with the creature and three seconds later, he collapsed to the polished floor and fell fast asleep. Falkner and Looker gently picked his prone body up and placed him on a bed. They set up a screen and a recording device. Sabrina placed a chair next to the comatose Unovian's bed whilst hypno waddled closer and kept a hawkish watch over the sleeping boy.

"The procedure will take over ten hours..." The psychic gym leader informed them and watched the shock rippling on their faces, "I warned you...Picking his neural network apart and reconfiguring the routes is a long, tedious process. There is also the risk of mild damage to his brain, but you told me it is a risk you are willing to take," coral pink irises pinned the chief of police solemnly and the female nodded slowly. "Unlike popular belief, memory is not congregated in one part of the brain, it is scattered and it's a harrowing business to separate his recollections from other things. Please leave me alone and under no circumstances should you allow anyone to bother me. Once I establish a link, I need to sever it in an orderly manner, an abrupt cut will send the boy into an irrecoverable coma and there is a high chance that I might suffer from the back lash as well." The three other members trooped out and Sabrina shut the door with a bang after them. Sighing, she removed her gloves, tied her waist length hair up in a high pony tail and examined her victim. Grabbing a few body electrodes, she neatly stuck them on Hugh's temples and cheeks. After making sure the recording device functioned correctly, she took her seat and grabbed on to hypno's free hand.

She saw fuzzy images; the pictures were layered with static and showed her things she could care less about. Hugh at a birthday party with his friends, curiously, she only saw the girl who smiled widely and had her hair still up in those cute little Chinese buns. The woman frowned and forced herself to delve deeper, wading through streams of painful and joyous memories and fumbling out of experiences. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead and neck and she steered her consciousness away from her discomfort and peered into Hugh's memories.

"Hypno, use nightmare...Let's see what frightens him the most."

The effects were instantaneous, despite being hypnotized to the deepest level of sleep, the boy jerked involuntarily and cried out. The blurry pictures she saw earlier sharpened into high definition images and Sabrina breathed evenly to calm herself down. She did not allow herself to get excited or disturbed by what she saw, doing so will result in an abrupt serving of her connection, however, the woman couldn't keep the slight gasp escaping from her lips when the image of a crimson eyed, jet haired man surfaced in Hugh's mind. The battle the two fought and the reasons of Kanto's ex-champion's disappearance from the league became very clear. Feeling rather drained, Sabrina tightened her contact with hypno and started to extract her consciousness from Hugh's. The practice proved to be painful as her victim let go and churned up all his fears to the surface. He leeched on to her and projected his terrors, seeking comfort and an escape. More sweat poured from the psychic's skin and soaked her clothes. In half an hour, she developed a blistering fever and her hypno shifted uncomfortably from the heat emanating from its master's body. She lay limp, eyes closed and tears escaping from underneath shut lids, her hair came loose and fell around her in long, matted curls.

Time trickled by and yet; none of the two individuals in the room woke up.

A few weeks later

Unova

Castelia City

A flurry of activity seized the police headquarters in Unova, phones rang nonstop and officials rushed in and out of the building as they worked over time to piece together all the evidence and information they needed to apprehend the criminals. On the fifth floor, prominent members of the international police once again gathered around the table and shared their thoughts. They had decisive evidence of the Dex-criminals' crimes at the league and information of their recent, failed stint at stealing the duplicated Azure Flute in Sinnoh. Now all they needed was the location of their current base and a large scale bust could be drawn up and implemented.

"So what did poking around in the brat's head tell us?" Lt. Surge demanded and lifted his dirty combat boots on the table, next to him Volkner exhaled and immediately received a figurative slap in the face for his actions, "and what are you sighing for?" The older blonde boomed and lowered his tinted visor to leer at his subordinate, "you let two of the furrets escape. TWO! One of them confirmed to be the most notorious criminal in the Poke-verse! Have some decency or I'll send my boot up where it's not supposed to be!" Irritably, he lowered his feet off the table and proceeded to distract himself from his fury by disassembling and reassembling his handgun. "So? What secrets did you discover from the brat's head? It better be something worth listening to."

The chief of police tapped on her tablet and several images showed up on the large screen set at the end of the table, "I'm afraid the information is classified Lt. Surge and thus I will brief you and the other superintendents separately." The man grinded his teeth audibly but refrained from asking further questions, "the intellect we gained is very valuable, I assure you. Unfortunately, only Falkner and I are privy to those secrets for now. Firstly, I want to draw your attention to Sabrina, she is currently recuperating in hospital and has handed in her resignation letter. It seems she met with an accident whilst doing the work required of her." Anabel ticked off a few items on a list and continued speaking, "secondly, Hugh. Due to the experimental nature of this new method of interrogation...Hugh has forgotten everything from the past six months and suffers from memory lapses and anterograde amnesia. Fortunately, a team of psychic doctors and pokemon who are adept at these types of cases are currently working on him; we are funding the bill of course. It has been agreed dunking into the mind, as the procedure is called, is now a forbidden act and all the countries have outlawed its use, apart from Ransei of course."

"The proper term is Manas dunking..." Blaine murmured, "And forgive me for saying this chief, but you already knew it was an illegal process and you still went ahead and used it on the boy. Sabrina's record should've told you how unfavourable the outcome could be. The government uses her a lot to fish out confidentials from the heads of corrupt officials and wanted criminals. Not one of them survived the process without having some sort of lasting effect. We are no better than the people we want to bring to justice if we stoop as low as them." The elderly gym leader reclined in his seat and polished his eyeglasses with a cloth, "we already lost Steven and Norman...And now Sabrina is gone too...After we catch the Dex-criminal's please allow me to resign as well. I'm sick of this charade."

"Old timers like you should just sit back, polish their glasses and spend time with their grandchildren. And sometimes we have to play dirty to catch our prey." The Kanto electric type gym leader intoned and jerked his head at the screen, "let's get a move on, what information do we have? Sort them all out and let's see where that leaves us."

The screen flashed and a timeline appeared, several bits of the line were highlighted and the occupants in the room read the words intently. The Dex Criminals were founded over five years ago and it is suspected that they work as three distinct departments. Team Execution, their sign is two swords crossed over each other and they specialize in outdoor work such as capturing legendary pokemon. Next is Team Constellate, headed most likely by either Silver, or a brown haired female. A picture of those two along with their calling card image, a cluster of dark blue stars, popped up next to the snippet. This faction dealt with stealing and espionage. Finally Team Strategy, their insignia is a chess piece and they work behind the scenes, drawing up plans and sending the other two groups to execute them. The leaders of these factions are unknown, however, unlike all the other local criminal organizations; they work in a triumvirate formation. Each faction holds equal power to the next. Notable members include: Silver, also known as the phantom thief and recently found out to be the son of the late Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket. Blue, the brown haired woman who accompanied Silver when stealing the Azure Flute. Ruby, son of former Police member and current gym leader of Petalburg city, Norman. Whi-2 and Lack-2, kidnapped school children. Gold, former Kanto champion finalist who mysteriously disappeared and Crystal, a female who is friends with Gold and used to be an aide for Professor Oak. Black, a budding Pokedex holder who vanished soon after receiving his electronic encyclopaedia. Suspected members include: N, the former Team Plasma King and Platinum Berlitz. Another greyed out mug shot remained unnamed and it caused a commotion amongst the Police officials.

"Where...On earth did we gain this information from?" Claire coolly inquired and resisted the urge to grab her whip off the table and lash someone with it, "in our last meeting, we hardly received this amount of data and I'm sure...You are keeping more secrets from us." the dragon tamer accused and Falkner shifted uncomfortably under her strident gaze, "if you want our full co-operation, then I suggest you spill everything you know! My clan was against my participation in the police and yet I signed up for one. Don't let my effort go to waste." The woman adjusted her dragon skin cape and sat with her jaw taut.

"We gathered this new intelligence over the past few weeks," Falkner explained loudly over the clamour in the room, "after extracting information from Hugh, we, the superintendents, decided to go over every piece of information we have of the Dex-criminals and form a coherent timeline. In doing this, we came across several gaps and thus dispatched some of you to gather more intelligence. Brawley found out that Ruby is part of the Dex-criminals despite Norman vehemently denying it. Inspector Flint found a solid link between the organization and the Berlitz family, those nobles fund the criminals' activities and it is suspected that their daughter, Platinum is part of them. Whether she was kidnapped or not, we do not know. Furthermore, thorough investigations on the last two incidents those Dex Criminals caused, revealed a wealth of understanding. We traced their retreating trajectories, using space pokemon and a satellite; to three different places on the Poke-verse...three separate regions to be exact. One base is located in Sinnoh, another in Hoenn and a third one here in Unova. We do not know the exact location, but..." The cyan haired deputy flashed a series of security camera photographs on the monitor and zoomed up on two people. Using a laser, he pointed at one. "This is Lack-2, several weeks ago cameras sighted him an airport and he boarded a plane destined for Sinnoh," the picture changed to reveal another well dressed, indigo haired female, "and this is Crystal, at the airport and also boarding a plane for Sinnoh." The angry mutterings in the room died down and Falkner resumed his briefing, "I assume that the factions split apart and lied low for a few months before attempting to embark on missions on their own. As we can see, they failed and decided to quickly regroup. An in-depth look at their failures made everything clear to us and we have been horribly busy for the past several weeks."

The officials gazed at the screen with renewed disgust and amazement, some of them couldn't believe that a former member's son was part of the Dex criminals. "...So now they are in Sinnoh...It is prime opportunity to ensnare them isn't it?" Volkner piped up, "Sinnoh is my region and I'm not going to sit down and let those rattata fester in my homeland!"

"I agree with him" Cynthia brushed her hair aside and folded her hands on the table, she peered on a map of Sinnoh and pointed to a large island situated north-east of the landmass, "the mainland is too choked with Police, however, the security is more lax at the Fight, Survival and Resort area. If your prior news holds true and the Berlitz family is indeed affiliated with them...then they are here." She pointed to the resort area, "I have a holiday house there and so do the Berlitz family. They have a Victorian styled mansion big enough to doubly function as a base of operations. The thing is huge. Please conduct some reconnaissance to confirm my theories." She politely gathered her documents and eased up from the chair, "Chief Anabel, please allow me to take my leave, Sinnoh's Pokemon league has some business with me. Dipping her head respectfully, the blonde woman disappeared in a whirl of black and gold. Anabel noted the tired, almost robotic looks on her subordinate's faces; they had a bit too much information to digest.

"Well, I will leave the Intel gathering to the Sinnoh Police, Flint and Volkner if you please..." the responses varied amongst the two men. One acknowledged her with renewed vigor and determination whilst the other waved his arms and tucked his face in the crook of his elbow. Surge didn't have the energy to admonish his snoozing underling, this meeting had been tiring and he knew the subsequent gatherings would be even more taxing. Finally a breakthrough on the Organization they had been chasing zealously for the past three years and this time, they won't let go. "The meeting is dismissed for today, the next time, we shall reconvene in Sinnoh."

* * *

Evening

Sinnoh

Veilstone city

The meeting room in the police headquarters at Veilstone looked no different than the one in Castelia, Falkner mused as he eased himself in one of the brown leather seats dotting around a rectangular metallic table. Potted plants, some laden with berries, decorated the rather drab chamber and the table top held an array of tablets and other sophisticated gadgetry suspended on stands. The end of the table had a hologram projector and he spied a screen folded against the ceiling. Falkner snorted, in the good old days, when his father and grandfather were alive and serving in the police, they had to rely on pen, paper, maps, evidence from the crime and eye witness accounts. These days, the region's most cutting edge technology poured into the military and police division and yet, they couldn't bring a few criminals to justice. Granted, the opposition had also become crafty and more than once, when a legendary pokemon or a sacred relic had been stolen, the police arrived on the scene only to find a missing something and a card lying teasingly on the floor.

Mockingly.

The glass doors slid open to let a procession of people through, he spied Anabel and Cynthia striding in the air conditioned chamber and regally taking their seats. Looker entered a few minutes later, tapping furiously in his communications device before stowing it away in a shabby coat. Lt. Surge and Volkner followed suit, the former had a cigarette screwed in his lips and he pulled out the stick and flung it into a bin before entering. Brawly and Flint walked into the room, laughing at some private joke and a few minutes later idle chatter filled the meeting area. The Unova and Kanto natives arrived last. Everyone took a seat, swapped greetings and pleasantries and almost at once, the topic turned to the Dex-criminals. The atmosphere in the room tensed and all the technology beeped to life at once. Falkner, who lived in Johto, couldn't help but be surprised by the efficiency of the gadgets, thanks to the after effects of Kanto's civil war, the neighboring region, Johto, also suffered from much casualties and could not afford such high-tech such equipment. In tiring times, it opened its gates to those seeking asylum...and those who fled the region simply because it didn't suit them. A faction of Blackthorn's Dragon clan who resided in the Indigo Plateau in Kanto, moved back to their home region after the war. This sparked some international rivalries and Kanto demanded some heavy compensation. Thus the Johto association paid princely sums to Kanto and the war torn region benefitted from the revenue.

"Are we all here?" He asked and nodded to a scribe who recorded things down. The mass around the table inclined their heads solemnly and for the first time, Lt. Surge lost the mad spark in his eyes; the blonde man appeared as a totally different person and Falkner saw something swirling in the individual's lapis irises. Today, he listened with rapt attention and to the astonishment of more than a few people, did not heft his dusty boots up on the table. "Okay, let's get the meeting started straight away. Unfortunately we also have to sortie tonight." A swell of indignant voices rose and the cobalt haired deputy let them argue amongst themselves, "I understand many of you are tired, but this is an emergency as well. I will reveal the details shortly, firstly I want to mention that all the members who are in possession of a legendary, or a pseudo mythical pokemon must join this raid...It is imperative. However, due to reasons beyond her and our control, Misty from Cerulean city will not be able to attend this meeting, nor join us. Her Suicune did not follow orders when we tried to condition him to another member. The second factor is time; the Dex-criminals are quick on the uptake and masters of escape. If we do not strike now, we will lose this opportunity." The Johto native straightened up from his hunched position and pressed a button, with a whirr, the folded monitor descended from the ceiling, blinked to life and displayed an image of a beautiful Victorian mansion, the main block had two other wings attached to it and dark green ivy fashionably wreathed the off white domicile. He nodded to Lt. Surge who sprang up from his seat.

"Alright punks!" the soldier banged a fist on the table and Volkner grimaced at his uncouth tendencies, "A few days ago, Volkner and Flint sent in drones to scour the small island east of Snowpoint and like Cynthia predicted, we found them...Their base that is." He cast a glare at anyone who uttered a peep, "before we could get a good visual of the place, our bots were fried and one taken hostage by a porygon z, at least I think so and no one can tell me otherwise! Primitive they can be but when it comes to hacking and breaking in, those things are unrivalled." No one dared to disagree with him even though Volkner wanted to point out that Rotom could hack into any type of machinery and possess it. "Those criminals suspect we are on to them-"

"Obviously they will know..." a drawl cut into Surge's lecture and the chamber held its breath, every eye locked on to the younger blonde who raised his head and rolled his eyes. "They managed to get a security drone-"

"LET ME FINISH YOU INSOLENT MORON!" The older blonde barked and those nearest to him shifted away from fright, never drive Lt. Surge crazy, they inwardly agreed. Taking a deep breath, the electric type gym leader rubbed the bridge of the nose and stared at his map, "now where was I? OH! The drones...I had Blaine program a virus in it so the security measures in there degraded as soon as it was sabotaged. Those criminals might think that it's a routine weather drone...That veered a bit too close to their mansion. Let's hope so. IN ANY CASE! That is the reason why we have to move tonight...All the transportation routes are closely monitored by police and if they have the urge to run, we have to net them before they get out of Sinnoh." Electric blue eyes peered at each member intently, the superintendents eyed him back without flinching but a few other inspectors and lower tier officials either sheepishly looked away or refused to see the soldier in the eye. The image on the monitor changed to display a map and here, Lt. Surge picked up a pointer and stabbed the rod on the screen, leaving multicolored ripples in its wake. "This is a map of their base and don't ask how we got this, we higher ups have our ways. Cynthia and I are in charge of this mission and if anyone screws their roles up...I'll introduce you to my Raichu," someone gulped audibly, "The building is three stories high and there are no less than six exits on the ground floor and all of them have to be covered. On the second and third floor, the means of escape marginally decreases due to the height risk, between them; there are eight places where those furrets can squeeze out. All of these will be blocked and you will receive your statuses shortly." A smartly dressed woman entered the meeting room and handed out leaflets. "Now for the main plan...Chief, please do the honors."

The burly man sat down and took a swig of water from his personalized flask. He never drank anything offered by others. Anabel shifted out of her seat and continued from where he left off, tapping the screen more gently than her subordinate, she explained in a much more ear pleasing voice: "The sabotage will be carried out by the four superintendents and they are to be assisted by Blaine and Volkner who wield Entei and Raikou respectively. Ideally, we want to capture all the members but time and time again, they prove to be worthy adversaries so we are aiming to net at least a commander or two and their direct subordinates." She allowed the members to hold a brief discussion before the chamber became marginally silent, "A well-orchestrated surprise attack is our best strategy, no one is allowed to enter the building at any cost, if you do, an alarm will tip them off." Falkner inhaled sharply and fidgeted, "Lt. Surge will signal the process with an earthquake, whilst the others will take care of attacking. Please remember this is a large scale mission and for the safety of the neighbors, the island will be discreetly evacuated." The chief of police glanced down at a slim watch wrapped around her wrist, "the evacuating process has already begun. Members who are stationed outside the villa have moved already. The mission..." she paused as tension clogged the air, "has already begun."

"Chief..." Brawly stood up from his chair, "don't you think this is progressing a bit too fast? I mean-"

"LISTEN up you spineless weedle!" Surge stomped out of his seat and grabbed the Hoenn native by the collar, "when you are a soldier...You put your life on the line, GET IT?" The turquoise haired man trembled, nodded mutely and sagged down under pitied gazes.

"Time to sortie...Move out." Anabel declared and meeting chamber erupted into a flurry of organized chaos.

* * *

Evacuating the civilians proved to be a harrowing process. Looker earned an earful of curse words when a couple refused to leave their holiday home. He forlornly watched the other, more obedient citizens being ushered out into unmarked police cars whilst the duo before him shut themselves up in their mansion. Feeling a vein throb in his temples, the man decided that he was done playing nice guy and grabbed a megaphone off a member of his team. In a wonderful imitation of Lt. Surge, he roared into the megaphone and gleefully watched the pair scurry out. The man threw him a filthy look but allowed himself to be bundled into the back of a car. Looker tapped on his tablet and confirmed the area as clear.

Afternoon melted into evening as one by one, the occupants living, working or holidaying on the island emptied out. The fight arena and battle towers shut down for the night, the survival area morphed into a jungle and the resort area resembled a ghost town. On the digital screen, he smiled at the placement of officers, most of them concentrated around the Berlitz mansion and spread apart from the point, covering the entire island like a giant spinarak web. This task had been purely covert; the teams carried what they needed and came via public transportation and aerial pokemon. Helicopters and police vans would just alert their target. Fingers brushing against the cold metal of a gun, Looker brought the weapon out and after a quick polish of it with his tattered sleeves, he returned it to his holster, his superior preferred a handheld crossbow and used arrows fashioned out of Keldeo's molted horn fragments. Those arrows could pierce dragonhide. The officer longed to see his superior again and felt thrilled to know that he'd be joining in the raid. His phone rang and with a hurry, the man accepted the call and replied to the other end. "Yes sir, my toxicroak has given the area a sweep, I saw the formation..." he listened for a few seconds more, "alright, I'm on my way...Has, err my superior arrived?" At his question, the superintendent on the other end, no doubt Surge, barked another order and abruptly cut the call. The international police investigator felt foolish; nonetheless, he straightened up, pulled his trademark trench coat tighter around his body and swept his police hat off toxicroak. The frog pokemon looked up as its master slicked his hair back and placed the hat firmly on his head. "I'll be taking this back Toxicroak" he smiled, "if tonight's mission goes well...I'll buy myself a new coat." Saying this, he ambled off into the night and the poisonous beast watched its trainer's back for a few moments before hurrying after the human.

* * *

 **A/N:** And the police are at it again. Anyone want to guess what will happen next? Anyway, much thanks to inklaced for following the story, hopefully the story will continue to be a pleasant read. At Jack54311: Red will wipe the floor with them if he was battling seriously and Sycamore does not know who stole the mega-stones. As for funding, heh, that's going to be the last thing on their agenda. At AceTrainerLeaf: :) I hate health checkups, If something is wrong with me, I prefer to sleep it off. Hmm...I think your sentence make much more sense, feel free to interpret it as such, I'm getting lazy with my editing again so with the next chapter, I'll peel my eyes and watch out for mistakes. I was having a pretty crappy day but your review just lifted my mood so thanks for that.

Anyway, virtual cookies and cake for all those who read and reviewed. Please keep on dropping a line of your thoughts. And can anyone spare me a slab of dark chocolate? Preferably the ones with 70% cocoa? I really need it, I can feel my brain unraveling because of not having proper chocolate in my system.


	61. Crumble, hackle and tackle with danger

**Chapter 61: Crumble, hackle and tackle with danger**

A beautiful Victorian styled mansion bathed in the light of a full moon, the ivy crawling up its aged walls reflected in shades of dark green and silver as a breeze rippled through it. Outside, the world became still. Armoured personnel crouched around the edifice cradling deadly weaponry. Black vested and helmeted men huddled near the entrance, dangled underneath fancy balustrades, climbed on the roof and hovered in the air on avian beasts. Binoculars and scopes remained trained on the villa and the people living inside it remained blissfully unaware of the danger fogging around their base. One by one, the rowdy noises quieted down, the lights winked out of existence and a few of the criminals opened their windows and stuck their heads out to gulp in a breath of fresh air. One of them happened to be a young, blonde haired lady and Cynthia, who stood on the ground right underneath, her shook her head in disgust. They had been right about covering the entire island with an illusion, the tactic, suggested by Sabrina and Skyla had been effective. The members of the Dex-criminals could walk out and have a party outside their home and they would see nothing. They would remain completely oblivious to the army of police prowling around their base.

The hours ticked by.

Lt. Surge and she drew up this particular plan after finding out that the Dex-criminals were situated in Sinnoh. The Kanto native insisted on initiating the assault at midnight and Cynthia, who obviously couldn't argue against him, only nodded in consent. Clusters of psychic pokemon levitated in the air, some of them functioned as sense jammers and others contributed to the large scale illusion covering the entire island. The female champion circled the domicile once again. Adrenaline pumped in her veins and tuned her senses on high alert.

Hour of twelve.

It carried a heavy weight to it. People associated night and darkness with bad and evil. For some inexplicable reason, the Sinnoh champion felt guilt lace her mind. A nagging suspicion that her actions tonight will eventually escalate into something far sinister and out of control, kept her on edge. She looked to Virizion for a fleeting moment of comfort and surprisingly, the lithe pokemon gently rubbed its head against her. Feeling somewhat comforted, she reached out and stroked the antelope-esque creature fondly. When her contract with the police ends, she'd be forced to give up the sword of justice and the fact brought on a sense of melancholy.

The hours trickled. And the sky grew darker.

Moonlight became brighter

And the clock struck twelve.

* * *

A bit before the middle of the night

Sinnoh

Resort Area

Sapphire couldn't sleep.

She tossed and turned, tangling her bed sheet and duvet together. A draft of wind seeped in through her partially closed windows and ruffled her curtains. Getting up, she threw the heavy drapes aside and peered into the gloom. Nothing, only the wind and the occasional cry of pokemon whispered through the otherwise still space. Then...Why did she feel so uneasy? The girl wondered and went to inspect her monsters; the creatures slumbered without a care in the world, their tiny forms curled up against the confines of their pokeballs. Exhaling deeply, she meandered around her moderately sized bedroom for a few minutes and then plopped back into bed. Years of staying with pokemon and in the wild honed her sense of danger and now it tickled and prickled, making her agitated and uncomfortable. To her, it felt like someone pulled a giant illusionary shroud over her eyes and she even clawed at her face to get the irritating sensation off. Rubbing her eyes did not help; it only made them redder and itchy. A few days ago, the entire island had a fleet of small robots flying through the sky. To the general panic of the Dex-criminals, these drones, looking very much like grotesque versions of local pokemon wildlife, veered a bit too close to their mansion and it set Pika on edge, the little rodent climbed on the roof and electrified the whole lot of them save for one. Commander Green's porygon z latched on to the single one and it was captured. Later, she watched Emerald dissecting the mechanical eaglet and he declared that the drone had no bugs inside. A simple weather drone, released by the authorities to inspect the weather on the island. The north of Sinnoh remained cold all year round, but surprisingly, the island was devoid of such harsh weather. Therefore, scientists liked to investigate the atmosphere and thus routinely, drones were sent out. Team strategy dumped the remains of the dissected bird somewhere and the organization did not give much thought to the incident.

Tonight, goose bumps periodically rose on her arms and she found it difficult to breath. Lazuli irises, half lidded from exhaustion, stared fixatedly at a luminous clock. The Hoenn native watched the minutes tick by absentmindedly. Almost twelve o'clock. Why...Did she sense that something very bad would happen on the hour of midnight? Come to think of it, the police loved to attack them at night.

"I...have to tell Ruby..."

Sapphire didn't get up from her bed, her best friend won't appreciate being roused up in the middle of the night for nothing. He needs his beauty sleep and apparently it is good for the skin. After spending a few more moments internally debating with herself, she got up, paced around the room and ignored the various bumps she earned along the way. Finally, she flung open the doors of her clothes cupboard and rifled past the rows of dresses, t-shirts, pants and skirts and pulled down a robe. Draping it over her half-clad form, she decided to confide her suspicions to Red instead. Her leader would surely listen to her and more often than not, Sapphire had been beneficial to predicting attacks from the police. Just before the alarm went off, she would run down the corridors screaming about danger. Five, or even ten minutes later, the police would come in and raid them. Leaving her bedside lamp on, she pulled a beanie over her tangled brown hair and exited the room.

The moment she did so...

…An earthquake struck.

The ripples of the ground were too organized to be natural. Police. Her mind screamed. This time, they didn't enter the base and she knew why, the opposition theorized that if anyone broke in, the alarms will ring.

BEEP~ BEEP~ BEEP~

Silly idiots. The Berlitz heiress made the security of her vacationing home flawless. Sensors buried under the ground will trip off the security system if anything unnatural occurs and now the corridors bathed in a sickly blood red light and the noise pounded her ears. The door next to her banged open and she saw Gold hurrying out whilst trying to fit his pants over a pair of boxers. He gazed left and right, spied her as a crumpled heap on the floor and after wearing his t-shirt inside out, jogged towards her and helped her up. Sapphire's head spun from where she whacked it against the wall on the initial assault, her senior helped her up, ordered her to collect the younger trainers and urged her to find the nearest exit and go. Execution occupied the lowest floor and the amber eyed trainer waited for a brief moment to check on his female comrade before racing to his superior's bedroom.

BEEP~ BEEP~ BEEP~

"Damn it!" Lt. Surge hissed as his Terrakion lowered its hoof and ogled him, "no one told me about the sensors in the ground! How come the psychic pokemon didn't notice it HUH?" In response to his rage, the legendary pokemon pawed the ground one more time and sent the earth rolling in another earthquake. The huge mansion shook, some of the officers hung on to it desperately and the ground undulated and fissured in some spots. "Move in! The electric type gym leader hollered and advanced with his raichu and Terrakion by his side, "Volkner MOVE! Tear the building apart, employ any tactic to get at least one of them. I refuse to return to Kanto empty handed. Where is my team?" He demanded and Volkner along with a few other masked personnel shuffled closer and warily followed their insane leader as he hiked up the front door and blew the ornate wooded doors apart with a bang. Dirt caked combat boots left ugly dust prints on the pristine marbled floor; raichu sliced an iron tail through one of the bronze statues decorating the entrance and watched the creepy, frozen girl fall. The Kanto native fumbled in his pockets for a pair of ear plugs and stuffed them in his ears, the cacophonous alarm and flashing red light in the base induced a headache. Sparing a glance and snorting at the decorative pillars situated on either side of a grand staircase, Surge stomped up the stairs and came face to face with a teenager who hastily stuffed what looked like a muffin in his mouth. He was alone and his cobalt blue irises widened to epic proportions, someone else deeper within the corridors screeched a name and before the police could grab him, the slightly overweight child bolted with a speed which seemed impossible for him.

"After him!" Terrakion and Raikou roared in tandem and sent a flash of lightning and an avalanche of rocks on the fleeing perpetrator. An inferno of flames met the attacks head on and buckled under the combined weight of two legendary types. The mythical pokemon wasted no time and charged after them, alas, the two criminals had vanished. Surge clicked his tongue in annoyance but assured himself that the mansion had been secured and their enemies could not escape so easily. Nodding to each other, they decided to go down the hallways.

"Are you alright Diamond?" Sapphire asked concernedly and helped him out of his singed shirt, too shocked to talk properly, the teenager simply nodded and a tear escaped his eye. "I'm sorry about that, there were two legendary pokemon there and I ordered Toro to blast a flamethrower. Are you burnt?"

"I...I'm okay. I didn't see the man, the doors where open and he...he walked out of thin air!" The Sinnoh native threw his ragged shirt behind and continued running with Sapphire. "Where do you think is a good place to-" he stopped abruptly and clutched his head. Doubling back, the Hoenn trainer grunted, picked him up and continued with her haphazard running down the corridors, her feet thumped to the rhythm of the alarm. "Sorry..." the boy rasped, "my head really hurts because of the noise." Sapphire didn't waste her breath speaking; instead, she put up speed and whisked down pathway. A large broken window at the end of the path looked like a good place to get out of; however, she made another sharp turn and inwardly sighed in relief when her pokemon fought off the intruders hiding behind the window. There must be some sort of sense jammers, she mused since the scenery out of the windows presented an unnaturally peaceful sight and she didn't glimpse anyone but knew for a fact that their compound had been surrounded by all sides. Her blaziken soared over her head and came to a crushing halt with a pained hiss, behind her, a storm of lightning hit the corridors and cut her path off; with an almighty leap, Raikou bounded in front of her and snarled in her face. She saw a miniature storm in the beast's cavernous mouth. On the other side, Terrakion stomped the ground and sent low levelled magnitudes rolling across the floor. Her breath caught in her chest and she wanted to throw up from panic. Instead, panicked irises searched for a way out and came to a grim conclusion.

There was no way out.

"Toro..." she hesitated on giving her near comatose partner a command, the fire beast lifted itself up and did its best to shield both her and Diamond. To her greatest astonishment and relief, a golem, cloaked in a yellowish aura, rolled out and smacked heavily into Raikou, momentum carried the two of them and they ended up bashing against Terrakion. The megaton pokemon sprung up, landed a few rock-blasts on the two legendries and then targeted the humans who rounded the corner. It curled up and charged off again and the advancing team of police officers wisely scattered. Sapphire didn't think twice, she ran and bumped into Yellow who came to her rescue, the three of them fell into a huddle. "...They are probably using an illusion..." she gasped and wheezed for breath, "because we can't see, hear or sense anything that is going on outside the mansion...The dude that chased after us, he came in through the front door and Dia said that he walked out of thin air." The Sinnoh native nodded when Yellow looked at him questioningly. "I'm pretty sure all the exits are barred and taken care of...And...And...I'm scared." Sapphire rocked on the floor and the older female gently soothed her before telling her to evacuate. "But how? We are surrounded! The windows and doors might have a whole army behind them and we won't even know-" A distant explosion rocked the base, "until it's too late...we are groping in the dark here!"

"Don't worry..." Yellow got up and peered around, "you said that we are under the spell of an illusion right?" Sapphire bobbed her head vehemently and pressed herself closer against the cracked walls. Yellow closed her eyes and focused, "hmm...The police are using an elaborate setting, I can feel them, fatigued pokemon clustered up in the air...I suppose they are the psychic and dark pokemon who are maintaining the entire illusion...Arceus...they are spread over the entire island!" It took a moment for the petite woman to contemplate on the gravity of the assault... "They have the whole island covered...But don't worry!" Determination flashed in her hazel irises, "we will still escape, come with me, I'll help you get to safety." Strategy's team member fished out her poke-gear and rapidly typed a message, the device made a confirmatory sound and she stowed it away. Together, they crept up the stairs and both Sapphire and Diamond screamed when an effulgent beam of light cut through the concrete, plaster and marble right next to them. The area grew red hot and the Hoenn native saw the glowing edges of the sliced building and suppressed a shudder. "That's senior Blue...don't be alarmed, we are doing our best." Yellow spoke calmly despite the heat searing her face and skin.

BEEP~ BEEP~ BEEP~

The carnage started. Cynthia jolted when the alarm rang out and clenched her fists on displaying this obvious sign of weakness. Falkner and Looker were nowhere to be seen. Alone outside, she mutely observed the windows of the first floor explode outwards. Thunder and lightning danced in the corridors and she glimpsed Raikou and Terrakion attacking a young girl. Bile rose in her mouth. The Organization used teenagers and children. Blinking, she got rid of her morbid mental pictures and took to the skies using her togekiss. No sooner had she done this, a tangle of barbed vines exploded out of the roof and branched outwards. With unerring accuracy, they zoned in on the clusters of pokemon manning the illusion and struck them down quite viciously. The air flickered, blurred and broke down altogether in multiple fragments of light and she shrugged indifferently, it won't make much of a difference. Seconds later, she heard an unearthly sound and flew towards the side. To her horror, she saw a female, the same brown haired perpetrator of Veilstone, balancing on an oversized jigglypuff and... Using a blastoise to cut the building? Cynthia stared and the opposition winked sultrily and blew her a mocking air kiss. Rage pulsed through the Sinnoh champion's head and her hand automatically went to a pokeball. This time, another earth shattering sound snagged her attention and she silently beheld the roof being torn off by Virizion. In a snap decision, she urged togekiss to go higher and in a moment, Skyla, who acted as an aerial lookout, joined her.

"What on earth is that thing?!"

It looked very much like a pokemon...A venusaur to be exact. The caved in roof revealed the form of a hulking saurian creature with a forest of leaves and pink blossoms growing on its back and sprouting a mesh of the ugliest and most hideous looking vines Cynthia ever had the displeasure of seeing. Turgid tendrils offset with huge barbs crawled around like they had a life of their own. Venusaur itself looked a bit different; the beast grew to gargantuan proportions and had smaller flowers covering its blue-green reptilian skin. And no pokemon sported such foul vines. The champion prodded through her Poketch in an effort to find out what exactly the monster in front of her was, the abnormal beast unnerved her.

"It...Looks like a repulsive version of the Kanto pokemon venusaur." Skyla replied and fiddled up the magnification of her binoculars, "there is a person sitting on it, some guy wearing red clothes and a cap."

Cynthia didn't hear her, she came across the same picture of the overgrown venusaur and balked on finding out that the grass type was a mega-evolved creature. How? Did they break in Sycamore's lab all the way in Kalos and steal his research materials? If so, then why didn't the media report it? Deciding to figure the intricacies later, she turned her focus on the writhing, venom dripping tendrils and jerked her head to the side when two lashed out. A warning. The appendages were too far away to effectively hit her. Pressing her lips angrily into a thin line, she summoned Virizion and the two descended. The antelope-esque creature nimbly weaved through the bramble and came to an elegant stop before venusaur and its trainer. Here, Cynthia gasped involuntarily, she already knew that their former comrade and ex-champion of Kanto, Red, is one of the members of the Dex-criminals thanks to the police illegally probing Hugh's brain; however seeing him standing on his pokemon, with an uncharacteristic rage swirling in his blood red irises, drove the message home. The young man simply lifted his arm and more than a dozen of stems rushed up towards her and tainted the air with the stench of acid. Virizion produced a gust of chopping air and butchered the vines before they reached her.

"Red...I can't believe you are doing this. Have you lost your mind?! For Dialga's sake there are children who are going to get hurt!" A storm of leaves and energy blasts drowned out her words. Her opponent didn't speak and preferred to watch her movements intently, of course he'd be cautious, champions only displayed their full strength when they fought a decisive battle. Giving up trying to talk sense to him, she ordered: "Virizion, use sacred sword!" The sword of justice did a little dance on the spot and then disappeared into thin air.

No, it didn't disappear. Red felt a gust of wind cut past his cheek as the legendary creature reappeared next to its master. In the next instant, Saur convulsed and to his dismay, he witnessed a violent gash opening up on the side of his partner. Several more formed on its reptilian skin and venusaur oozed a great quantity of chlorophyll tinged blood. His beast grunted in pain and pressed its vines closer to its body. The cuts started to heal and in moments, thanks to the power of synthesis, the grass type healed itself. Execution's leader smirked and when Cynthia demanded what he found so funny, he pointed at Virizion's coat. Concealed beneath its fur, a thousand leech seeds rapidly buried into its flesh and sprouted roots. These roots stretched and tangled with their neighbours, literally binding the mythical beast with an invisible thread. A few rapid fire energy balls were fired and Virizion dodged them and retaliated with another sacred sword.

This time, Red was ready for them. "Children? No they aren't children anymore" the ex-champion grinned and countered her argument, he seemed to take sadistic pleasure on seeing a legendary beast curled up in his mega-evolved venusaur's vines, "The authorities took the right of being children away from them when they received their first Pokedex and set off for the journey to become Pokemon champions. Obviously you won't understand because you became a champion much later. However Iris and I are different...We are puppets dancing wonderfully to the tune of the Pokemon Association and the authorities." The tendrils were slashed one by one but they kept on coming on an overwhelming manner, "I became Champion and since then...My life has changed. Yeah sure, I liked being the champion, but I hated being locked up in there and treated like some treasured prisoner. I didn't have a life, I couldn't visit my friends and I spent my extra time holed up in a high-tech battle simulator and being desensitized. Just like this..." To her alarm, the blonde woman glanced downwards to see her legs covered in vines and Virizion had been knocked out by a classic concoction of sweet scent and sleep powder. The barbed appendages pierced through her clothing and she felt the sharp tips pricking against her bare skin, purple drops of corrosive poison trickled down her abdomen and legs and left raw marks behind. "Pika, let's finish this...Thunder!" The rodent bounced out of nowhere and Cynthia angled her head upwards to see the sky groaning under the weight of black, ominous thunderclouds. Coruscation streaks of yellow light struck venusaur's vines and coursed through them. The saps readily conducted the charge and the Sinnoh native felt the pain strike and fry the very marrow of her bones.

She fainted instantaneously and Red put her and the comatose Virizion down on the dilapidated floor. He touched the cuff encircling his wrist and mega-evolution dissolved. "Gold..." he called but received no response. "GOLD?" the crimson eyed man spoke loudly and worry seized hold of him. "Hey...where are you?" Forgetting his post, he hurriedly capsuled Saur, grabbed Pika by the scruff of his neck and set off to find his subordinate.

Falkner had never seen anything quite like it and it happened too suddenly for his tastes. He entered the base through a window on the second floor and straightaway witnessed one of the rooms being scrupulously cut from the main domicile. Summoning Cobalion by his side, he stood partially awed as the room became totally separated from the construction. In a split second, his Cobalion sensed danger and charged off without waiting for a command whilst he blinked. A somewhat different looking blastoise towered in front of him and had one cannon, situated on the back of a scaly claw, pressing into his chest and another one shoved into his mouth. The creature pushed him up against the wall and he felt the bony barrel scraping the roof of his mouth and filling it up with an unpleasant taste. A beautiful woman walked out of the shadows and Falkner inwardly berated himself for thinking something so ridiculous. She had a bloodied horn in her hands and the cyan haired deputy realized dismally, that the appendage belonged to Cobalion.

"Call off the monster you are commanding and this will end smoothly" Blue held up the one of the spiralled horns teasingly, "or, I will be forced to send you to Giratina's realm. Cobalion right?" Falkner didn't bother nodding to her question, "he is a remarkably loyal and strong creature and when he sensed that his trainer was in danger, he stopped attacking me. Though I should say that I'm most impressed! It took a combined water and dragon pulse to tear one of its horns off!" His knees grew weak and wobbly when he laid eyes on Cobalion. The regal, stag-esque creature limped closer with its teal fur smeared in semi-coagulated blood. Part of its skull had dented in and it missed an eye. "My mega-evolved Blasty is such a beast isn't he?" The woman cooed lovingly, "I mean, normal pokemon can't really match evenly with legendries, but now he almost made Cobalion faint without gaining much damage himself...Hmm, I really ought to thank _him_..." Blue smiled at the Johto officer and added, "Now, do we have a deal or shall I freeze you from the inside out? A flimsy water pulse from my blastoise will blow you up into a million itty bitty pieces and it'll be rather unpleasant. Oh!" Glancing backwards, Constellate's leader noted a few more armed individuals running down to the corridors "Crys! Back up!" she shrilled and solar beam fired past her and hit the targets dead on. Falkner felt ice filling up his mouth as a steady trickle of freezing water dripped down his throat.

The freezing sensation stopped. Quite abruptly, the beast pulled out both of its cannons and froze the lower part of his body. It encased the sword of justice in a block of ice and turned its attention back to him. One punch later, the man, sporting a blue eye and a bruise on his cheek, stared unimpressively as mega evolution undid itself and a normal sized blastoise leered in his face. Its owner had gone to take care of business and Falkner inwardly smiled as Cobalion broke free of its encasement. With its remaining horn, it impaled the Kanto starter and the tortoise pokemon vomited up a mixture of fluids.

A heavy chill descended in the air and for the second time today, he gawked at the individual room. A mere half an hour ago it smoked and emanated heat and now a thick layer of ice wrapped the compound. The doors, windows and everything had been frozen solid. To add salt to his injury, he couldn't approach it. A psychic barrier had been erected to keep intruders out. Whirling around, he saw his partner still whaling on blastoise and the facts clicked together. "Stop!" he commanded and watched the blastoise wriggle. It deconstructed into a pile of pink slime and after throwing them a distorted grin, the creature morphed into a bird and soared away.

"We've been beat..." Falkner feebly slid down the wall and recalled his tired beast.

* * *

"I'm starting to have more and more respect for that pesky woman!" Green grunted and wiped sweat from his face, "how are the proceedings going Silver?" The red head sat before a bank of monitors and watched the entire base with a trained eye. Due to the stimulated earthquakes, most of the walls partitioning the rooms cracked and broke down. Green, with charizard X, destroyed the rest of the half crumbling constructions and now communicated with Silver who sat in the main control room. Strategy's leader took advantage of the caved in roof and after making sure that no other superintendents or higher positioned officers lingered in the air, he flew to the skies and started sawing the legendary holding cell off. Even with this newly evolved monster, it proved to be a daunting chore. Fire melted the buildings but it didn't perform a clean cut. After experimenting with a few more elements, the dragon settled for firing energy beams. Unlike Blue's perfect cube, the legendary holding cell had ragged edges and bits of plaster and cement disintegrated from the room. Sighing heavily, Oak let his golduck loose and the water type meticulously started freezing the chamber. For a few moments, the spiky haired brunette watched his monster struggle with the herculean task before asking for Silver's assistance. "Lend me your feraligatr, if the two of them team up together, the work will finish quickly." Silver summoned his partner and ordered to assist. Satisfied by their progress, Green nudged his charizard down and landed in the monitor room.

"Should I update you on the situation?" The red head queried on seeing the older man pace the deconstructed room. The Kanto native had agitation stamped on his handsome face.

"Yes."

Silver eyes glanced at the several monitors and darted about as the phantom thief spoke: "Blue and Crystal are done with their job, they encountered Falkner and...Put him out of commission before evacuating." Strategy's leader grunted and motioned him to continue, "Senior Red fought with Cynthia and rendered her and Virizion unconscious, he also let all his pokemon loose and they are now scurrying around the mansion and assisting. Aerodactyl took to the skies and he is breaking down the illusionary barrier surrounding this island. Pika is riding with him and raining lightning down on the armed forces stationed outside. A few of Gold's pokemon are also outside the base. As for the two of them...I'm not sure where Gold went, he disappeared when Red was fighting."

"Trust the two of them never to obey mission protocols." Green seethed and resumed his pacing. "How in Mew's name did that idiot vanish? There are cameras everywhere! Never mind that..." he took a deep breath, "where is Red, Yellow and the others?"

"Senior Red went chasing after Gold" the red head reported, "and Yellow is acting as back up for the juniors. She first helped Sapphire and Dia out of a sticky situation before doubling back for Whi-2. Somehow, Whi-2, Platina and Ruby, who were together, got separated and she ran into some trouble. Ruby and Platina met up with Emerald and Pearl and together they tried to escape but after seeing Saph in trouble with the police, he doubled back to fight instead. Yellow got Whi-2 out safely..."

"Ruby can fight?" the jade eyed man queried incredulously.

"You would be surprised if you saw," Silver quipped, "when it comes to battling, he fights like senior Red." He let the information sink in before speaking further. "Sapphire and Dia tried to escape from the base but a team consisting of three legendries assaulted them, the leader of the team is a blonde man who carries himself like a soldier...Lieutenant Surge from Kanto no doubt; he and two other men cornered Saph and White, upon seeing them, retreated her steps in order to provide assistance." Silver eyes strayed over the monitors and came to a standstill upon witnessing the decisive fight and the thief allowed himself a small smile, "Gold told me that Diamond is working on some sort of new strategy called the Alpha fortress. Apparently, Red told Dia that he is a defender and the boy took this advice seriously."

"Alpha fortress" Green absentmindedly echoed, "tell me about it."

The red head took a split second before answering, "They are grouped in the middle with Dia's pokemon shielding them, Ruby and Saph are doing the main attacking with torterra backing them up, the defences of this formation are impregnable but on the downside, they have less mobility and flexibility during combat." He watched the loose ring of bulky monsters huddle closer together as Entei roared fire; bastiodon reflected the ball of flames back to the legendary creature. Raikou also had trouble executing its lightning based moves, in the narrow space of the passage, all its electricity honed in on torterra, who due to its ground type nature, nullified the attacks. Swampert and blaziken focused their attention on Terrakion, whaling on the earth monster with a series of punches, kicks and deluges of water and the legendary beast fought back with vengeance, despite pitting two well-trained starters against the mythical pokemon, the little band of criminals stood on the losing edge. White negated most of the harsh attacks, absorbing or reflecting them with a barrier and Musha allowed itself to be commanded by her. Silver tore his gaze away from the mesmerizing battle and turned backwards to scrutinize the expression on the professor's face; he seemed to be deep in thought. "What should we do? The legendary holding chamber has been properly secured. As per instructions...we should evacuate, the air space is clear."

"..." Oak ran a hand through his hair before replying, "you evacuate and meet up with Blue. You already know the destination right?" The Johto native nodded, "I'll go look for Gold and Red...And try to assist where I can. A few days later, we will have to come back here in order to gather the legendary pokemon and the contents of the red chain creation room." Silver summoned his honchkrow and after dipping his head respectfully, flew off into the night, Green watched him go and then randomly crashed into a chair, his irises locked on to the monitors and he observed the battles in it silently. As the phantom thief reported, Gold disappeared off the monitors and Red could be seen, banging and screaming down the hallways for his team mate. Outside, Platina and Whi-2 expertly fended off the guards trying to push their way in. There seemed to be no sight of reinforcements and the spiky haired brunette accurately guessed that the police tried to make this sabotage as covert and simple as possible. Before, the Dex-criminals simply high tailed from their base, this time, they fought back and most of the officials found this manoeuvre a bit overwhelming...well they had to fight against the likes of Gold, Red and Sapphire...Suddenly Green felt sorry for the police. They had no idea who they were up against.

" _Coward"_ The word whispered in his head and he got up.

"I'm not a coward." He hissed venomously at no one, pulling up the upper part of his turtle neck to cover his face, Strategy's leader shrugged off his lab coat and threw it on the floor. The article of clothing looked out of place amongst shards of glass and plaster. Motioning charizard to his side, he descended to the second floor of the mansion and in set the third floor on fire. The flickering display of orange flames induced a smirk from him and he beheld the display for a few more minutes before a burning pillar forced him to evacuate. He prioritized searching for Red and stubbornly tamed his thoughts when they veered to Yellow's wellbeing.

BEEP~ BEEP~ BEEP~

The jarring sound of the alarm pounded into his cranium and Dia found it difficult to focus. He sat on the ground and stuffed berries in his mouth whilst his seniors formed a loose circle around him. Around the circle of humans, huge beasts shifted, widening and shrinking the space between with a mechanical precision. Earthen projectiles, tongues of flame and arcs of electricity bounced off tough hides and steel reinforced skulls. Three legendary beasts prowled around them and in the middle of them all, Diamond tired his best to keep his formation intact. He peered at a pokeball cradled in his hands and pressed the switch set in the middle of the capsule. Normally, the ball would open and eject the pokemon living temporarily inside it, however, this particular pokeball did not open and the blue eyed boy had a feeling that the monster contained within judged him. Regigigas the lord of the titans. When he, Pearl and Platina brought the monster back, it refused to get out of its pokeball. After much prodding and probing, Green eventually transferred the creature into a specialized holding cell. The next day, when Crystal and Gold went to give the chamber a customary sweep, they found the titan sitting on top of a smashed glass cage. It rolled itself back into a pokeball and refused to be in anyone's company but Diamond's. Thus the Sinnoh native held on to it, however, the legendary creature never helped its pseudo master in combat.

"Please...we need your help." Dia pleaded with Regigigas. Much to Ruby's chagrin, Sapphire climbed out of the defensive fortress and joined the battle herself. The ruby eyed teen felt conflicted, nonetheless he stayed put and periodically kept an eye on Dia and White. "...He won't answer..." the chubby boy intoned when the Unova native spared him a glance, she nodded understandingly and marshaled her attention back to the heat of battle. At the same time, the ring of beasts making up formation alpha staggered backwards and collapsed inwards and they heard Sapphire scream. Ruby wriggled and managed to push mamoswine's bulk off his leg. He crawled out and stopped dead in his tracks.

Entei had one heavy paw pressed on Saph's chest and a dribble of blood steadily flowed past her lips, his eyes panned sideways and he witnessed a young blonde man drag Dia to another blonde man who wore combat boots. The black haired boy warbled a few incomprehensible words before the older man smacked him hard across his face. Diamond cried out and clutched his throbbing cheek and Ruby couldn't believe his eyes when the gunmetal grey barrel of a pistol pressed against the Sinnoh native's temple.

"You there..." Surge jerked his head to Ruby "drag your other friends out and line them on the side of the wall...Or I'll injure you very badly." The barrel of the gun changed position and the crimson eyed trainer found himself staring into a tiny black hole. Terror seized him as his irises flickered from one friend to the other. "DO AS I SAY OR I"LL SHOOT!" The lieutenant roared and the crimson eyed teen jolted up. Diamond started crying and in the process, dropped Regigigas' ball.

Ruby couldn't recall what happened next.

Volkner apathetically walked after the rolling ball and tried to pick it up after it came to a standstill. Instead, the capsule ruptured at the seams and a white, gargantuan thing unfolded out of the miniscule space and swept a pillar like arm in a horizontal arc. Spellbound, Ruby mutely observed as Regigigas single handedly crushed three legendary pokemon and the police force as well. Walls fissured, the ceiling cracked and he heard a gentle voice calling his name insistently as his surroundings folded into black.

* * *

 **A/N:** Gold disappeared to who knows where and Blue gave Falkner a run for his money. As for Surge…well Surge is Surge, enough said. At HeyYouYaYou: You dislike chocolate? How dare-Eh, doesn't really matter, people are entitled to their favorite stuff anyway :P Yes, I plan my introductions and endings together. It makes the story flow smoother. At Silver: 80% cocoa? Beyond perfect, I won't have to share since Mindy can't stomach such stuff. As for you views…I study psychology and it basically maps human behavior and tries to offer an explanation of why we do the things we do. One of my friends studies criminal psychology and we were discussing why people resort to crime. In any case, I probably started believing that there is an excuse for all the bad things we do. However, as you said, there is no justification for murder (unless it's for self-defence and whatnot) And yes, even if they are deranged to some degree, the murderers are entirely regular people. The curriculum should seriously re-introduce philosophy with psychology. Medical ethics don't teach you the things you need to know :/ You should get a masters in philosophy in my opinion. At Jack54311: You basically summed up the entire arc in two sentences. Congrats…is this story that predictable? Man I should've gone for something more twisty! At Guest: Romance? What is that? JK, no romance until the arc ends. Arc 4 contains a bit…but nothing extreme. I write like a pro? Heh, I'll be putting more effort in from now on! Thanks for the compliment.

Once again, virtual 80% dark chocolate for all those who read and reviewed. If you can't eat that stuff…give it back. I'll eat it for you. Anyway, please keep on reading and reviewing, tell me what you think of the next chapter.


	62. Iron clad psyche

**Chapter 62: Iron clad psyche**

Middle of the night

Sinnoh

Resort Area

BEEP~ BEEP~ BEEP~

The nerve wracking sound washed over the entire base, Lack-2 jumped out of bed and forcefully calmed his fluttering heart. How was a person supposed to evacuate properly if the base produced such a heart stopping sound every time they were attacked? It's a wonder no one managed to have a heart attack when the blare sounded. Pibo bounced around the room in a distressed manner and the Unova native spoke a few words of comfort to it. To his surprise, the little rodent stopped its insistent squeaking and settled for scratching up the door instead. Progress, Lack-2's mind agreed, at least it listened to him now. The boy stretched for a few times and allowed himself to get used to the racket, he didn't want to vomit all over some senior's shoes like the last time. A few earthquakes swept through the base and he observed tiny fissures snaking up the walls. Nonetheless, he calmly yanked open the door to his cupboard and retrieved a backpack, thereafter he started packing his clothes. Hauling the bag over to his now skewed table, he sorted through piles of junk and eventually retrieved his Xtransciever. On impulse, he booted up the device, navigated to his inbox and read the most recent message.

 _To Lack-2:_

 _Team Plasma has been captured once and for all thanks to your efforts. Your insight and information has been very valuable. About the shadow triads: we have intelligence that they took the dark dragon stone and fled to Ransei. There are rumours floating that Lord Nobunaga, self-proclaimed leader of Ransei, ordered them to bring him the dragon stone and he wants the power of Zekrom to himself._

 _As for your investigations into the Dex-criminals...we are not satisfied. You do not always provide accurate information and thanks to this, our previous bust had been a total failure. I understand you are working undercover Lack-2 but you need to share the contents of your investigations with all of us and not only with Looker. You have been warned. We are conducting a high profile investigation into the incidents caused by the Dex-criminals, namely the breaking into the Veilstone building and the most recent attack on the Unova league. Thanks to the new information and the trails you left us, we have an accurate description of their inner workings and their modus operendi._

 _You are to extract yourself immediately and join in the raid against the Dex-criminals. Your subordinate is looking forward to your return. Once we are done with handling the Organization, you will be deployed to Ransei to chase after the Shadow Triads._

 _Once again, I repeat myself:_

 _Extract yourself immediately._

 _Signed: Chief of Police_

 _Anabel_

He exhaled and pressed his fingers on the liquid crystal display. Extract himself? Snorting in indignation, he deleted the message and proceeded to toss his communications device into his backpack. Pichu uttered a high pitched squeak and nervously bounced around the room when an ear grating din pervaded the mansion. He suspected the noise issued from where senior Blue busied herself with cutting the base apart; he also heard the sounds of windows shattering, walls being torn apart and the earth shaking roars of legendary beasts. Shrieks, both human and animalistic, added to the general chaos and in the midst of it all, he fumbled around and tried to gather his things together. For some reason, his hands shook and he dove back into his wardrobe to sift through piles of clothing, both his and Gold's, and pull out an intricately carved box. Inside the wooden carton, a velvet padding cradled two ultra-balls and he snatched the black capsules up and stuck them to his magnetic belt. A glimpse in the mirror revealed a dishevelled boy staring back at him and he took note of the oversized t-shirt hanging off his frame. The shirt belonged to Gold. Mumbling tersely to himself, he stripped off his shirt, pants and everything else and rifled through his backpack. A black bodysuit with blue highlights caught his eye and he dragged it out. Quickly, he suited himself up and the thick latex moulded onto his body perfectly. On top of this, he fitted a lightweight bulletproof vest, strapped on few lightning absorbing rods to his left thigh and wound a holster around his waist and left thigh, the pocket rested slightly below his hip and would remain out of sight. Returning to the wooden box, he lifted the velvet padding, discarded it and reached down to the little crossbow hidden in the depths.

Hefting the bow, he ran his fingers over the string and plucked it. It twanged satisfactorily. Lack-2 retrieved several arrows from the chest and examined them; the arrows remained in perfect shape, each arrowhead as sharp as the edge of Keldeo's horn. The blue arrows gleamed eerily in the light and he thrust the weapons into his holster. He could hear someone running down the corridors and hurriedly he looked around the messy room for clothes to cover himself with. He slipped on a pair of shorts, crudely crammed his bare feet in a pair of fashionable trainers and zipped himself up in a blue rain jacket just as the door to his room crashed open to reveal the panting form of his leader. Red wheezed and the Unovian blinked. The copper eyed boy wound his magnetic belt around his waist and fixed his trusty visor atop untamed locks. Gold didn't barge into his room this time and briefly, he felt relief bloom in his chest.

"Gold..." Red rasped, "I can't find Gold." The red eyed commander gulped in a few lungfuls of air and spoke more coherently, "I thought he might be looking for you in all this chaos so I came here first...I can't find him!" The Kanto native threw his hands up in the air and distress distorted his face.

"...Let's look for him together then." Lack-2 intoned and followed Red out into the rapidly collapsing passage.

* * *

Gold had been ogling at Red and Cynthia duking it out with each other. Mega venusaur morphed into nature's fury and those barbed vines crawled around the place like live, poisonous snakes. The amber eyed trainer scurried around the brambles and tried to find the best angle to witness his superior bombarding a fellow champion. The two of them fought spectacularly and Virizion lithely weaved itself between the tendrils and delivered precise strikes. Till date, no one else managed to make Saur bleed like the way the grass type legendary did. However in the end, all the fighting amounted to nothing as Red tangled both the Sinnoh champion and her monster up and zapped the two of them into oblivion. Execution's leader liked to use this strategy to deliver an accurate attack; venusaur's vines absorbed the electricity and conducted it directly to the target. If Pika struck, there was always the chance of grounding the electricity. The strategy worked soundly except that Gold now had to leap away from Saur's shoots. All the brambles lit up as stray sparks hissed and dissipated in the air. In his quest to avoid being shocked to death by deviating charges, he bumped against part of the wall and heard something click. A few seconds later, he fell through a hole in the wall and watched, quite dumbfounded, as the panel slid back into place and shut him out. He tumbled into some sort of secret tunnel and heard Red call frantically for him. Banging on the panel did absolutely nothing, he heard his commander screech one more time before the older man vacated the room altogether.

Alone in the dark, narrow passage, he fumbled on his person for a torch and found none. Unlike these new-fangled devices, his Poke-gear functioned like an old fashioned communications device and had no other extra accessories, thus he could only call someone with it. Unfortunately, he had no signal and after cursing at Giratina, he stuffed the gadget back into his cargo pants. He regretted not having the sense to at least bring a flash light...but at that time his only concern was the wellbeing of his team members, he didn't have time to think and only relied on his instincts. Shuffling forward in the dark, he felt his way forward and one of his pokeballs wriggled. Pressing the switch, ambipom tumbled out and the fleeting flash of light lit up his dismal surroundings. The amber eyed trainer only picked out a plain conduit leading to Ho-oh knows where. Were these secret tunnels? He mused and decided that they very well may be. Platinum's family was rich and wealthy families had many enemies so it made sense to construct secret tunnels and hiding spaces. Alas, these spaces won't do much good because the whole building would start collapsing on itself. A distant rumbling perfused the air and the ground underneath him rolled. Feeling claustrophobic, Gold blindly ran forward with Aibo sitting on his head and collided hard against a wall. The resulting impact sent him tethering to the edge of his consciousness and after fighting the pain off for a while, he succumbed to it and passed out.

Unknown time

Resort area

Dex Criminal's base, first floor

Yellow helped Whi-2 out of a broken window and the young girl gratefully jumped into her leader's waiting arms. Blue smiled genially at the blonde and after waving, she summoned a jigglypuff and floated off with Whi-2 in a tow. The strategy team member fixed her loosening ponytail and hurried back into base. She felt strength rapidly draining from her and for a moment her vision blurred. Rubbing her eyes and forcing herself to swallow a few energy inducing herbs, she hurried for Sapphire and Diamond. Lt. Surge followed them like a houndoom and this caused several problems when they tried to flee from the base. A trickle of apprehension trailed down her spine and she followed Chuchu as the creature's sensitive hearing picked up danger and darted towards it. Yellow conserved her energy as much as she could and only sent one of her pokemon out at any given time. In the eastern wing of the mansion, she heard the sounds of war and ran faster. On rounding the bend, she stopped.

She simply stopped and fear froze her to the spot. The hazel eyed woman forced herself to move forward.

However...

Her body refused to obey commands.

At the end of the long corridor, she beheld how Entei rested a heavy, flame cloaked paw on Sapphire's; the girl's clothes were partially torn. Her pokemon had been reduced to broken, comatose beasts. Dia quivered in the clutches of an older blonde man and said person aimed a gun at Ruby who lay on his stomach on the floor. Yellow felt faint, her pikachu squeaked and tugged her clothes and yet for some reason her body trembled and rebelled.

And then.

Something miraculous happened.

Relief washed over her on seeing Regigigas unfold from the ball and crush everything in its sight. The gargantuan monster had no qualms on belting out a few punches to his fellow legendries. Raikou crumpled on the spot as its skull smashed under a monolith of a fist. Entei danced around and countered a few moves with plumes of lava, it managed to heat one of the titan's legs and reduce it to molten lava. The leader of the titans twisted, located the fire type and clobbered it with two fists. Blaine's mouth opened when his Entei disintegrated into particles of light. He just witnessed one mythical creature kill another. Finally, Terrakion faced off with Regigigas and didn't fare too well either. Pillar esque fingers wrapped around its solid form and sword of justice was repeatedly bashed into the earth till it fainted. Regigigas slammed a spade like hand over the creature one final time and then swept his other arm on the offending humans. Like fragile porcelain dolls, their bones splintered and they fell, spattering blood on the walls and floor. Yellow unfroze and this time she rushed with full speed and called out Ruby's name. The boy stared at her with glassy irises and then fainted with half lidded eyes.

Posting her golem and butterfree as sentries, she arduously hauled the half comatose bodies out of a shattered window and rolled them on to the grass. Ruby went first and despite his lean appearance, he proved to be a dead weight. Puffing, she deposited him on the lawn and climbed back into the hallway, scraping her shin in the process. On reaching Diamond, she jolted on seeing the boy stir. He sluggishly pushed himself up and wiped his cheeks.

"Sorry...I was so scared...it's my fault they...they..." the Sinnoh native sputtered.

"Shhh Diamond... Everything is okay, they are simply asleep. With some medical care, they will wake up in no time." Yellow soothed.

"No...Senior White is trapped under my pokemon!" He wailed and frantically started recalling his exhausted beasts into their respective capsules, "I think I crushed her!"

"Listen to me Dia!" the hazel eyed woman forcefully piloted his attention and he gulped audibly, "everyone is safe and sound...repeat this after me."

"Every-one is safe...And sound" he repeated and tried to ignore the quiver in both their voices.

"Good," she breathed softly, "Pearl and Platinum have already evacuated...Now help me with the others okay? Or do you want to leave?" He shook his head vigorously, "thank you Diamond, I appreciate all the help I can get." Instead of helping her, he mutely observed the petite girl hitch her dress up to mid-thigh and climb in and out of a window as she singled handedly dragged three bodies outside. And all of them were heavier and taller than her. Done with laying them neatly on the grass, Yellow knelt down next to them and her body glowed with a golden aura. Dia sensing what she was about to do, hurriedly clamped his chubby, sweaty hand down on her shoulder and she looked up in alarm. "Is there something wrong?" she queried and he noticed her eyes hazing over with obvious exertion.

"We can... tend to them after we reach our new base..." he intoned, "please escape with them; our base is in main-land Sinnoh right?" She nodded and wiped some questionable stain from her pale cheek, "under Mt. Coronet...Senior Green said that the police won't susp-ect us hiding right under their noses." The Kanto female got up and summoned her monsters and Dia unwound his bandanna and used it to cover Sapphire's gashes.

"Aren't you coming with me Diamond?"

"No, I want to see sen-ior Red." He answered and stubbornly limped back to the mansion. Once it stood proudly and beautifully and now, shattered windows, a caved in roof and a burning third floor reduced the ancient domicile into nothing of value. Yellow inwardly lamented the fate of the Victorian styled palace, what would Platinum's parents say? Seeing her junior hobble back to the haunting building, she grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and he yelped in astonishment.

"You are coming with me..." she articulated clearly and left no room for arguments, "If something happens to you, I won't be able to look at my seniors in the eye. Please Diamond, don't make this difficult than it already is. How do you think Pearl and Platina felt on leaving you behind?" The blonde blinked back tears, "they didn't want to evacuate without you but I forced them too, the least you can do is to get to your new rendezvous point as soon as possible and assure them of your safety." On hearing the pleading tone in her voice, he relented and after casting a longing glance at the dilapidated mansion both he and Yellow melted into the night.

In another area:

"GOLD! RED!"

Green did not remember screaming this loud ever since he was born. In fact, he doesn't remember screaming at all. Not when he accidentally encountered Mew in the Viridian forest or when he brutally slaughtered Koga's arbok at the tender age of twelve. Lavender Town was famous for its tower and the locals loved to whisper rumors of ghosts possessing people and living pokemon. Their favorite tale was the one about a dead marowak who did not allow visitors to access the roof of the tower. Green, a hot blooded trainer and focused on debunking any supernatural nonsense, entered the tower and unfortunately for him, Red followed suit. The black haired child sniveled and nearly wet himself when a ghastly possessed the bones of a long dead psyduck and erupted out of its grave. Oak snorted at his rival and marched ahead. When he neared the famed, marowak possessing stairwell, an arbok charged out of nowhere and tried to tear his head off. Understandably frightened, he covered his terror up by commanding his charmeleon to kill the snake. Red eventually frothed at the mouth and fainted on seeing this brutal display and Green came face to face with a furious Koga.

Thankfully, the ninja did not end him there and later, Strategy's team leader came to learn that Lavender town fell under Koga's clan. They, like Blackthorn's Dragon Clan, were part of the elite nobles of Kanto and had ties to the aristocrats of Ransei. The knowledge didn't faze him at all and when he faced the man at his gym, the spiky haired pre-teen made extra sure to drag Koga through the mud.

It felt good, seeing the aged man's face scrunch up in disbelief when he defeated the opposition with grass types. Flashing the soul badge proudly in Red's face, he ended with the customary jibe and grinned widely when his rival rushed into the poison type gym whilst puffing steam.

Good old times.

His blissful reprieve shattered on hearing some awful sound. He stood still with his hands in pockets and ears perked in case anyone yelled for help. No one did and he exhaled in mild relief, his Poke-gear dinged with an oncoming message and he smiled on reading the note. Yellow and Diamond were safe, they managed to get away after Regigigas wreaked havoc and got rid of the opposition. Regigigas? Could Diamond command it? He wondered and pulled himself out before delving too deeply in his thoughts, he didn't have time for that.

BEEP~ BEEP~ BEEP~

"Ugh...Couldn't Silver shut the annoying din off before leaving?" He questioned himself. Due to faulty machinery, the alarm didn't ring periodically, instead it beeped at odd times and his head pounded from the sound. At least the eye stabbing red light stopped flashing. Taking another deep breath he hollered:

"REEEDDDD! GOOOLLldd" His voice cracked and he spent a second hacking and massaging his throat. A hairline crack concealed in one of the walls and behind a suit of dented armor caught his attention and he released his rhyperior and commanded the rock pokemon to bulldoze the partition off. A narrow pathway opened up before him and all the facts clicked together. Silver said that Gold disappeared off the cameras. Somehow, the blubbering Johto native fell through a secret door and ended up in the shadowy catacombs of the mansion. All ancient structures had labyrinths built for emergency hiding purposes and Platinum informed him that the passages wound up to a room in the heart of the domicile. The Berlitz family kept their most prized bits of information and priceless scrolls and scriptures there. And at her insistence, there were no cameras monitoring the gloomy passages. Exhaling and cursing his best friend's perverted subordinate, he fished out a flashlight and descended into the darkness.

When Gold came too, he witnessed a shower of golden stars arcing across a black canvas of a sky. He laid there, his head swirling and face throbbing with pain. Stars? How did he get outside? He wondered and tried to push himself up.

Thwack!

"OUCH!" The amber eyed adolescent screeched and the pain ricocheted around his head. He wasn't outside; Gold sat on the floor of some cryptic space and banged his head on the wall. Ambipom roused him up by repeatedly smacking its trainer and showering the cramped corridor with swift. Each time the gilded stars materialized, it would provide a faint glow and dimly lit up their dismal surroundings. "Aibo!" the Johto native whined, "is that anyway to treat your partner? My handsome face is a swollen mess! What if Crys or the other pretty gals don't recognize me huh? Worse still...What if they refuse me when I ask them out on a date?!" Ambipom waited for Gold to wallow in his self-pity. Five seconds later, the black haired adolescent traced his palm against the worn stone walls and tried to retrace his steps. Several times he stopped to listen to loud thunks and tried to grope towards the sources of the sounds, unfortunately, most of the snaking catacombs ended in dead ends. Markers would be of no use, the surroundings were so dark, it seemed to suck light and everything in. A draft of cold air gusted down the hallways; he shivered and pushed forward, trying to catch the trail of the breeze.

Ambipom couldn't see so well either and the monkey knew that Exbo could provide the light they needed, unfortunately for them, the corridors were too narrow to hold typholsion's bulk and even his master had to sometimes squeeze himself through. They couldn't tunnel through sheer rock and the base of the mansion rested a steel plate with sensors embedded it. Humans liked to complicate their surroundings; the primate thought to itself and groomed Gold's hair. Its trainer didn't appreciate the loving gesture and snarled something rude. In retaliation, Aibo smacked one of its tails hard against Gold's cheek and screamed in delight when its human cursed and walked further into another wall.

"That's IT!" Gold banged his fists on the partition and yelped when it slid apart. Instead of seeing light or feeling the welcome rush of cold air, he glumly observed another black hole open up before him. Sighing in defeat, he crossed the threshold and stopped. Pressure pads implanted at the entrance of this chamber depressed beneath an unnatural weight and this caused the lights inside the room to flicker to life. The Johto native's mouth fell open on seeing the chamber properly. Books. Books and scriptures everywhere. Floor to ceiling length shelves held thick tomes chained to the wood. He smelt aged paper and crept forward cautiously. So this was the secret archives of the Berlitz family. Ambipom screeched delightedly and hopped off his head whilst Gold grabbed his monkey by the tail. "Don't touch anything," he commanded, "this place is worth more than we can ever imagine and it belongs to the Berlitz family. Sheesh, it's giving me the creeps...the chamber looks as old as time itself and yet the lights flicker on automatically. An ancient library huh? Aren't libraries supposed to be warm and cozy? I can feel chills gnawing on my bones!" He complained and crossed to the other side without sparing the stained oak shelves a glance, "now I sound like an old coot...Whatever, let's get the heck outta here!" The moment he stepped back into the gloom, the lights faded and the walls slid shut.

And Gold was utterly lost again.

The amber eyed trainer fumbled his way across and ignored the grumblings of his stomach. He felt depressed and drained of energy and wondered if he'd have to wander these walls for the rest of his life. Even his cheeky partner opted back into a pokeball and now snoozed contently whilst his master trudged forward. Another dead end. Gold exhaled and slumped to the floor. His arms and legs were freezing cold and he felt light headed due to the inadequate concentration of oxygen. The recycled air fatigued his brain and he wanted to take a nap. Shaking his head, he pushed himself up and fumbled around and found another passage branching off. Without thinking, he ambled into it and as expected, his palms brushed against cold worn stone.

He bit his bottom lip to stop himself from screaming. Gold was about to go mad. He couldn't hear anything anymore and more often than not, he wondered if he somehow became blind instead. How could any place be this black? Grunting and punching the wall, he jumped when a silver of white light bled from underneath the cracks. This time he yelled and kept on yelling even after Green slid the partition to the side and told him to shut up. "Senior Green! I am so HAPPY to see you!" Gold sobbed and clutched the older male with all his might. Oak inwardly shuddered and contemplated on removing the whimpering adolescent from his person because his pristine shirt was being soaked with tears and other less than pleasant fluids. And his ribs were also being compressed. Green endured the mild suffering for ten more seconds before bodily shoving Gold away. To his alarm, the adolescent staggered back a few paces, promptly crashed to the cold floor and began howling with laughter. Strategy's leader cocked his eyebrow; he didn't see anything funny at all. "Whew! I almost went mad in here senior!" the ebony haired man chirped and Green questioned him on how he ended up in the catacombs in the first place, "well...I watched Red and Cynthia battling and when senior delivered the final strike...You know the one where Saur conducts Pika's lightning strikes...the move he used to defeat _you_?" Gold snidely questioned and Green's fingers twitched, he longed to wrap them around something and the pervert sitting in front of him provided a good target, "I had to dodge stray bolts and somehow I crashed into the wall and ended up here. Nasty place though..."

"It wouldn't be so nasty if you had the sense to bring a flashlight." Oak droned and motioned him to get up, "don't you know about these labyrinths?" The amber eyed man shook his head in a negative reply, "didn't Red tell you?"

"...Red tell me?" The breeder snorted, "I'm one hundred and one percent sure my mentor doesn't know about these himself"

"True..."

"So how do we get back and more importantly is Lack-2 safe? What about everyone else?" Gold fell in step with Green as the duo retraced their steps. Golduck left a thin trail of water behind and the two humans followed the duck as it led them back outside.

"Most of them have already evacuated and Lack-2 and Red are safe I presume." The professor replied.

"You presume?"

"First let's get out of here Gold." Green breathed exasperatedly, "then you can scream your head off whilst searching for you brainless mentor and your idiotic lackey. Thanks to you and Red our plans are all awry!" They stepped into the corridor and the breeder inhaled deeply and looked around him. The area presented an ugly sight. Blood stains, broken glass and plaster, crumbled buildings and comatose humans greeted him. Gold walked briskly past them and paused on seeing a huddle of bodies piled over each other. He spared them a glance before continuing down the corridor. "Red is in the first floor." Strategy's commander further informed him, "he searched high and low for you and finally went to Execution's dormitories. I believe he met up with Lack-2 there."

"Lack-2 didn't escape yet?" The Johto native quizzed, "Argh! Why does that brat always wait till the last second? Tsk!" Gold put a burst of speed sprinted down the hallways and Green followed him at a brisk pace.

* * *

Middle of the night

Sinnoh

Resort Area

"...Let's look for him together then." Lack-2 droned and followed Red out into the rapidly collapsing passage. Execution's leader stepped out of the room and the russet eyed teenager grabbed a squeaking pichu and bodily stuffed it inside a great-ball, he couldn't risk his treasure breaking out and hightailing to some distant part of the broken down mansion. Cautiously, Red peered down the corridors and stood still on seeing a figure approaching them. A man. He wore a dull brown trench coat and had a toxicroak faithfully keeping in step. The personnel's hat gleamed dully in the silver moon light and the scarlet eyed trainer briefly glimpsed the International police's insignia and his breath hitched ever so slightly.

"Lack-2" he spoke more calmly than he felt, "we have to run...I'll find Gold later but right now our priority is to get away from that person." Red pointed to Looker who rapidly grained ground, "he is a member of the International police and..." the commander stopped speaking on hearing two audible clicks...the sounded very familiar. A tingle snaked down his entire body and the whirled around to witness Lack-2 empting out two black capsules.

BOOM!

The careering duo stopped for a moment as part of the mansion tumbled down.

"What the HECK was that?" Gold screeched and Green rubbed his temples, "it sounds like someone is battling...I sure hope Lack-2 and Red are safe." Without waiting for further instructions, the breeder started climbing up the broken bits of construction and grating his hands and knees along the rough surfaces. Oak observed him passively and heaved a sigh. Their way had been blocked on purpose and someone, a police officer no doubt, deconstructed part of the mansion in an orderly manner. This passage served as a shortcut to Execution's residences and now a derelict wall blocked the way. Not a coincidence. Gold spat a few expletives and Green ordered him to come down. The adolescent got his head stuck from forcing it into a crevice and now struggled to pull it out. Eventually the body part loosened and he came rolling downwards and comically landing on his backside. "We can't take the long route" The Johto native wheezed and rubbed away at the stream of blood trickling down his forehead, spreading the it further across his face and cheeks. "It'll take too long and by that time something bad might happen to Lack-2 or senior Red!"

"Nothing bad is going to happen to Red!" Strategy's commander snapped, "he is a capable fighter and he will protect Lack-2 with his entire being...Stop whining, your worry is vexing me." He let loose his rhyperior and prepared to tunnel a way through the building remains and emerge on the other side.

"Well excuse me for having a better emotional range than a teaspoon..." Gold shot back, "although I'm not sure if your emotions can fit on a teaspoon...More like the end of a toothpick...Pfft. HAHAHAHA! Man I'm awesome!" A vein beat visibly on the side of the older man's temple and he ignored the guffawing junior and commanded his monster to bulldoze. Rhyperior swung its arms and pounded them into the solid pillar barring their way, instead of neat hole, the entire stone column disintegrated and this sent the gold eyed man snorting with fresh giggles. Green ignored him. Angling its head low to the ground, rhyperior tensed and then shot forward akin to a coiled up spring and carved a clean path through the tangle of bricks and masonry. The two waited for any loose bricks to fall and then entered the semicircle. For a short moment, darkness swallowed their forms and they stepped in a corridor full of steam. No, not steam, but fumes. They tasted black smoke and caught the faint odor of charred cement and Gold came to a halt. The fumes stung his eyes and nose and he irritably wiped his watering eyes and waved his hand about in a futile effort to diffuse the smoke screen, the fog dissipated moments after and his irises shrunk into pinpricks.

And his body drained of energy.

Gold rubbed his eyes.

Sapphire said something about an illusion.

He looked back to see Green mirroring his horrified expression.

Green?

That man would probably look less horrified even if someone told him that the world would end in five seconds.

So...

The scene before him...

Was real...

 _Real?_

Real?

"Lack-2 what...What...Are you doing?" Gold struggled to speak, his throat suddenly turned into sandpaper. "That's...that's my mentor you're...pointing..." Near the end of the corridor and opposite Lack-2's room, Red crouched against a cracked wall, held up his hands in a gesture of helplessness and angled his head towards the ceiling. Pointed to his throat were two sharp horns belonging to two different creatures. One long, thin and cream colored belonged to samurott and periodically grazed the pale skin of Red's exposed neck, the other was spiraled, thick and blue and this one jammed right against the commander's Adam's apple. The Kanto native didn't dare swallow and a bead of sweat dripped down from the end of his chin. The breeder took a tentative step forward and frowned confoundedly. Everything around him seemed to be out of place and wrong.

"Don't move. Or I won't hesitate to server his vocal cords" A low voice froze Gold in his tracks. Could Lack-2 speak with such a gravelly voice? A small but wicked crossbow aimed its point at Green and involuntarily, Oak put up his hands in a manner similar to his best friend. Lack-2 held up a pass and his mentor squinted at the words, it read: Superintendent Lack-2, senior officer to Looker, status: Undercover. "As you can see, I planted myself in this organization in order to get my hands on a ringleader...Tough work but I eventually managed it." Lack-2 didn't look at Gold when he spoke, rather, his copper tinted eyes rested to a vacant space slightly to the left of the black haired man, "I let myself get kidnapped and eventually made it in here. At least the farce is over," he lowered the crossbow, "you will let us go or else..." He let the threat hang. The Johto native turned white as a mega evolved ghastly and he watched the proceedings like a mannequin. Looker approached the ex-champion whilst Keldeo and samurott shifted away. Just before the investigator cuffed Red's hands, the ebony haired man wrenched off the mega cuff from his person and threw it over. It sailed past the heads of Green and Gold and landed somewhere with a clang. Jade and amber eyes watched vacuously as two police officers pulled Red away.

The surroundings remained a deafening silence as Gold dropped weakly to the floor.

His eyes remained fixed at Red's rapidly retreating back and flickered to Lack-2.

The brown haired teenager did not look back.

"I'm happy that you were alright superintendent." Looker smiled at Lack-2 who didn't smile back. A cavalcade waited for them and in the dark of the night, the duo slipped into a police car. The great ball hanging from his belt wriggled insistently and the brown haired male ignored it. Soon pichu will get tired and go to sleep. Armed men forced Red into the back seat and the man sat quietly, his belt lay in the possession of Lack-2 and the officer separated the capsules from the belt and put them in a special container lest one of them entertains thoughts of escaping. The car started up and sped down an empty road. Looker pulled off his hat and glanced at the rearview mirror to see their prisoner pressing his face against the grate partitioning them and peering through the windshield. Normally captives were timid and sat quaking in the back, however, the once glorified Kanto native had the barest hint of tension lining his brow and he strained his blood red irises to see where they headed. "Where are we going to detain him? And I'm still surprised by the fact that Samuel Oak's grandson is part of the Dex-criminals" Looker muttered, forced his eyes back on the road and drove.

Lack-2 drunk half a bottle of water and typed furiously on his Xtransciever. "We can't arrest Green for the moment, the public will cry foul and I'm sure the Kanto authorities will pull strings in order to secure their prized professor back, as for Red, we are taking him to Ransei," he finally said and his subordinate's eyes widened. "The Dex criminals are very flexible when it comes to crime...If we keep him on any other region, professor Green Oak can and will use his authority to conduct some 'research' on the target region and then it's a simple matter of letting Silver or Blue break into the cells and whisking their precious leader away. So Ransei it is, I got clearance just now, we are not taking any detours. From mainland Sinnoh, we shall board a plane for Ransei.

"Tonight?"

"Yes Looker, if we give them a window of opportunity, then I've just wasted the last three years of my life.

"Gold loved you like a little brother." A new voice cut in the conversation and Lack-2 who, brought an open bottle to his lips, spilled the contents on his lap. Red leaned back after delivering his curt sentence and gazed forlornly out of the window instead.

Ransei...

They were taking him to an impregnable fortress, to the home of the nobles.

The land of the gods.

* * *

 **A/N:** Okay, who saw that coming? All of you…? Fine, I'll be in that corner, tending to my mushroom garden. In any case, tell me what you think people! I'd like to know what you guys think will happen next. Sometimes, I forget that Yellow defeated Lance and that she is extremely capable when it comes to battling. (Chews thoughtfully). Whoa, multiple guests :) pardon me if my replies are a bit wacky. At Guest 1: I periodically bust a few brain cells in order to think up appropriate chapter names, thank you for appreciating them. Go ahead and dissect this story all you like, I do the same with whatever I watch/play/read and I'd like to read about your interpretations, I'm sure they will be very interesting. At sakurafox1218: Thank you for reviewing, hopefully this story will continue to captivate you. Does Red die? Heh, read on to find out, but this chapter should answer your question somewhat. Dia still suffers from his problem, I portray it in his broken up speech. Hmm, restorative abilities…personally, I think they are mostly bestowed on grass types and psychics, Cobalion is a steel/fight. Hehe, fridge logic, I forgot that Falkner had his legs frozen.

At Guest 2: Confused? Sorry, I don't get what you mean. Ruby passing out…Lol, I never counted but it seems that he goes unconscious a lot. At Eevee: This isn't a reply, Mindy said Hi so I'm conveying that to you. She also said that she's drowning in depression and anxiety and that listening to loud music helps her cope. Also, I think intense people are wonderful. You don't have to apologize. None of your reviews ever bothered me and I actually looked forward to read them. Keep well and all the best for you :) Btw: Thinking is good. The universe needs more people who think deeply. At Guest 3: Yellow can sketch? Whoops, I forgot about that. Giovanni is currently rotting in jail. As for Green, he hates being in untidy surroundings and seeing Execution's chaotic room ticks him off. Relaxing is good, personally, I feel that Yellow and Crystal are good friends. Black's pokemon: *collectively inhales deeply* YAHOOO! We're gonna win the league! The inhaling is important you know. At Jack54311: Predictable huh? I suppose. Regigigas is the lord of the titans, more than protecting Dia, it wants its freedom. Freedom that will severely be restricted if he falls in the hands of the authorities. Or we could go with your theory :P It's a plausible one.


	63. Hollowed out core

**Chapter 63: Hollowed out core**

Unknown time

Sinnoh

Resort Area

"He's...Gone..." a voice echoed hollowly around the dilapidated mansion.

He is gone.

"Gold, let's head back...Hey! What are you doing?! Gold! Come back here this instant!" Green hollered and chased after the ebony haired male, grabbing both his arms, the older man forced him into a choke hold and Gold wriggled furiously.

"Lemme out! I'm going after them!" He hissed and gulped for air.

"Going after them?" Oak questioned disbelievingly, "Are you out of your mind? How can you expect your pokemon to keep up with automobiles and more importantly you are going to get yourself caught!" Green spat and tightened his grip, "be sensible...And let us return to base, the others are waiting for us. You saw the opposition's pokemon, a sword of justice and a manufactured insectoid, I don't know anything about genesect and there are rumours that it is a pseudo legendary developed by the Unova authorities. Even Red didn't stand a chance." The Johto native stopped wriggling but Green did not relax his hold yet, it might be a ruse and he wouldn't put it past the breeder to easily slip out and get himself tangled with the police. "We are going back to our base" he repeated, "and we have to tell the others what happened." A slight tremble wracked his body and he tried to reign in his emotions.

"You are awfully calm about this...and he didn't stand a chance because all his pokemon had been fatigued due to fighting the police situated outside the mansion." Gold thrashed to no avail, "and I'm going to rescue senior Red no matter what you say...SO...LET...ME...GO!" A palm thrust send Oak's chin snapping upwards and a torrent of pain shot up his jaw. The ebony haired male slipped free from his choke hold and tried to run. Instinctively, Green brought two fingers together and jabbed at the fleeing adolescent's pressure points; the Johto native faltered in his careering, Oak grabbed him by the back of his shirt and after spinning the individual around, he rammed a knee up his solar plexus and the amber eyed man moaned and crumbled on the spot. It's a wonder how he didn't faint immediately. "Lack-2...He...He...GAH!" The breeder gritted his teeth, clutched his hair angrily and breathed steam. "Let me go after Lack-2...I was responsible for him, please senior, if...maybe if I had done a better job of looking after him, none of this would've happened...It's my fault. This is all my fault..."

It's all my fault.

Green wasn't surprised to see the younger man start crying. Doubled over the dusty and scorched tiles, he waited for Gold to wail out his sorrows. The empty hallways echoed his wounded cries and he understood why the normally cheerful and upbeat man felt crushed. He cursed his own inability to never see through Lack-2's deception and bile rose in his throat. To distract himself, he scoured the hallway and found the item Red threw prior to his capture by the police. The garnet lined cuff gleamed brilliantly amongst the soiled surroundings and he bent down to pick it up. Turning towards the Johto native, he saw the amber eyed man stir.

"When I see that brat again...When I see Lack-2 again, I'm going to give him a hiding, I'm going to beat that two timing hypocrite to an inch of his life...I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" Gold screeched to no one in particular and pulled a lock of his hair out, "I even gave Pibo to him...how could he? HOW COULD HE DO TH-is too me?" A sharp chop to the back of his head rendered him unconscious and he warbled the last part out. Tears still leaked from his eyes and with a grunt, Green picked him up and carried him over his shoulder. After stepping out of the building, he summoned his charizard and his confidence wavered. His dragon had seen better days. A large hole in the webbed wing made flying hazardous and a great scar ran horizontally over the vermillion wrym's face. The fire burning on its tail seemed small and weak and Green found his eyes wavering to the horizon. He saw the weak light of dawn force the darkness away and as the minutes ticked by, he allowed the sun to burn his retinas as it rose and bathed the world. Sunrises were supposed to signal hope and a new beginning but lately, all they brought with them was despair and pain. Forcing himself out of his morbid ponderings, he reached a hand out and charizard fondly rubbed his head against the proffered hand. A small smile wound its way on Oak's lips; his dragonoid hardly displayed any form of affection unless it suffered from sickness or injury. Murmuring small words of comfort to it, he boarded the dragon and pulled the unconscious form of Gold close to him. The man leant uncomfortably close and proved to be a dead weight. When charizard flapped its wings, the circular wound produced a great whistle; nonetheless, the human and beast trio rose into the rapidly brightening sky and flew off into the west.

Early morning

Sinnoh

Underneath Mount Coronet

Silver's irises swung back and forth as he observed Crystal pace the rusty floor. She took her Poke-gear out, checked it for the umpteenth time and after sighing, stowed it away in the pocket of her shorts. The red head leaned lethargically against one of the metal struts holding the cavern up. They haven't used this place in years and it fell into disarray. In fact, when the Organization was founded, Green introduced this place as a base and Blue snorted that it lacked the sophistication of one. The hollowed out cave sat underneath the base of Mount coronet and could only be reached if anyone was willing to brave an avalanche. Either than that, only helicopters and flying types could safely land in this place. Last year, Cyrus and his Team Galactic had the unfortunate luck of tracing Platina, Dia and Pearl into this cavern and they ended up being caught and busted. A smaller room lied further from the main chamber and was separated by a narrow tunnel, Blue ventured deeper into the compound in order to investigate it and the rest of the juniors tidied and dusted the place up. Accessing the second floor proved to be treacherous due to a rusting staircase and the first order of things would be to fix that.

They heard a loud clanging on the door and Crys took off, a delicate frown etched on her face. No one changed out of their dirty clothes and in one corner of the enormous room, cordoned off by a large sheet of cloth, Yellow made a makeshift infirmary and cared for Ruby, Sapphire and White. Pearl never let Diamond out of his line of vision and the two boys could be seen sleeping on the floor with Diamond's jacket draped over their heavily breathing bodies. Pushing himself off the metal pole, Silver followed Crystal and thrust the door open with her. A wind howled right then, buffeting them and sending in a cloud of fine snow. Green stepped inside and deposited a comatose Gold on the floor. The indigo haired woman gasped and crouched down at once; and Silver saw the beginnings of a bruise forming around Gold's neck. Strategy's leader brushed snow off his locks and gravitated towards the open fire burning in the middle of the room. He didn't say a word. After dragging Gold over to the temporary hospital, Diamond stirred and shot up. Azure eyes locked on to Green's ponderous form and he worded out the question on everyone's mind.

"Where is senior Red?" The chubby boy, now fully awake, queried. Pearl mumbled something incomprehensible and turned to the other side, he dragged Dia's jacket with him. "Where is Red?" Diamond insisted again and got up.

"He's been captured by Lack-2..." All the heads snapped to the corner where Gold, supported by Silver, sat and answered. "That brat wasn't part of our Organization at all...He was a spy...A two timer and an Arceus forsaken Superintendent of the INTERNATIONAL POLICE!" he shouted and hawked hoarsely." Yellow soothed him and tried to force some bitter herbs and he brushed her aside and wobbled on trying to get up. "I'm going after them. I'll find Red on my own and bring him back...And if I see Lack-2...Heh...If I see him, that hypocrite better start praying to Giratina or whoever the hell he prays too...he'll regret ever being born and pulling that stunt!"

"Calm down Gold...You are making yourself sick."

"YOU ARE TOO CALM!" Instead of calming down like Green suggested, he shot up and screamed, "How can you be so impassive after seeing what happened? HUH? Red was taken away right in front of us and we couldn't do anything! Nothing! And it's my fault! That brat always sneaked around, he liked listening to private conversations and pestered me to tell him everything and I did...Because...Because I liked his over eagerness. Why in Lugia's name didn't I have my suspicions about him?" Gold sunk down heavily and leaned on Crystal who rubbed his back in comforting circles, "and now look what he did! Lack-2 ruined everything! He took my mentor away from ME!"

"Lack-2...Is a spy?" Whi-2 quizzed and emerged from within the base with an astonished Blue at her heels. The girl wore an apron over her unclean t-shirt and skirt, she clutched a broom tightly and her knuckles were white. Her face had been smudged with dirt and soot, yet, one could see that all the colour drain from her face. "That is...Impossible, we enrolled in Aspertia together, I've known him for five years since then...I mean...Lack-2 is only a child." Her lips wavered and she pressed them down in a firm line. Blinking furiously, she forcibly swallowed her tears and stared straight ahead. Everything fell apart, first Hugh and now the only remaining friend her age, Lack-2, turns out to be a spy for the police. What if they suspect her as well? She could see them staring back at her, some of them inquisitive, others apathetic and then there was Gold...Burning up with so much rage she wouldn't be surprised if he broke out in a fever. Amber irises bored into her and she saw them glazing over with hatred and all the negative emotions in the world. "I-I'm not part of this!" She hastily added, "I swear, I didn't join this organization with any ulterior motives...I'm only here because you...Because senior Blue kidnapped me." This time she couldn't stop her crying, her vision blurred and the tears fell one by one till they traced thick wet lines on her cheeks. "Please trust me...I never knew he-"

Blue squeezed Whi-2's shoulders and the latter buried her face in her commander's chest and wept. "It's all right Whi-2, no one is accusing you of anything..." she murmured, "I understand, Lack-2 was secretive in his own way and no one is blaming you for this. Get some rest now." The girl mutely nodded, extracted herself from the warm embrace and located Silver who sat on the ground near the infirmary. Gold lapsed into a brooding quietude and after sending the Execution member a worried glance; she wiped her tears and mechanically marched to the red head. He gave her a fleeting smile, patted the metal eroded ground next to him and she plopped down gratefully. The warmth of the fire spread evenly over her form but for some reason she shivered. She wondered what made her shiver, the sight of a fatigued Yellow tending to the injured members? Or the three comatose bodies lying side by side and in obvious need of better medical attention? Or maybe it was the presence of Gold, normally the man smiled and showed a mouthful of teeth, his expression always had a mischievous undertone, now, the frown on his face bore the weight of an unspeakable wrath. She trembled and curled up, Silver pulled off his jacket and draped it over her form and she pulled the thick material over her and mumbled a thanks.

"If you need anything, just ask." The Johto native droned and tucked his head in his arms.

"What happened?" Blue quizzed and stood next to Green, the male stared into the fire like a zombie. "Is Red really captured by the police?"

"No, not really...You can see him standing behind me." Oak snarked, "of course he's been captured why do you think Gold is in such a huff? That simpleton wanted to go after him."

"Do you know where...They might've taken him?"

"Blue...Sometimes you ask the dumbest of questions and it gives me a royal headache..." Green hissed and simmered down, "if I knew where they took Red do you think I'm just going to sit here and warm up my hands? Do you? I had to knock Gold out. Lack-2 had a backup officer waiting for him and he had a legendary creature, Keldeo and a pseudo mythical pokemon by the name of genesect in his possession. Not to mention that the child also wielded a crossbow..." The professor trailed off and thought, Constellate's leader saw the lines on his forehead deepen as he contemplated, "I've been thinking...When the police tried to bust us previously, it might've also been thanks to Lack-2. He waits in his room... as bait...For someone to come get him when things go tough. Normally, since we allow the juniors to evacuate first, one of the commanders would be most likely to come rescue him..." Green gazed into the fire some more and Blue watched the miniature orange flames flicker and dance in the jade irises. For a moment, she felt hypnotized and then his words pulled her out of her reverie, "the first time, Gold tumbled in his room. I suppose even if he is part of the International police, he didn't have the heart to sell his mentor off. Possibly, if Gold barged into his room again, then Red would still be with us." He pressed his eyes shut and stepped away from the fire. "I'm exhausted, is there a place I can sleep?" He queried, "And where are Cyrus and Charon?"

The chocolate haired woman exhaled softly and pulled her hair into a bun before replying, "Cyrus and Charon are deeper in the base, they are busy cleaning and Platina is keeping an eye on them. I'm sorry, but there isn't a proper place to sleep in, the ground is the only thing we can rest on for the moment." Her best friend shrugged and said that it couldn't be helped and her irises widened a fraction as he turned to leave. "Another thing Green..." he paused and rotated backwards, "the red chain is finished. I meant to tell you this before but it slipped my mind," he nodded in understanding. "After we have the base fixed, I'll sneak in with my team and retrieve the things we need from the previous one...then...What do we do?" His answer didn't satisfy her, "What?!" she exclaimed shrilly and people looked up, "what do you mean we are going ahead with our plan without Red? He is part of this, we can't...Just do these things without him!" she fiercely whispered and he shook his head.

"He'd want us to go ahead..." he tiredly intoned and thrust his hands into his jacket pockets, "the next time we see him...we can tell him everything about it."

* * *

Several weeks later

Sinnoh

Underneath Mount Coronet

The formerly dysfunctional cave appeared much better looking. All the rusting plates hammered to the ground were ripped up and the organization went through the trouble of pouring concrete over the raw earth. This time, they refused the Berlitz family's help when one morning they arrived in a sleek, black helicopter and offered their services. Platinum Berlitz had been whisked away and her parents vehemently argued with her when she wanted to stay at the crude base. Eventually she left, stiff faced and promising to be back the moment their headquarters became optimally functional. Pearl and Diamond stood outside in the snow and waved as the chopper, carrying their precious friend, rose in the frigid air and took off. The blades sliced the crisp atmosphere and disappeared into a cloudless sky. They trudged back inside the cavern and plopped next to the roaring fire burning in the middle. The untamed inferno couldn't be dancing in the middle of the room for eternity, therefore Sapphire, who marginally recovered from her injuries, took it upon herself to build a fireplace. She could be seen, even now, hefting an axe and toiling away in a corner of the base. Yellow often admonished her furiously but the girl refused to listen. Over the bare cement flooring, Constellate's commander had the grace of purchasing a carpet and as soon as the fire place was complete, they would roll it out on the floor.

Minute changes occurred and they did not go unnoticed. Gold, who recently shattered his arm after trying to fix the broken down staircase by himself, could rarely be seen in the company of anyone. He preferred to stay on the freezing first floor curled in a shadowy crevice with only his pokemon for company. Instead of sleeping in a proper bed, he snoozed on the belly of his typholsion instead. White found herself in the presence of the Hoenn natives and more often than not, her chocolate brown irises would trace over the burns and unsightly scars on Sapphire's skin. For some reason, the wild trainer and Ruby hardly talked and when they did, they communicated in short, terse sentences. The Unova native suspected that their animosity lied in the fact that Ruby blamed himself for not being able to protect her. This caused some friction between them which only worsened as time passed and whilst Emerald did his best to help, they only ignored the diminutive blonde. The headquarters, although a hive of activity, felt splintered and broken apart. The two remaining commanders rarely talked with their juniors and preferred to busy themselves with building up their home. Crystal and Silver kept a hawk eyed watch over their best friend and Whi-2 could almost always be seen either with Blue or the red head.

A gaping hole.

It felt like they missed something, even though they toiled and the shabby interior shaped up wonderfully. A soft grey carpet lined the interior and stretched all the way to the back. The fireplace burned brightly and bathed the room with a warm orange glow. The stairs were fixed, and it turned out to be an unpleasant sculpture of metal and wood but at least it bore their weight and did not crumble apart. The main room became a work station and doubly functioned as a common room. Unfortunately, it lacked the comfort and superfluity of their previous bases and Platinum, who returned the moment the base was completely restored, brought with her a few pieces of furniture. A scattering of mismatched chairs and couches sat around a low wooden table and despite everyone's protests, Gold used one of the settees as a bed. To the astonishment of no one, Yellow and Green could be seen spending much time in each other's company. The duo liked to keep to themselves and the latter fashioned a little infirmary in one of the unused compounds on the second floor. There were many empty rooms, dilapidated and reeking with the stench of wild pokemon and fresh earth, these were either boarded up or left alone as the members opted for sleeping in groups rather than individually. Frankly, they didn't have the luxury of having individual accommodations any longer and what would they keep in their rooms?

The red chain was finished before the raid on their previous headquarters and Team Constellate went through the trouble of sneaking back to their old mansion to recollect the legendary pokemon, their precious artefacts and to destroy anything left behind. To Blue's surprise, there were no police nor any form of security guarding their mansion and the realization hit her hard. Why should the police chase after ghosts when they had a live human being to torture and interrogate? Deep in the night, when the glacial winds of Mount Coronet howled particularly loudly, she'd wake up and stare outside the small porthole window set into her room. And at the same time, her consciousness pulled to the other end to see Green buried underneath the covers on the opposite side. Sharing a room with Green felt too awkward and so she forced Yellow to stay with her as well. The petite blonde lay curled up on the bed, her corn silk hair weaving a tangled web on the sheets. Imparting a mellow sigh, the azure eyed woman piloted her attention back to the window and thought about Red. They were careful not to mention his name around the base, it had two drastic effects. Every time Execution's remaining members heard their leader's name, Dia burst into tears and complained of a headache. Sapphire and Gold reacted differently; on good days they fell into an apathetic slump whilst on their bad days...Sapphire ended up kicking a piece of antique furniture against the earthen wall. Gold once slipped out in the middle of the night when a blizzard raged and a timely call from Crystal sent a fuming Green stomping after him. Whatever Green did to the Johto native went unsaid as the rest of the organization mutely observed the commander dragging a thoroughly wounded Gold back to base. Since then, the spiky haired male threatened to leash Gold to the stairs and their conversations often erupted into violent arguments.

Silver and Crystal watched their friend spiral uncontrollably into a well of despair. He wouldn't listen to anyone and spent his time slinking from one area of the headquarters to another. They wanted to help him; however the amber eyed individual didn't help himself. All missions ground to a halt as they focused their attention on making the base functional. A few days after moving in, all the generators sputtered and died. They had to go for some days without electricity and some of the juniors found it amusing. Several days later, a backup generator was bought and installed, they used their pokemon to tap into the mineral springs and fashioned a bath system. All in all, their efforts were greatly rewarded. Unfortunately, the only problem turned out to be the legendary creation cell. They didn't have one any longer and the criminals lived in the constant fear that the incensed deity monsters will one day rupture from their capsules and undo all their handiwork. Green kept a regular watch on them and every morning, he pulled out the master-balls from a knapsack and checked their condition. The minute beasts leered at him and at one time, Yellow found him in a dazed state and clutching a pokeball, black smoke seeped out from the cracks of the master capsule and she beheld him muttering nonsense. He fell underneath Darkrai's spell of nightmares. For a moment, the female watched him as he apologized profusely to his grandfather and deceased parents and she couldn't bear it any longer. Shaking him thoroughly, he instinctively threw the ball to the opposite wall and gasped. His aide gingerly picked up the ball and stuffed it back into the bag.

"The red chain is quite beautiful..." White inhaled sharply when one fine day Blue retrieved the crystal chain from her bag and laid it on the table. The team mates gathered around to silently revere it.

"No...It's ugly" Ruby interjected and Emerald sighed, "it's ugly because it we fashioned in an ugly manner. Blood of legendary pokemon...Disgusting..." he hissed and slunk off, Gold followed him and after shrugging his shoulders, Rald tailed after the duo. The Sinnoh natives bent over the glistening crystals, their minds mesmerized by the radiance. Cautiously, Pearl reached out a hand and brushed his fingers against the lasso and to the awe of everyone present, the scarlet restraint lit up with an ethereal glow. Following his best friend, Dia stroked a chain as well and was rewarded with the same result. Alarmed, Platina pulled her hand back.

"You too..." Blue nodded and said at her, "try touching it."

The Berlitz heiress politely inclined her head and brushed her fringe away from her inky eyes. Her slim fingers ghosted over the crystalline structure and like her friends, the chain came to life. All three pieces hovered up in the air and then fell back on the table with a clang. Dia noticed Regigigas kick up a fuss, the tiny titan waved its arms about and the lights decorating its body flashed with seizure inducing rapidity. It warned him of danger; however, danger was a requirement in their line of work.

"...The chains respond to the ones born in Sinnoh..." Green muttered and sank down heavily in a couch, he balanced a steaming mug of coffee in his hands and peered at the Sinnoh Trio who stood before him nervously, as an experiment, he reached out and held the chain, alas, nothing happened. "Red...will not like the idea of this but we have to use the three of you to snare the legendary creatures once they come out of their dimension."

Pearl did not compute.

What?

Them? As in the youngest juniors in the organization apart from Whi-2?

Distraught gave way to a spine tingling amalgamation of fear and excitement and all his hairs stood on end.

"We will do it!" Pearl screeched and his superior shut his eyes against the unneeded outburst.

"I'm not doing it..." Diamond quietly asserted and before anyone could demand why he outright refused a commander's orders without reason, the chubby boy turned around and marched further into the compound, presumably to join Gold. Platinum watched her friend leave sadly and assured her seniors that she and Pearl will have a talk with Diamond and explain to him the importance of proceeding with their goals. Strategy's leader shook his head and drunk the scalding liquid in one gulp. Setting the ceramic mug on the table, he got up and motioned for Sapphire to follow. The girl bounded up and bounced after him as the man made his way deeper into the base. In the second room, he beheld the listless forms of Gold, Ruby, Emerald and Diamond poring over a board game. They stopped playing on seeing him, the amber eyed trainer snorted audibly and flung his dice to the floor.

"Ruby...Rald" Green intoned, "vacate the room. I want to have a word with Execution's members. They nodded solemnly, got up and disappeared. Gold shifted up and pulled Diamond closer to him and the duo made a space on the floor for Sapphire. The girl sat squashed next to her members and the trio looked up at Green who pulled a chair and settled down in front of them. "First of all...You have to accept the fact that Red is gone...And the tiny hope of knowing that he is alive somewhere and can be rescued is the reason why the we feel so helpless and anguished. We will rescue him..." jade irises locked on to the golden eyed trainer who exhaled in a defeated manner, Gold clenched and unclenched his fists and his mien morphed into an expression of grief. "For now, I want to make a proposition to you...There are only three of you left and without a leader, a department can't function. So I've been thinking, if you want, the three of you can melt into whatever faction you desire...Of course there is the problem of adapting to the specific department's target operations however, we won't be doing regular activities for a while." Oak eased up from the simple wooden chair and fumbled with the pendant around his neck, normally, his grandfather's memento remained concealed underneath his shirt, but these days, the oval tag often rested on top of his shirt and the man constantly wound his fingers nervously around the fine chain. "Think about it and discuss it amongst yourselves...I'd like an answer by tomorrow morning."

The three of them whispered furiously amongst themselves and in the midst of their heated discussion Diamond suddenly kept very quiet, just as Green left the room, he spoke up. "We don't need a discu-ssion senior Green, Execution is staying as it is..."

"Be sensible Dia..." Gold interjected, "Green is right, we can't function without our leader, it's only a temporary setting alright? Hey, you can join Strategy and be with Pearl, it's not a bad proposition."

Cyan eyes gazed intently at the floor and the Sinnoh native traced a chubby finger on the spongy carpet. Gold gently ran his fingers through Dia's close cropped hair and prayed that the boy would listen. "...So, Execution can't function without a leader right?" The posse around him nodded, "then...I'll lead. I will become Execution's leader."

Three pairs of eyes blinked in disbelief and his words echoed around in their heads.

 _I will lead. I will become Execution's leader._

"You...Dia-" Saph tried speaking but the words died in her throat.

Strategy's leader noted the desperation and conviction whirling in the young's boy's dark blue irises. He beheld stars and emotions so deep, Green found himself drowning with no means of escape. In a flash, he witnessed Red as well, a younger, more serious and ponderous Red. Finally he tore his gaze away from Dia's hypnotic one and nodded. "Fine...Do as you wish, although I should warn you...It's tough being a leader of the organization."

"Tough? Pfft," Gold rolled his eyes and patted Diamond on his back, "he's got some awesome underlings, we won't make his job difficult. Right Saph?" The girl blinked and thereafter nodded with forced vigour, "We'll look after him...Oh hey!" The black haired man exclaimed as Dia hugged him and started bawling. "Oi Oi...Leaders can't cry alright? You gotta be strong for the rest of us. Come on Commander Diamond...Heh, that sounds kinda nice, I'm hungry, make me a sandwich will you?"

* * *

Some weeks earlier

Mainland Sinnoh

Veilstone City

The plan to expatriate Red to Ransei directly did not go as planned. When the motor cavalcade arrived in Veilstone just before dawn, Lack-2 came under fire immediately. Chief Anabel, who had been on standby, ordered him to put Red in a holding cell and immediately gave the order for the extraction of her injured officers and superintendents. For several days, Lack-2 didn't dare go anywhere close to his former commander's cell and when he absolutely needed to pass the dreaded chamber, he did it briskly and did not glance at the battered figure crouching in the umbra. At one time, their eyes met and the Unovian had the unpleasant fortune of seeing the ex-champion grin devilishly. Red had to be detained in the basic cell for a few weeks whilst the rest of the supervisors rested and recuperated. Anabel argued that the decision to send the criminal leader into Ransei should be discussed by everyone. Two weeks later, an urgent meeting convened in the Veilstone conference centre and Lack-2 ran a bit late.

Pichu stopped hissing and spitting and this particular occasion, clung to Lack-2 as he hurried through the double doors of the skyscraper, ignored the pretty receptionist who battered her eyelids at him and passed to the elevator. The pneumatic doors hissed open and he stepped out, briskly made his way down the short, tiled corridor and entered the room. At once, Surge jibed at him and Pibo, cheeks sparking with electricity, squeaked furiously and went after the electric type gym leader. With practiced ease, the Unovian teenager withdrew a slim lightning rod from a pocket strapped to his thigh and threw it with such force that the sharpened edge drilled through the tiles. In the next split second, Pibo let a thunder rip and the blinding flashes were absorbed by the rod. He waited for the sparks to dissipate before pulling out the baton and opening his palm for the rodent. Pichu uttered a noncommittal squeak and jumped up; he slid the rod back to its strap and took his place at the table. The other superintendents converged around and the meeting began in full sway.

"Heh, you were undercover so long I almost started to believe that you became part of them." Lt. Surge drawled and put his feet up on the desk, "when was the last time all four of us gathered like this?" Cynthia answered and he shook his head, "almost five years ago huh...Heck of a long time." The man shifted comfortably in his arm chair, "so brat, how did you spend your time in the organization? Did you make any memorable friends?"

"Do I need to remind you that I just saved you from being electrocuted by a thunder?" Lack-2 spat and his russet irises boiled with controlled fury, "this Pichu has the genes of Red's electric rat so don't test my patience...As for what I did whilst undercover, it's of no concern to you and put your stinking boots down on the floor, it's dirtying the table top and a breach of manners." A thin distorted smile found its way on the teen's face, "didn't anyone discipline you whilst I was away Surge?" he questioned and revelled at the sight of the man's thunderous expression. "I find this meeting to be tedious, I don't see a reason not to deploy that convict to Ransei" Lack-2 leaned forward and pushed his papers away, "he is dangerous, his pokemon his dangerous and the people who work under him are the most dangerous of all...They operate with flexibility and viciousness and his underlings worship him. I won't be surprised if they are trying to track him down and secure him this very moment. I put a request through and the nobles accepted it; I don't understand why I'm wasting my time and breath trying to convince the rest of you. I like working alone and even if you tried to catch them for a hundred years...Assuming you old timers live that long...You won't be able to snag a single one of them. Getting up close and personal is the only way for them to drop their guard..."

"And then you betray them..." Cynthia finished his sentence, "frankly, I admire your composure, I don't have the stomach to do such deeds." The Sinnoh champion irritably rubbed her legs, she wore a short skirt with leggings and the synthetic material scratched at her healing skin. "Who gave you that pichu Lack-2?" she quizzed, "I'm surprised you keep it, you usually don't like to associate with pokemon who don't have destructive properties...The pichu is really cute."

Lack-2 started involuntarily and adjusted the leather jacket around his body, "it's none of your business where I got pichu from...When it finally evolves into a raichu, it'll give Surge's monster a difficult time." He sniffed and forcefully turned their attention back to the matter at hand. Discussions were exchanged and each member put forward their opinion on deploying Red to Ransei. The considerations varied, himself and Cynthia wanted to send the ex-champion off as soon as possible whilst Falkner and Lt. Surge wanted to interrogate him first. The copper eyed male violently rejected their ideas and insisted on locking up Red in the most secure place on the Poke-verse, finally he added: "Don't tempt me...I spent the last three years of my life lying, stealing and backstabbing so I could get my hands on him...Don't you dare question my authority or I'll haul Red to Ransei myself." He did not shout, his voice assumed an unnaturally low tone he liked to use when getting his way. The older superintendents gave him a fleeting glance and inwardly decided to agree to his proposition. Lack-2 maybe a child, however, they all knew no one did a better and a more ruthless job than him. The boy buried his humanity and feelings along with his long dead parents and now functioned with a mechanical accuracy.

And everyone was the tiniest bit afraid of him whether they admitted it or not.

* * *

 **A/N:** Both the Dex-Criminals and the base are falling apart and Dia assumed the position of Execution's current commander. As for Gold and Lack-2 heh. Much thanks to BlackCat0310 for following the story, I hope it continues to be a pleasant read. At sakurafox1218: Hello :D …What? Lack-2 gets kicked out of the IP? Tsk, I didn't know that. (PS: I have no idea what's going on in the Black/White chapters as well, so don't worry bout spoiling things for me. I'm impartial to spoilers. Unless of course, they are game spoilers, then, I might kill someone.) Hopefully this chapter answers some of your questions, the fallout of Red's capture will still be present in other chapters, albeit to minor degrees. As for Red, you can look forward to how they take him and detain him in Ransei. At Guest: Gold passes out again in this chapter, thanks to Green. I never actually noticed that I make them pass out so often, thanks for pointing it out, I will be more careful from now on. Yep, there is one more chapter to this arc and then it's arc 4, the final. Blue is terrified of birds and although she mastered her fear, she prefers floating around with a jigglypuff. Yellow is a severely underrated character, she is a Viridian child and possess the same techniques that made Lance famous. (Understanding and Healing pokemon). Lack-2, I don't know anything about him but in the later arc, I include how staying with the Dex Criminals might've affected him, look forward to that :) At Eevee: Mindy says she likes hugs :) So hugs all the way. Of course I don't mind. I'm doing fine, hopefully you are doing great. Lol, L-2 is not a clone. Apart from being calories and sugar, dark chocolate is known to be an antioxidant (cancer fighting) and it eases depression. So the next time you are feeling down, grab a slab of chocolate and wolf it down, trust me, you'll be feeling a bit better after eating it.

At AceTrainerLeaf: Heh, I hope school isn't giving you a hard time, that being said…Exams…ugh. Thanks for the compliment. Red getting out will take some time and yes, the police are upping their game. At Jack54311: I have no idea how he became a superintendent at that age either. Regigigas rolled itself back into a pokeball and tagged with its pseudo owner. As for ancient manuscripts and knowledge, information is the single most coveted thing in the world, read up on the Vatican archives and see how they keep their secret documents under lock and key, you'll think they are protecting some sort of weapon of mass destruction. At Guest 2: Your reviews made me REALLY REALLY HAPPY as well :) thank you. Heartbroken is an understatement. Green will obviously supress his depression and look for a solution to this mess. Yellow was just curious about Crystal but yeah, she should not phone. Heh, Green does have oodles of patience with her, just check the manga. Yellow cried when her rattata evolved and Green was the one training her. Pika and Green are quite similar (I think so as well, as they are both tactical and very loyal to their friends). Crys does drop hints, they soar over Yellow's head, or, she outright refuses to believe it.

Thanks for all those who reviewed. Virtual dark chocolate for all. Don't forget to review and tell me what you think of this chapter.


	64. Dawn of a new world

**Chapter 64: Dawn of a new world**

Night

Sinnoh

Spear Pillar, summit of Mount Coronet

Giratina felt the winds shift in his distortion world. It was nothing new, the winds changed direction all the time and in his pocket dimension, nothing mattered. No laws governed it, time did not flow and space stretched boundlessly. Islands floated and waterfalls flowed back to front. It lacked have a sense of direction and a horizon whilst the skies, a patchwork of different shades of blue, didn't have any celestial bodies inhabiting it. Not real ones anyway. The renegade pokemon lived alone, away from his brothers who were hard at work in maintaining space and time, away from his mother who locked herself up in a psychic barrier on some obscure islet and away from his father whom he last saw several thousand millennia ago. His offshoot, the nightmare pokemon Darkrai, had been captured by a band of lowlife humans and the renegade pokemon thought about how he should punish those upstarts. Blinking, it looked downwards and at a pool of something thick and black. The surface of the viscous pond cleared to reveal another world altogether. He witnessed seven circles, seven ghosts and innumerable amount of pokemon toiling away at the seven trials. Hot winds and frozen wasteland lay side by side next to a sea which robs memories, in the midst of them all, a cheery town sprung up and tried to keep its broken existence together. Giratina tapped the surface with a scarlet tipped wing and the view from the pond changed. It showed an unsuspecting pokemon, a well-proportioned galvantula, strolling down the cobblestoned streets of the town and on its way to purchase a few necessities. The mouth piece fitting over the banished legendry's cavernous maw slid downwards to reveal a set of gleaming ivory jaws, the ghost pokemon focused intently on the galvantula and suddenly,

The creature spontaneously combusted.

Black flames licked over its body as the spider screamed and thrashed for help. The resident pokemon in the town all inched away from it and some outright scurried as fast as their legs could carry them. Up in the distortion realm, Giratina covered up its mouth and the pool resumed its murky colour. Punishment. If anyone dared to escape their dues, they would be painfully burnt alive. Sinners must repent.

The winds shifted abruptly again.

He knew he shouldn't pay much attention, but the presence of three Sinnoh born humans outside the pocket dimension tickled his curiosity, they didn't come to pay their respects, they came here, hefting those abhorred chains in order to tie him up. His brothers, Dialga and Palkia started fighting the moment they saw each other and the renegade snorted at their antics. In order for time and space to correctly flow, they should be kept separated from each other and why his brothers decided to battle in a sacred area, was a question they could answer. Giratina felt more people, their intentions evil and as dark as the cloak of frayed wings sprouting from his back. A throb of energy pulsed from the Poke-verse and permeated into his pocket dimension, it screamed of murder, malice, hate, vengeance and Giratina stirred.

He couldn't sit still any longer despite his instinct warning not to get close. The only way to force him out of his hiding place is to bring on a catastrophe. The ghost legendary loved to muddle in death and destruction, he fed on people's negative emotions. It kept him alive. Dialga and Palkia fought intensely once more and he knew his brothers were afraid of the chains just as much as he was. They restrained not only the physical body, but the mind and other abstract concepts as well. A torrent of negative energy poured into the distortion world and the force sent some of the smaller floating masses deeper into the unfathomable depths. Wings outstretched, the serpentine creature forced the boundaries to tear and made his presence known. Dialga and Palkia stopped fighting immediately and ogled him with mild hatred before two of the Sinnoh born lassoed them with the red chains. It hurt to even look at the revolting crystals, radiating a bright crimson glow underneath the silvery moonlight. The time and space titans allowed themselves to be restrained and kept on glaring at him as if this was somehow all his fault. His fault? He roared, better blame mother who thought of making these two legged abominations in the first place. A young, navy haired girl, whose ancestry stemmed from some noble land, rode up to him on a rapidash, twirled the chains and flicked them expertly. And they bounced off a shield of energy. Instead of quivering and moving away, she held her head high and tried again. This time, Giratina offered scant resistance and greedily, the blood red crystals snaked over his form, bit into his skin and ensnared him.

The humans dragged him out of his pocket dimension and his serpentine body morphed to accommodate six legs which were instantaneously bound, thin wisps of wings joined together to form a frayed, leather-esque cape and the golden mouth piece flitted down to reveal a cavernous jaw. He didn't roar because he didn't have the energy to. Before the gaping maw of his contorted dimension, the puny humans stood awed and afraid. He could taste their fear, enveloping the area like a cloud. As his energy steadily sapped away, the little group shuffled into the distortion world tentatively and he watched them as darkness swallowed up their forms. The creation trio looked at each other and the renegade pokemon sensed an outburst from its brother in the next few seconds, he didn't have to wait long as Dialga exploded with a question and Giratina felt like he was being de-aged into an egg again. Palkia, the milder one, merely grunted and shifted, the chains securing his two brothers fissured and he waited for one of them to graciously tear his own bindings off. The last time, Darkrai gnawed through the chain through, alas; the nightmare legendary had been trapped by those humans.

"The distorted world is not my realm...I'm the lord of the underworld." Giratina's rasped reply belied his pain. "Thus I don't care what happens to it. I've hidden in it for far too long; it's time I head to my original place." The brilliant red crystals around the time and space pokemon dissolved into fine fragments and for a moment they stood still, angling their heads to the moon. A few heartbeats later they vanished into portals of their own. Giratina's own bindings were cut and he spread his wings. A hideous black, bubbling gate opened beneath his feet and he gleefully sank into the murk; his glowing eyes lingering on the opening of the reverse world till the very end.

When time and space held no meaning:

A universe ungoverned by laws.

Pearl found himself floating a good few inches above the ground, embarrassingly, his shirt lifted up and he kept on smoothing it down. The rest of the organization floated in front of him and he feasted his eyes on the troubled form of his superior as he struggled to plant his feet on the ground. The blonde snickered despite his situation, seeing Green in such ungainly postures never failed to amuse him or his team mates as he spied Emerald wearing a vicious grin and holding up a camera. Inexplicably, the device self-combusted and Crystal frowned and shook her head admonishingly. Flapping his hands in a poor imitation of a bird, the hyperactive blonde spied his best friend trying desperately to fly after a doughnut which hovered teasingly just out of reach from Dia's fingers. The azure eyed teen propelled himself by furiously flapping his hands and to his dismay, the pastry levitated further away. Pearl watched, the lazy grin on his face melting as he beheld Diamond struggling for his food in the most comical way. The remaining members of Execution hovered nearby and orange tinted irises witnessed Gold trying to sneak a look up Blue and Crystal's skirts whilst Silver grabbed his best friend by his ebony locks and repeatedly punched him. Since Dia became the temporary commander for Execution, Gold's and Sapphire's moods marginally improved with the former going back to his old perverted self. On finding out that Dia self-proposed his status, Pearl went to confront him and try to convince him that taking over an entire department is probably not the best idea, instead, Dia said:

"You aren't my boss Pearl" the boy spoke slowly, enunciating each world clearly. "So let me do what I want."

It felt like a ton of snow descended on his head and decided to stay there for the time being. He couldn't discuss this with Platinum nor with Yellow who enquired if anything went wrong. Pearl simply shook his head, retreated to the room he shared with Diamond and Platina, curled up into a ball and cried softly. Chahiko pecked his head comfortingly whilst he buried his face and snivelled. He didn't understand why Diamond changed so much and for a brief moment, he directed all his anger at the missing Execution commander. It's his fault. The blonde Sinnoh native internally accused, it's all Red's fault Dia is becoming like this. Last year, his best friend showed the same strains of rebellion and he dismissed it as stress...However...

He didn't want Diamond to change. Not for him. And certainly not for anyone else. When Diamond himself barged into the room a few minutes later, Pearl tried to wipe his tears and quickly got up to leave whilst his best friend stood in the doorway and gaped. Well he could gape all he wanted because Pearl hardly cried. Stubbornly flicking away the vestiges of moisture lining his eyes, he tried to shoulder past his companion and Dia promptly shoved a rice ball in his friend's mouth.

"Pearl...You promised me." Dia guided the blonde back into the crude room and sat him down on the bed, "you pro-mised that I could take care of you." The flame eyed individual mutely nodded, "and I'm trying to do my best Pearl. I know you are upset with me and I do confu-sing things all the time. I also promised myself not to keep sec-rets from you so..." Pearl didn't like the sound of what his friend wanted to say, "...I want to do this. I'm not good at anything apart from being a stooge and eating. Red told me that my pokemon are primed to defend and I can't even do my job properly." Chubby palms squashed a poffin in between them, "Are you mad Pearl?" the azure eyed boy clasped his comrade by the shoulder and questioned him.

 _Because you changed so much? Sure I'm mad! Why the hell not?_

"Are you mad at me Pearl?" Diamond repeated again and leaned closer, he shook Pearl slightly.

"No...I'm not mad, honest." Pearl replied and rubbed his eyes, "it's just...You keep on surprising me with the amount of growing you did..."

 _Don't lie..._

His consciousness admonished maliciously

 _Don't lie; you are angry because you can't boss him around anymore. Little Dia is dancing to his own tune._

"I'M NOT ANGRY AT ALL!" Pearl jumped up and blew steam, he exhaled some more then calmly turned to his friend... "I'm jealous actually," he admitted and scratched his head sheepishly, "because I had this naive dream that the two of us would stay with each other forever and nothing will add or subtract to our friendship." He plopped down on the lumpy mattress next to Diamond and noticed the worried look in his co-worker's eyes, "then Missy dropped into our life and thereafter, we were scouted by the Dex criminals...I'm...really happy for you Dia...But I also feel sad because our friendship isn't the same anymore. It feels like people are intruding on what's supposed to be ours only. And I hate seeing you do things on your own." Pearl finally confessed and slumped in the bed, the cushion creaked underneath his weight, "I feel like I have to make all the decisions for you...In a way, it's both saddening and uplifting to see you change. Say..."

"When we grow up, we are still doing the comedy duo thing on television right?" Diamond stuffed the mashed poffin into his mouth and grimaced at the taste, not his favourite.

"Of course you dummy." Pearl sniffed and wiped his nose on the striped sleeve. "No I'm not crying!" he waved Dia's concerns away, "I've got something in my eye!" The duo lapsed into a comforting silence and listened to the lament of the winds as it rushed outside. "Congratulations on being the new commander Diamond," the blonde added and gave his friend a wide smile, "When senior Green kicks the bucket, I'll volunteer as well." he added and grinned cheekily, "then we can both boss each other around!"

Looking around, his flame coloured irises alighted on Platinum who refused to blush when her designer dress steadily ballooned upwards. Her hair also lifted and gave a rather wonderful view of her delicate collarbones and slender neck. Blushing furiously, Pearl twisted his head the other way to see Dia hovering upside down next to him and his eyes also fixated on Platina who had her pale cheeks dusting pink as she pressed her dress down. Somewhere, Gold whistled and earned a kick for his efforts. The winds changed direction and he heard an odd whisper, instantly, gravity kicked into place and they plunged to the grassy ground with several loud thuds. Silver and Crystal fell on top of each other and whilst Gold fumed and waved his hands at the disgusted duo, Blue took the opportunity to tease them. The red head snorted indifferently and pushed his female friend off his person in a gentle manner and the third member of the Johto natives immediately rushed over the indigo haired woman and enveloped her into a hug. One by one the criminals stood up to properly ogle at the dimension they set foot in. Cyrus and his accomplice had long disappeared in the confusing depths of this nonsensical world.

Islands hovered against a Prussian blue background. Waterfalls tumbled down either sideways or upside down. The sky happened to be a patchwork of many different shades of blue and black. Some of them had stars twinkling in the depths and they faded off into nothingness. Something huge and black flew above their heads and the humans all snapped their heads upwards to see a large landmass whizzing across the space. There seemed to be no platforms, floating elevators nor any warp panels and Emerald, ignoring the sharp warnings uttered by his members, stepped forward and off the edge of the islet they huddled on. The moment he lifted his other feet, he fell and Ruby, Sapphire and Crystal gasped in tandem and ran to the edge, screaming and shouting his name. They found the miniscule blonde waving at them from a small platform of rock and to their unceasing astonishment; the plane lifted and moved off in the direction the blonde pointed. Nodding to each other, the rest followed Emerald's example and soon forgot their fear of this bizarre space. Diamond and Pearl juggled food items amongst them and when Green told them to keep it down, the blonde sent the procession of berries and pastries circling around his commander's head. And Oak did not appreciate the way the pesky woman sniggered at him.

The waterfalls, they found out, either contained corrosive acid, venom, pure water or some sort of healing sap. Very few could actually be called waterfalls and to the delight of more than a few members of the Dex-criminals, they had to traverse one which flowed sideways. Thankfully, this one contained water and the juniors gleefully surfed on the horizontal surface before Silver droned that it was the same experience as surfing on an ocean. The novelty wore off at once. As far as anyone could see, none of the landmasses in the distorted pocket were large enough to support a city and there little continents sustained no oceans, just puddles of questionable liquid. Whipping out a pair of binoculars, Blue peered into them whilst the rest of the members decided to rest. All around her, the pocket dimension remained the same. Distant pinpricks of light twinkled teasingly out of reach and she wondered what those were. Surprisingly, the distortion world did not have a sun yet it bathed with light and warmth. No clouds in the sky either and the moment she contemplated this factoid, a procession of fluffy white clouds sailed past them. Sapphire, Pearl, Gold and Diamond launched themselves up and went chasing after the puffs and thereafter quickly retreated when Constellate's commander harshly ordered them to come back.

They remained stuck in this world.

"...I'm bored." Emerald declared as the Dex criminals hiked down the trail of yet another little island. No mountains, no seas and strange plants grew everywhere. Retrieving a personally manufactured miniature telescope from his pockets, the blonde put his eye to it and found his view blocked by a sheer strait of rock. Shuffling backwards, he ignored the petty squabbles his team mates concocted and looked for a sign of life. He didn't understand how a dimension devoid of any sun, could be warm enough to sustain light and what did the atmosphere consist of? Surely it had the same composition as the one in the Poke-verse because if the gaseous ratios were different, they would've been dead and decayed skeletons a long time already. In the distant, he caught two figures rapidly speeding away from them. Cyrus and Charon resolved to put much distance between them and the Dex criminals and even if they earned their freedom in a totally peculiar dimension, they would rather stay here than work under Blue's stringent orders. Rald shrugged his shoulders and decided to let them go...They might not survive in this place anyway. Screwing his eye to the ornate eyepiece, he panned the telescope and found a continent floating in the endless space. "Guys..." he called and lowered the equipment, however, the rest were either too busy prattling, or ignoring the locutions diction as his superior would've termed it. "Hey guys!" the midget technician spoke louder and eventually screeched, "HEY LISTEN!" The ramblings stopped and he pointed in the direction of the hovering continent, "I found a place big enough to support a city...At least it looks like it. We should check it out."

* * *

Unknown time

Unknown place

Black city.

To their greatest astonishment, the Dex criminals followed Rald's directions and alighted on one of the several rocky platforms orbiting a giant landmass. It appeared too big to be natural and the isle looked like it had been scooped out of a bigger portion, the bottom part tapered like an upside down mountain. They also spied absurdly thick black chains biting into the base of the landscape and these restraints stretched downwards and vanished into the gloomy depths of the distortion world. What they anchored to, no one knew. Unlike the other islands in this world, this land mass didn't float or move. It stayed marginally still and only the chains rattled when a particularly strong gale of wind swept past. On the surface, many pairs of eyes reflected an ancient city. Everything atop the continent had been constructed out of an onyx stone which glowed eerily with blue highlights. Black City, White's thoughts echoed as she gazed at the towering skyscrapers with their gleaming glass and cyan blue lights. The houses were black, the pavements and roads were alternately toned in grey and different shades of black. And there were no vegetation to break the monotonous colours of black and highlight blue. It looked futuristic and at the same time, dismally ancient.

"We...aren't the first ones to try and tamper with the distortion world." The organizer spoke up and everyone turned to face her, "I've read about this place...I can't believe it actually exists!" White gained an animated sparkle into her eye and Musha crooned from its perch on top of her peak cap. "Years ago, I researched on a background for a film the movie studio asked me to direct and I came across this whilst divulging in ancient myths. Black City...Wow..."

"Black City?" As in a city named after Black?" Gold piped up discourteously and received several scowls from his peers, "right, I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to make a joke...I think it's rather nice to have an ancient city in his name...If we decide to develop this place, let's keep the same name. Black City has nice ring to it."

They lapsed into silence and Pearl noticed Platina's porcelain visage scrunch up delicately. She seemed to be bothered by something so he spoke up: "Is there anything wrong missy?" Diamond stopped gorging on his berries and offered the half bitten ones to his Lax; the creature gobbled them up delightfully.

She swept her inky irises over the town one more time before replying, "It is considered taboo to meddle with dimensions belonging to deity monsters and yet there is evidence of someone doing it." Silver questioned if she had an idea of this 'someone' tinkering with the distortion world and the noble looked up and answered, "Apart from the nobles of Ransei, I can't think of anyone." A short, terse silence passed and she continued, "the reason they make it taboo for the others is because they want to monopolize everything. In ancient times, they crowned themselves as the sovereign of the Poke-verse and as time passed, the different regions rebelled and gained their freedom. The nobles of Ransei still influence the course and history of the world and I believe this is an archaic project they dabbled in..."

"You don't believe...you know." Blue quietly pointed out and the girl hung her head, "I suppose the Berlitz family owns the records of how this place had been built. It's fine Platina." the brown haired woman tossed her hair and smiled, "you didn't have to tell us this and we all have secrets we cannot tell." The heiress dipped her head gratefully and stiffly stared ahead. She knew of Black City and all its secrets, she knew that her lineage had been responsible for constructing this small, vacant city as a means to assert their supremacy over the entire Poke-world. Unfortunately, an interprovincial war broke out with the neighbouring factions and the project had been abandoned and forgotten. When the main family split and a faction of them fled to Mainland Sinnoh, they stole the records and buried them in a crypt constructed in an Island off Sinnoh. She read her family's history, they hailed from Nixtorm and the Berlitz family had maintained ties with the main branch. "Come on, let's go and explore this mysterious Black City!" Blue's cheerful tone forced Platina out of her ponderings and they group hopped and partially floated their way to the morbid town. There seemed to be no difference if viewed up close. The environment remained miserably silent and not a single patch of green grass nor a tree could be seen. Towers and single units of black buildings stretched in every way. To their delight, Ruby and Sapphire stumbled upon a fully functional Pokemon centre. The ancient machines hummed, groaned and sputtered to life.

"How do you suppose they made this thing?" Green questioned and rubbed his fingers against the ebony glass, "do the ancient texts say anything? Is it due to their influence that the distortion world can accommodate humans?" the queries kept on coming and Platinum listened to them before structuring a reply, "...the biological makeup of humans and pokemon are different, they can survive in harsh environments which could be rather hazardous to human health. So I presume Giratina did not create this human friendly atmosphere, it didn't need to and it can't, the only one capable of such a feat is Rayquaza...What do you think?" Oak queried further and she beheld her senior crouch down and run his hands along the tourmaline surfaces of the domiciles. The technology used in here were antediluvian, she spied a machine which handled apricorn balls instead of pokeballs and an acupuncture table used to treat pokemon living out of capsules. Clearly they were Ransei's influence, till today, the nobles preferred to treat their pokemon using natural methods rather than stuffing them into a ball and letting digital healers doing the work.

"The theory is the same...However the steps are different. In order to not draw attention to their risqué ventures, the Nixtorm family captured a single legendary at any given time and released them in here. This city has been painstakingly constructed in one of Ransei's provinces and then teleported here using a teleportation ring. The ring consisted of psychic type pokemon arranged in a circle according to their levels; the higher levelled pokemon superimposed the lower levelled ones and thus created a portal which penetrated into the distortion world." Green nodded in understanding and got up; he brushed his cargo pants free of fine black dust. "The material making up this city is known as meteoric iron and it is native to Ransei. It is a mineral similar to the ones making up moonstones, evolutionary pieces and Arceus' plates. I'm not sure why they chose such gothic looking architecture...But it imparts a futuristic sense." Oak nodded in agreement, "As you know, evolutionary stones never degrade, no matter how much time passes so it makes sense to construct the city out of it. For unknown reasons, the family abandoned the project and thus this mass still floats here."

One by one, the voyaging groups of duos and trios returned to the centre of the city and stood near a terminal. Green unloaded the backpack from his shoulders and regarded the expectant faces peering back at him.

Suddenly, he felt intimidated.

All around him, the universe stretched into vast, fathomless depths and even with high magnification devices; they could not perceive a way out. He didn't know how to get out of here. Staying in the reverse would be tantamount to suicide. They would be reduced to fine particles of dust should they accidentally get in the way of a warring mythical pokemon. He wished Red were here to spout some nonsense or offer some helpful advice, at least having his best friend near him would distract his mind from waltzing with cynical thoughts. In the periphery of his vision, he observed Constellate's commander give him a gentle smile and squeeze his arm comfortingly, she mouthed a few words and he nodded weakly. They had to do this...the organization ventured too far for one of their superiors to get cold feet and back out.

He could do this.

No. He must do this.

Ruby stepped back with his team mates when Green ordered them too. The huddled against each other and watched cautiously as the spiky haired leader, along with Blue, emptied the sack on the black paved ground and pick a purple capsule up. Crimson irises caught a glimpse of the creature within...Kyogre. He briefly shut his eyes as images of his paralyzed father flashed in his brain. A calloused hand found its way to his own and he instinctively tightened his willowy fingers against Sapphire's short ones. The girl looked at him with uncertainty hazing her lazuline irises and he resisted the urge to pull her close and bury his face in her neck. Pinching himself, the ebony haired teenager merely smiled consolingly in return and gasped silently when the sea monster popped out. Scizor, charizard X, mega blastoise and a ditto leered at the legendary water type. The creature belched a mouth full of water, ogled at them impassively and dove off into the blue darkness. Releasing a breath they didn't know they held, the two commanders grinned shakily and wrung out water from their clothes. Blue picked up another capsule and freed the tepid creature within the glass and metal confines. Cresselia materialized and at the exact moment, a large, full moon decorated the uneven canopy of a sky.

"Look!" Crystal exclaimed and involuntarily clutched Silver and Gold closer to her, "it's working!" With renewed confidence, they let go of more pokemon and to their astonishment, none of them harmed a hair on their heads. Perhaps they understood that they are in the realm of a much stronger, a much greater existence than their own. The unfettered pokemon dove off into the unknown depths and vanished from view. A newly transpired moon poured argent light over their sable surroundings and made the area more mysterious and frightening. By the time the last pokemon, Groudon, was released; the floating island stopped their aimless hovering and began to converge into bigger masses.

And then.

Diamond's Pokeball ruptured. The lord of the titans lifted an obelisk-esque arm and a thick golden chain, reminiscent of the ones tying Black City down, erupted from its fist and dug into the base of the nearest islet. With a vicious tug, Regigigas pulled the mass closer and it collided with Black City's rocky platform. An earthquake originated from the point of collision and Gold rushed to Diamond and Pearl and pulled them away from the legendary golem. The earlier sense of security shattered when Kyogre and Groudon emerged seemingly out of nowhere and conducted an elemental battle between themselves. Worst of all, a different looking Rayquaza observed them placidly. Oak took one look at the serpentine monster, at its jaw and the glowing tendrils streaming behind it and knew the mythical being regressed into its primordial form.

Chaos erupted everywhere. The distortion world sported rips and tears. Darkrai and Cresselia brawled with each other and at times, ominous black clouds obscured the silver disk hanging in the sky. Black City shuddered as the titans slammed more and more pieces of land into it, constructing some sort of continental jigsaw. Cold and hot winds blew, gravity strengthened and gave up altogether. Flowers and trees sprouted only to wilt and die of their own accord or be consumed by Groudon's fiery inferno.

In the midst of them all, a huddle of people pressed closer to each other and gaped at their uncanny environment. The lacerations in the fabric of the world widened.

Widened.

Till one could view the Poke-verse through huge gashes. Silver glimpsed the snow-capped mountains of Sinnoh on one side and the twinkling lights of Kalos' numerous metropoles through the other.

A blackish-grey mass oozed out of the cracks.

They chattered, pushed and shoved.

Spiralling in through the rends.

And the creators of Arceus descended on the distortion world with fury.

* * *

 **Arc 3:**

 **I cannot undo**

 **What I have done;**

 **I can't un-sing**

 **A song that's sung**

 **And the saddest thing**

 **About my regret**

 **I can't forgive me**

 **And you can't forget**

End

* * *

 **A/N:** I have to confess, Black City both intrigued and creeped me out for some reason, anyway, last chapter of Arc 3 which is tied to the first chapter of this Arc, feel free to read the two of them together for better clarity. Did not expect Diamond to become the new commander? Heh, lovely twist of events no? At Guest 1: Frozen together and tossed in the sea…Wow, that's…well, at least Lack-2 got payback in this story since Colress got tossed in the sea :P Strong sense of justice can sometimes blind a person and in some cases, outweigh their own empathy for others so they end up like Lack-2. Just think about war veterans…their sense of justice prompts them to fight for their country and they come back wishing they never went in the first place. L-2 is unaware of the finer details, so is W-2 (if you recall, she went with Blue) At Silver: People hate to take responsibility huh? Che, thanks for reminding me. Found a new survival tip :) Red unnerving the guards during interrogation? Heh. Your half-baked theory 1 is way more plausible than theory two. Authorities can't legally use the memory trick? Says who? Lol, look forward to the interrogation process though. At AceTrainerLeaf: Yep, they planted L-2 because the only way to get to them is via infiltration, very thorough no? Police and intelligence can be extremely cunning when they need to. Red grinning is just a way to unnerve L-2, who is understandably hated by the ex-leader. Red's deployment to Ransei happens in the 2nd chapter of Arc 4 so look forward to that. At Green: Whoa! The almighty Green! Pretty sure that you are wallowing in despair, but hold on, your friend will come back…eventually.

At Jack54311: Yep, Gold is obviously sad/angry about the whole affair. As for L-2's changes, read on to find out. L-2 does have other pokemon and Red is counting on his merry gang of idiots to bust him out. Of course he is confident. At sakurafox1218: I read about Black getting sucked into the white stone when I did some research. Felt like someone punched me in the gut. Will L-2 be discharged from the Police? Heh. Pibo is too young to comprehend the events around him, and if you noticed, L-2 always stuffs him out of sight when things get rough. I'm sorry, I don't know anything about the X/Y chapters, I haven't played the game and therefore did not read the manga due to possible spoilers. At Guest 2: Hi, it's going fine, just too much rain. I do think the pokemon take on characteristics of their current owners (Pika is an example and that chapter in the manga when Red and Green switch their pokemon also alludes to this fact). Perhaps the personality of the human rubs off on the creatures, seems like the most plausible theory to me. As for the champions, I like to think that some of them are bred for this purpose…like Cynthia and Iris for example. Others undergo heavy training and make it up their through sheer will (Red and Alder comes to mind). At Guest 3: Ahahaha, your scenarios were really funny. Dia and Blue holding a mass cooking class is something I'd very much like to see…unfortunately it doesn't happen in this fic. Someone…please make it happen, I'll give you cookies/cake/pizza/granadillas. Thanks for making me laugh :D At Guest 4: Green is a genius, he probably re-configured the Pokedexes in order to store additional information.

Once again, much thanks for all those who read and reviews. Virtual chocolates and cakes to all of you. Keep on reading and reviewing. The last arc is coming up, till then.


	65. Nascency

**Arc four:**

 **The buildings crumbled down into scrap metal.**

 **Architects failed to see their structural flaws until it was too late**

 **Blueprints told stories of what would come**

 **I'm a constructor that helped build a titanic mistake**

 **We build on land that was unstable**

 **We were born to fail**

 **Born to taste the ground of defeat.**

* * *

 **Chapter 65: Nascency**

Emotions...Cyrus didn't like to delve in them, he preferred to be rational and straight to the point. Robotic. It's how he designed his underlings to function after all. Emotions muddled the mind, there were an indefinite concept and thus could not be calculated or relied upon. The Galactic grunts operated with inhuman efficiency, he stripped them from their individual minds and connected each of them to a group. Of course stripping a person of their minds would wholly destroy them, however, tinkering with psychic pokemon, electromagnetic waves and humans helped him in structuring the hive mind system. When he saw his grunts at work, he couldn't help but be the tiniest bit proud. Only the barest amount. Without feelings, without spirit, they functioned as one and the margin of error remained minimal. Unfortunately, even with his glorious Team Galactic, he suffered defeat at the hands of a brat. Three brats to be precise. Often times, Cyrus found himself thinking and he attributed his downfall to his raw passions. If he controlled his sentiment and did not allow himself to get angry, his judgement would have remained clear and he could teach those upstarts a lesson. Alas, the universe does not spin according to a single individual's desires and more than a year later, he now stood at the summit of Mount Coronet; the mellow wind of the evening brushed through his stiff, spiked hair and he clasped his hands behind his back and observed wondrously. Just for tonight, he promised, he will let amazement course through his veins. His tiny irises shifted and beheld the Sinnoh natives as they posed themselves at their respective points. The indolent one had his cheeks littered with rice as he sat on mamoswine and kept a respectable distance behind Dialga. Opposite them, the blonde boy haphazardly dodged attacks, his flame tinted irises burning with ambition and desire. The third, a noble female, stood some distance in front of him, her face angled to the moon. Cyrus felt an inexplicable emotion every time he saw the three teenagers and these ranged from downright disgust, to respect and warm approval.

And he hated himself for feeling these sentiments.

A seam formed on the moon and for the next few moments, time stood still. To him, the world became monotone and he witnessed the lord of the underworld making an appearance. How bold. To think a group of children and inexperienced people dragged the creation trio into the Poke-verse. He had seen pictures of Giratina in the books, in scientific papers and the ghost legendary had been depicted in various forms of art. None of them captured the magnificence of seeing the beast up close and personal. Like most ghost types, the renegade pokemon instilled a measure of fear with its presence but the fear he experienced was undiluted. Primal. Unfiltered and pouring into his very core. The serpentine monster slithered out of the crack of the Poke-world and changed into a different forme. At once, time flowed again as Diamond moved into action. The brilliant red chain came alive and gleamed lustrously in his chubby hands, the boy charged blindly and managed to secure the crystals around Dialga's groaning form. Cyrus gasped involuntarily, his mouth hung open. Do these children have no veneration for the creation legendries? He spied their faces, blank as a slate, when Pearl hefted his restraint up and effortlessly snaked it over Palkia. The two mythical beasts roared in tandem and to his utter astonishment, none of them blinked. He watched the males strain at the unbreakable chains and with gargantuan effort of both master and pokemon, painstakingly dragged the time and space titans away from each other. Golden tiles ripped up underfoot and when those monsters realized that struggling only added to their predicament, they simply remained docile.

He conjured up an image.

The image of distilled terror.

Tourmaline liquid gurgled down a funnel and dripped slowly on his consciousness. Staining it to the darkest form of black.

Spreading it across and seeping his entire being with a mystifying sense of dread.

He couldn't describe it.

However, it made him feel alive.

A sick sense of satisfaction pervaded through him on seeing Giratina visibly recoil when the Red chain crawled over his form. The Sinnoh born stayed deadly quiet and dutifully held on to the ends of the chains as the lariats bound their quarry and bit into their hides. The tension amongst the Dex criminals heightened, he saw his employer look over the heads of her department members and her lazuline irises locked on to him. A brief gleam passed her eyes before she tartly commanded him and Charon to traverse the distortion world in order to check if it's safe for the rest of her lackeys to enter. Charon trembled and adjusted his glasses nervously, the older man broke out in a cold sweat and the collar of his shirt dampened. Letting go of his clasped hands, Cyrus merely nodded and fearlessly strode into the alternate universe. For the first in a long time, he felt thrilled. He felt alive. His pupils dilated with pleasure as he crossed from one world to another. A queer sensation overtook him and this lasted for a moment, his breathing increased and his heart fluttered faster. Quite suddenly, the distortion world unfolded before him and he exhaled softly. Devoid of life and spirit, masses of land floated about aimlessly and water flowed backwards. He perceived no sun, yet a heady warmth perfused the area and enabled strange vegetation to grow.

"Is it safe?" He heard the words coming from a different dimension and he replied in affirmative. A sense of urgency seeped into Cyrus' actions as he ordered Charon to move. They gained their freedom and nothing will ever force him back into the Poke-world again. To him, this spiritless, lifeless and lawless world painted the ideal utopia. Ignoring his aide's sputtering warning and heated excuses, he marched to the edge of the rocky platform they currently occupied and jumped right off. A surprise waited for him when instead of plunging to the abysmal depths, he alighted on a second platform of rock. His astonished reflection stared back at him from a pool of shimmering liquid which Cyrus suspected might not be water. He waved to Charon and the man followed suit, resolving to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the Dex Criminals. Together they whizzed away into a strange dimension and the two Galactic members caught glimpses of the outside world through the reflective surfaces. The sky, a broken canvas of multiple shades of blue, each showed a different time of the day, halves of the moon and sun peeked out from different fragments and for a minute, they stood hypnotized. Curiously, Cyrus did not see any pokemon inhabiting this world and he wondered if Giratina was responsible for such a mismatched environment. The more he saw, the more convinced he felt that people had already tampered with the world. And by the looks of it, the process did not proceed as planned. Inwardly he snorted, how will the Pokedex holders reshape this universe?

Because to him, it was perfect already.

* * *

Unknown time

Distortion world

Unknown location

Time passed...Or maybe it stopped flowing altogether. Cyrus could not tell. The duo flitted aimlessly and every time he glimpsed a hair of his captors, he turned the opposite way and ran. To his utter dismay, the leader of team Galactic did not have the chance to land at a city towering with black, futuristic buildings. He had a premonition that the Dex-criminals would alight and initiate their grandiose plans there. They wanted to turn the reverse world into a physical manifestation of their dreams and hopes. In a way, it's the ultimate desire of every human being to be content. But their happiness will just be an illusion and nothing more. Jumping off a platform orbiting the sub-continent, Cyrus and Charon hid themselves behind a boulder and some green undergrowth; they keenly observed the other party branching out and investigating the sable town. Then the group converged in the city centre and this time the two department leaders bravely released the legendary pokemon they painstakingly gathered for the past three years. Instantaneously, changes in the world occurred. The sky became uniform and a sliver moon hung in the flawless blue-black canopy. When the titans were released, Regigigas made an appearance and begun pulling other landmasses to the centre and connected them to the large one supporting the City of Black buildings, to Cyrus' alarm, the little island they hid in floated closer and closer and a large golden chain hooked into the base of the isle and an ice titan reeled it in. Quickly, the two men emerged from their hiding place and scrambled away. The smaller pieces merged into one giant earthen jigsaw and the golems drew them in like magnets.

They found themselves hopping form one piece of land to the other.

A chase against time.

But time did not flow in this world, his mind argued.

Or maybe it did.

After all, Celebi, the time traveller and offshoot of Dialga, currently flew about on tiny transparent wings and the abrupt shifting of the winds, reminiscent of the distortion world, stopped.

Then...

A legendary war broke out.

Screwing a pair of sophisticated binoculars to his eyes, Cyrus watched, with apprehension and a trace of glee, as the mythical beasts warred with one another. The most captivating battle was conducted in the sky, between the lunar duo. Cresselia, its swan-esque body highlighted by the moon, expertly entwined itself between tendrils of mellifluous darkness. Darkrai zipped up and down, dousing the environment with a thick dusky smoke which choked the surroundings and killed anything it touched. A sparking dust dissipated the cloying sheet of sable and the morbid mood lifted. At times, thick grey clouds obscured the moon and Cresselia fired back with aurora beams. The multi-coloured beams froze on contact and tucked away in one corner of the world, Cyrus observed Darkrai being completely frozen over, it's nemesis hummed gently and levitated. Moments later, a thick cloak of black engulfed the ice coffin and it shattered whilst the pitch black pokemon emerged unscathed from the fragments. The duo resumed their brawling and Darkrai closed in; fashioning a multitude of extra appendages from its shapeless mass and trapping Cresselia in it. No other legendary creature came to help and they all seemed to busy themselves with their own battles. Strangely, Rayquaza, regal in its primordial form, placidly watched over Kyogre and Groudon. The sea basin pokemon suspended a violent vortex of water above the towering skyscrapers of the city and swam in it, tidal waves summoned from within the whirlpool surged towards Groudon and the continental pokemon countered with plumes of lava; the two elements met in mid-air and hot, liquid mud rained down on the city and soiled the impeccable surfaces of Black City.

A huge shadow clouded the reverse world and everyone looked up to see Cresselia thrashing in the confines of Darkrai's vice grip. The ghost pokemon drew closer and the psychic type appeared visibly sick, its iridescent wings stopped buzzing and lost their shine whilst her enemy's single cyan eye glowed brighter still. It moved with an insidious gait and as her enemy approached, a brilliant shaft of light, fired directly from the moon, completely tore through Darkrai's protective shadows and scattered the smoky existence apart. A puff of black billowed outwards, the restraints turned into dust and floated to the ground. Cresselia straightened up, healed herself with the power moon and hovered in the sky, ushering in a sense of calmness with her presence. Several legendary beasts halted in their brawling in order to accept her. A black ring formed around the moon and the disjointed remains of Darkrai cast an ominous eclipse on the argent disk.

Celebi and Shaymin glared at each other. Gracidea flowers grew plentifully in the distorted world and the little creature took the liberty of gnawing one off from its stalk and transforming in the sky forme with it. They floated a couple of meters above the ground and beneath them, flowers and tiny plants struggled to grow through the cracks of the black brick pavement. A whoosh of fire, spewed by some fire monster, charred the patch of greenery into cinders and Shaymin pulled the pollution in its body and purified the air. The two half grass types stared at each other for a moment longer and inwardly came to a unanimous decision. Whirling on Ho-oh who conducted an aerial battle with Lugia and the elemental birds, the duo attacked. A seed flare torpedoed marble sized seeds and pelted the rainbow pokemon. Some of the projectiles hit the delicate wing bones and it shattered with a satisfying snap. The phoenix disengaged from its brawl with Articuno and faced Celebi, the onion fairy hovered unflinchingly. It took Ho-oh a moment to rearrange its seven toned plumage before diving for the time traveller. Celebi sidestepped, it opened a shimmering portal in mid-air and the mythical bird plunged into it and flew out of the other side seconds later.

It promptly crashed to the ground.

On closer inspection, the Dex-criminals saw a chick opening and closing its mouth. Infantile Ho-oh did not have a crest and its downy feathers glowed a bright gold and lime green. The tiny bird tweeted pitifully, snuggled in Crystal's palm and tucked its head behind a miniscule wing. Up above, the time travel pokemon surveyed its work and huffed in satisfaction. This will be the fate of anyone who dares to disrupt Celebi. Groudon and Kyogre spared the fairy-esque creature a glance and quickly took the battle someplace else. Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno stopped trying to slice each other into ribbons and hastily subdued Lugia who began flapping its wings. Together with Shaymin, Celebi set up five portals around the edge of Black city and the air around them warped. The time travelling pokemon plunged into the first circle and methodically came out of the other, each time it soared out of a time gate, a forest sprung up and the gratitude pokemon set to work in maintaining it. Some of the other legendary pokemon halted in their combat in order to observe the duo at work and Jirachi, who floated aimlessly across the rapidly darkening sky, woke up lazily and the eye on its belly gradually opened, revealing an ebony iris. The titans, who shifted the landmasses and pieced them together as one, filled the corners of the continent with their elements. Regice shaped a frozen wasteland in the north eastern corner and Regirock drew flat plains of barren earth and fertile land. Registeel filled the earth with precious metals, stones and other minerals humans might need in order to go about their daily lives. Regigigas allowed life to flourish and with a loud grunt and a colossal heave of its chains, reined in a particularly large island, the isle collided with Black City and sent tremors rippling through the continent.

Clouds obscured the sky.

The white puffs eventually darkened.

Pregnant with water and ice.

And it began to rain.

Crystal shielded the chick Ho-oh from the deluge as it uttered a drawn out chirp. The band of humans stood in the city centre and huddled from the downpour. Strangely, the rain felt revitalizing instead of depressing and the water starved plants greedily lapped up the moisture and grew in size. Shaymin regressed into its land forme and frolicked gleefully in a patch of bright flowers. Over to one side, Articuno sent a chilling breeze and it danced with the rain. Some of the droplets morphed into snowflakes and drifted peacefully to the ground. Soon, the awestruck Pokedex holders found themselves kicking up snow. They were too afraid to play in it though because in the next second, the snow melted and the liquid around their feet outright evaporated under the harsh rays of an unforgiving sun. The clouds vanished, their clothes steamed, dried and offered a welcome relief from waterlogged clothing.

How long would this continue?

Blue wondered and shielded her eyes from the abrasive rays. She could feel the pores shrinking as her body dehydrated. Glancing at her wristwatch, the woman was not surprised to see the second hand ticking at one spot. Time stopped behaving normally when they stepped into this world. The azure eyed female did not want to be here, alas, she couldn't see a way out. All around them, the darkness stretched out infinitely and if they had the unfortunate luck of getting in the way of the warring legendries, their fragile existence would rupture altogether. An unearthly roar snatched her attention away from her inner contemplations and to her horror, she witnessed Rayquaza take the field, it whipped Groudon on the side with its finned tail and plates of red exoskeleton chafed off. Kyogre had electric blue lines pulsing over its body and it fired a barrage of brilliant blue spheres. The energy projectiles tailed the emerald serpent and detonated on contact, scooping out muscle, flesh and severing nerves, glittering green blood spewed out and the lord of the skies uttered a pained cry. Regigigas, tired of all the uproar, unhooked a chain from a landmass and swung it across the dimension.

The fabric of reality ripped and the Dex-criminals gasped in tandem.

And the mythical beasts were too busy with settling personal scores in order to take note.

A legendary pokemon had their own space and function in the Poke-verse. They were designated to hold command of a certain element and do their duties for the proper maintenance of the earth. Each one of them had their own domain and these domains never crossed each other. Crossing over would mean a breach of trust and authority and by all means, they had the right to protect their pocket dimensions. Most of them did not live harmoniously; they were not created to be lumped together in a confined space. Century old grudges and bitter emotions rose to the surface and fuelled their instincts, egging them on to cause chaos in the world. The distortion world was Giratina's realm, the ghost type perfused it with his essence of malice and spite and these lingering feelings drove the other mythical beasts about. Normally docile and in charge of mediating feuding legendary pokemon, Rayquaza flailed about, it's pockmarked body a sore sight for any eyes. More rips and tears materialized in the distortion world and to their surprise and alarm, the humans could view the outside world through the gashes. They beheld Sinnoh as well as the towering pagodas and elegantly designed castles of Ransei. Kalos spread out before them, a giant playground with its twinkling lights and tasteful architecture whilst Alola remained dark and mysterious, the islands and their respective tribal customs a secret to the Criminal group. Through another laceration, the bell tower came into view, its golden spike gleaming an aeriform gold and Crystal held out chick Ho-oh closer to her.

In between the rips and tears, the humans noticed a greyish mass pulsing and wriggling at the seams. They seemed to be flying in from the outside world and soon, the partial skies of Unova, Kalos, Sinnoh, Hoenn and other regions became clouded with this greyish dust. Green squinted…what were those things? With a chatter which rattled his brains, the denizens poured inside the distortion world.

Unown.

The creators of Arceus. His mouth fell open as the Sinnoh trio informed him the pokemon were found in ruins. Platina further added that whilst they were extremely weak individually, they could create things beyond the scope of human imagination when grouped together. Diamond and Pearl seemed delighted by the symbol pokemon's appearance but the rest of the members watched with dread. The area above them had a swarm of unown whizzing about and they poured inside the distortion world from all directions. Green's eyes flitted about restlessly from one gash to the other and his mind whirred as it tried to calculate a safe trajectory to the nearest spatial rip.

He swallowed.

They would never make it.

Not at this rate.

Not between roars rending air apart and certainly they could not afford to traverse across a space filled with countless unown and heat seeking energy spheres.

Suddenly his vision blurred.

He blinked and saw Blue rubbing her eyes.

And everyone started doing the same.

Strategy's commander observed all the members blinking and rubbing their eyes. Crystal let go of Ho-oh and the little bird flapped its wings, descended gently to the ground and squeaked pathetically. To their alarm, their vision tunnelled to one particular spot and started fading all together. Silver pressed his palms against his eyelids and opened them up again. He couldn't see anything at all, not even a prick of light. His fogging mind added to his growing anxiety and he was unable to think properly. Gold and the others spoke but he could not understand their words, their speech came muffled, like they were underneath a deep pit of water. A gurgling noise in his ears grew in intensity till it drowned everything around him. Silver pulled his hair and felt no pain, he pinched himself and realized that a sensation of numbness pervaded his body, the Johto native tried to talk, he eventually resorted to screaming but only a muted whisper escaped his lips. His consciousness folded and the last thing he recalled; was struggling to say his own name.

* * *

Afternoon

Sinnoh

Beneath Mount Coronet

"..re you... -ake?" Crystal opened her eyes and tried to make sense of her surroundings.

"Are you awake?" A monotone voice asked and the person sharpened into focus, a silver chain dangled right in front of her face and she saw the simple locket reflect the watery sun's rays as the light streamed through a porthole window. Silver, who sat on a wooden chair next to her bed, looked paler than ever and his cheekbones jutted out in unattractive angles, a curtain of red hair obscured part of his face and she curbed the urge to reach up and push it away. Sporting a black, high collared t-shirt, the male leaned back and added, "She's awake Gold; better get her something to eat." Instead of heading out of the room, the amber eyed individual took of his peak cap, ran a hand through his messy hair and plopped unceremoniously on her bed. Crystal wanted to kick him right off and then decided against it when he smiled mildly and traced his fingers across her cheek. "...I'll go get her something to eat..." Silver sighed and got up, his friend waited till he left the bare room before asking her a question of his own.

"You okay?" She nodded, her parched throat prevented speech and she desperately wanted a drink of water. "That's cool; you've been out for three days." Gold informed her and kicked his legs in the air in a childish manner, he slipped his hand underneath the covers and fumbled around, eventually he located her hand and grasped it tightly. "I got scared...Silver too and Emerald curled up into a ball and started wailing about how you will die. In fact, everyone worried about you..." he paused awkwardly and held on to her tighter, "...I'll stop with the depressing words. Welcome back Crys." He grinned again and she noted the almost defeated look in his eyes. There seemed to be no mischief dancing in his golden irises and she managed a smile of her own. "Do you remember what happened?" he queried and she shook her head. "Oh...that's the main problem we are facing...All of a sudden we are all clonked out in the middle of the room downstairs and no one knows why, not even Green." Gold nodded at Crystal's inquisitive look. The girl threw off her covers, blushed when she saw herself clad only in a silk nightgown and pulled them up again. Holding up the duvet, she manoeuvred herself in a sitting position and stared out of the grimy window. Three days...What happened three days ago for all of them to simultaneously fall into a coma? Her eyes caught the expanse of snow surrounding the base of Mount Coronet and she tried to think. Unfortunately, thinking proved to be painful.

The door opened and Silver sidestepped to allow Emerald in, the short teen jumped on the bed and threw his arms around her. Gold forcibly pulled the Hoenn native away and the duo began bickering. Accepting the glass of water from her red headed friend, she greedily drunk it up in one gulp and uttered a satisfied sigh. Thereafter, she commanded them to leave the room and kicked Gold out because the man decided to stay put. Shivering from the cold draft which managed to sneak its way in from under the door, the Johto female got up from bed, winced at her stiffened joints and muscles and made her way to the clothes rack nailed to the far end of a peeling wall. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and stopped to stare. Her cheeks had sunk in, her skin was unnaturally dry and her hair looked worse than a staraptor's nest. She thought of Silver, perhaps they weren't so visually different after all. Pulling off her nightgown, Crystal donned a new set of clothes and grappled with the buttons, her fingers didn't obey her commands. Taming her fizzy hair, she styled it into two ponytails and fixed her trusty hat on her head. It felt too heavy. Clipping her pokeball belt on her waist, she checked herself one last time in the mirror.

A sad face stared back at her, she hated this. She wanted to be out. Crystal wanted to tell the truth to them.

Downstairs, Gold hollered her name and she flinched, the face in the mirror didn't smile at his affectionate tone, exhaling dejectedly, she smacked her cheeks and put on a cheery smile before vacating the room.

The three commanders sat crammed in their shared bedroom. Two watched the third one as he hunched over a bunch of notes and scratched his head in an irritated manner. Diamond unwrapped a roll and took a moment to eye his late lunch before forcing half of it into his mouth, next to him, Blue burned holes in Green's back. Strategy's commander muttered to himself for the umpteenth time, scribbled on sheet of paper and after mumbling some more, scrunched up the sheet and threw it over his head. It bonked Dia square on the head before bouncing off and joining the other scrunched up paper balls on the floor. Ignoring the two adults, Dia thought about what he and Pearl could do today, Missy caught a cold and they had the responsibility of caring for her. Platinum vehemently refused to contact her parents and even though he'd never admit it to her face, he realized that she looked very cute when she was sick. Pearl kicked up a fuss as usual, the guy hassled over everything. The monotony of seeing Green work, broke when Blue kicked a paper ball away, the sun started descending and with it, the atmosphere cooled down. A terse silence stretched and only the sound of rustling paper and Diamond's eating punctuated the stillness.

"Aren't you tired by now?" Blue interjected and Green grunted something incomprehensible, "Green! Stop writing and look at us for a minute." The man straightened up, pushed his hair backwards and rotated to face them; he had shadows underneath his eyes. "Well? Did your toiling for the past three days amount to something?" Constellate's leader harshly queried, "You don't remember a single bit of information do you?" Her co-worker said nothing and instead fixated on Diamond's donut, the boy was about to shove the last bit in, instead he offered the half-eaten pastry to the spiky haired individual. Blue sighed; no way would Oak eat that.

"Are you hun-gry Commander Green?" Dia asked and held out his bitten doughnut.

To their surprise, he leaned forward and accepted it, "Famished..." he intoned and after eyeing the edges warily, he ate the pastry up. "I'm so hungry I can't think straight" he admitted and faced Blue, "I can't remember anything at all...no one can and I'm trying to understand this phenomenon."

"...Go ahead and kill some of your brain cells while you're at it." Blue delivered sarcastically and rolled her eyes, "we have to get to wor-"

"Diamond" Green ignored her and cut in her words, "what is the last thing you remember?" he questioned and leaned forward.

The indolent teen stuffed a berry back in his food pouch and focused on the Kanto native, "I was help-ing Pearl make soup for Missy, she is very sick." He solemnly added and Blue burst out laughing. Green twitched and sighed...Okay, not the right answer, the Sinnoh native decided and spoke up again, "do you mean before the mass coma?" Strategy's leader replied in affirmative, "Oh...You shou-ld've just said so..." this remark sent Blue snorting some more and the lady grabbed him and hugged him tightly. "The last thing I reme-mber...Hmm, we were looking at the Red chains and you told us that it only respo-nds to those born in Sinnoh. Then we set a date aside to open the disto-rtion world... a clear day with no clouds, minimal wind and a full moon. We hiked up Mount Coronet during the evening and used our pokemon as scouts in case any helic-opters or drones fly overhead... Finally, we reached Spear Pillar and senior Green used the time and space orbs to summon Dialga and Palkia." Dia could never forget the heart stopping feeling on seeing the legendary duo in flesh and blood. His breath stopped when Dialga traversed to their world. The moment he did so, the blue jewel in Green's palm shattered into fragments. For a moment, a slight wrinkle in time occurred before reality resumed its natural course. After picking his jaw up from the floor, Diamond summoned Moo and hurriedly went to his designated place behind Dialga, with Palkia's appearance, the duo dissolved into a fight and this war happened to be the key to force Giratina out of his distortion realm. "The space ripped and Giratina appe-ared. Pearl and I got to work and I chained Dialga up...Huh? Oh no...It wasn't that difficult" The teenager responded to Blue's question, "the chain weakened Dialga consi-derably and it tied itself up. Then...Then...I remember going into this fuzzy world and my head hurts if I think about it. I'm sorry, that's all I can recall."

"You have done enough...In fact your memories and everyone else's' end just there, we simply can't remember what happened further. My hypothesis is that we found some place and released the legendary pokemon...Since I don't have them anymore." Green tapped his fingers on the stained oak desk, "although the success of our project is another matter altogether." The male scowled at nothing and drummed his fingers harder on the table, "more importantly, I'm starting to wonder about the effects of not having any legendary pokemon in the Poke-verse. I suppose it will cause some changes, be it minute or drastic, in this world...I hate to think that this dimension will become uninhabitable..."

Blue got up and smoothed her jeans down, "We could ask Platina," she said, "the girl knows a lot of information we don't. Dia, I know she is sick but this is an important matter, could you take us to her room?" The chubby boy nodded and brushed away crumbs and food residue from his cheeks. Kicking away papers, the trio made their way out of the small bedroom and alighted in the main chamber. The three departments did not have the luxury of individual common rooms any longer and thus, most activities were conducted in one of the two large rooms making up the first floor of the base. In one corner, a blazing fire danced in a stone fireplace and warded off the perpetual chill of Sinnoh's ice-capped mountain ranges. Pulling his muffler tighter around his neck, Dia waved to Sapphire and Ruby, the duo sat with Crystal and busied themselves with books or in Ruby's case, sewing up a new disguise. On the opposite end, Gold bore down on Whi-2 and Silver gave his friend a good kick in his behind, White hurried past them, with Musha frantically tailing after and she had several thick files in her arms. "It just occurred to me that Cyrus and Charon aren't here anymore..." Blue paused thoughtfully and slowly ascended the stairs, "...Wow, I can't think I missed their presence, since we woke up, they haven't been with us. Green pointed that there might be a possibility of them escaping whilst the rest of the Organization was still in a coma, "True, however I'd be able to track them till the ends of the earth," she fished out a cell phone and peered into it, "they are not in this world anymore."

The conversation lulled when they stopped in front of Platinum's door. Like the rest of them, she shared a room with Pearl and Yellow once Diamond moved into the Commander's chamber. The noble was fast asleep, her navy blue hair spilling like ink over stark white sheets. On hearing the slight creak of the door as it opened on rusting hinges, she woke up, pale eyelids fluttering and giving way to inkwell-esque irises. The noble grabbed her robe off a nearby chair, slipped it over porcelain white skin and beckoned her friends to enter. Platinum Berlitz never experienced such shabby living conditions but there was a certain thrill in living such a disordered life. The wall mirror had a large crack through it and the plaster crumbled off in several places. Central heating did not work and when a blizzard hit, which happened often in these unpredictable mountains, she beheld the room frosting and freezing over. Icicles formed on the ceiling and dripped bitterly cold water and sometimes the new generator gave them problems. The only sure indulgence were the hot springs and after a long day of work, she looked forward to soaking in them, the steaming water melted her fatigue away and gave her a refreshing sleep. The three commanders grabbed stools to sit on and converged around her, they had queries and she perceived their questioning gazes land on her. Pulling her hair into a messy bun, the head maid in her home would've admonished her severely, Platinum made herself comfortable and engaged in small talk, sooner or later, one of them will ask.

"What will happen if the legendary pokemon are not returned to this world?" Green fired first, the man kept to the point and she admired him for that.

"The balance of the world will break down senior Green." Platinum politely replied and brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, "Lord Arceus created the legendary pokemon in order to maintain this world and over time, if their presence is missed, it will spell disaster."

"We know" Blue breathed, "what Green wanted to ask is if there will be any long lasting negative effects in this world if we relocated the legendary pokemon? I read in some ancient scriptures that as long as those made for this universe inhabit this world in some form, then disaster will be averted. This prediction held true because we captured many of the legendary pokemon and kept them in special holding cells...And later master-balls and nothing drastic happened to our Poke-verse." The brown haired woman flipped her hair back and tried to control the overwhelming agitation in her voice. "Green suspects we let them loose in the distortion world, alas we can't really confirm that but what will happen to this world if-"

"Trans-lation please..." Diamond interjected, "and talk slowly, I don't understand half of what you are saying."

 _I don't understand half of what you are saying._ The two Kanto natives jolted and zeroed in on Diamond who shrunk under their scrutinizing gazes.

"..."

"..."

"Red...Used to always say the exact same thing..." Blue whispered and smiled sadly. Inhaling sharply, she fanned herself and opted to stare out of the window. "Let me explain to you, so listen carefully alright?" The teenager nodded and listened with rapt attention. "The legendary pokemon are made for his world right? And as long as they stay here, whether in a dormant, active or even in a shackled form, this Poke-world will continue to function normally. Legendary pokemon do not die easily and if they are killed in an accident or by another legendary pokemon. Their body dissolves and Ho-oh...Who is in charge of creation and re-birth, will fix their consciousness into a new body. Basically, the phoenix will resurrect them. However, what will happen if the mythical beasts are not dead but relocated somewhere?" Execution's new commander echoed her question and she pointed at Platina, "we came here in order to find out...But it seems we have no definite answers.

The room grew quiet as a grave and the last rays of the dying sun filtered through the window and touched upon the bare surroundings. "Merely musing about answers will yield no results and scratching our heads for supressed memories will do no good either." Platinum's normally crisp voice turned soft and she eyed the two older leaders and noted their slumped, subjugated expressions, "why don't we focus on finding and rescuing Senior Red instead? It shall lift the overall mood of the organization if they have something to do either than lazing around and wallowing in their despair." Her speech did not elicit any form of reaction from the Kanto natives; however, she saw an indignant spark flickering in Diamond's clouded irises.

* * *

 **A/N:** So sorry for taking so long to update, but I thought it would be a welcome break since this is the first chapter of the final arc. Once again, I'd like to thank each and every one for reading and reviewing. It gave me the motivation to continue this story. Please read and enjoy; and let me know what you think.

Much thanks to ThePhantomOfP3 for alerting the story, hopefully it continues to be an intriguing read for you. At Guest 1: I guess Yellow sees someone who needs a lot of love. And I think Green can be kind and/or considerate when he wants to be. He grumbles and she soothes, perfect no? At Jack54311: Food? They can forage for food (…just got reminded of my AoE playing days) Goofed? Are they really? At Guest 2: Blue taught her pokemon some old tricks. Since she is a con-artist/kidnapper, at times she has to acquire male clothes on the job. And that's were Wigglytuff comes in, no way in hell is she gonna take an unconscious guy's clothes off (the mental imagery might haunt her). At Guest 3: Dia is overwhelmingly sweet and devious. Personally, I think the characters in the D/P/Pt arc of the manga went through the most character growth and I wanted to explore that in this story. It's cold, rainy and misty where I live and the sun hardly comes out. I might even forget what the sun looks like :P At Eevee: Everything is going fine, thanks for asking…well apart from exams that's breathing down my back but I found that sleeping is very helpful. I'm actually busy studying and I hope everything is awesome by your side. Hugs and oranges for you :D (I like oranges…pity I can't substitute them for food.) And your review made me really happy btw. At sakurafox1218: I like to think that Arceus was created (unwittingly) by a bunch of Unown who just collided into each other. Black City was in the distortion world, Idk, how that city fits in Unova to be honest. Sometimes, I feel that Pearl is jealous of Dia's growth. Pearl is always controlling Dia so when the latter does break out and start making his own decisions, it proves to be a bit overwhelming.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, merely this story. The arc introductory quote is by by C. Ek**


	66. Age of turbulence

**Chapter 66: Age of turbulence**

Evening

Sinnoh

Veilstone

Twilight always brought a sense of foreboding along with it. The sun slipped behind the horizon which divided the earth and heavens. It went into hiding and left the world cowering and covered in shadows. When the four superintendents finally made up their minds to deport him to Ransei, he felt queer. Not exactly afraid, but a sense of profound loneliness, how would the rest of the Organization breach the imperial region and rescue him from there? Not even Professor Oak was allowed inside the highly guarded region without a special pass. And the police would keep an extra eye open for anyone entering or leaving the area. Truly Lack-2 thought through everything and he secretly admired the teenager's tenacity and determination to pull of such an elaborate plan. Ransei sat in the centre of the world, the cradle of humankind even though Sinnoh had been populated first. The landmass lied north east of Sinnoh and only imperial craft could get anywhere close to it. Today, when he rolled off his sparse mattress and fell on the grubby floor with a muffled thump, he looked up to see two guards eyeing him rather unpleasantly. At once, Red understood that they were not the normal Sinnoh region people; these personnel dressed in ancient garb and carried short swords. The bottom part of their faces had been obscured by a length of cloth emblazoned in some weird sign and their hands were hidden behind wide, bell shaped sleeves. With a snap, the gate to the dingy cell opened and before he could register their presences properly, one of them materialized in his face and pushed him back. When the ex-champion looked down at hands, the found them bound with thick, ornamental rope and a large, elaborate knot sat on top of the coils in teasing manner. They clasped him, stiff fingers dug into his shoulders and the two faceless men guided him out the cell with minimal force.

Outside of the perpetually gloomy cell, Red blinked against the harsh lights and smirked at Lack-2 who stood before him. Lt. Surge grabbed the ebony haired man by the chin, jerked it left and right and noted the faded scars on his skin. The man muttered about corrupt youth, trust and how unbelievable it was for a respected member of the public to give into crime. Pichu squeaked on seeing him and Lack-2 restrained it back inside a ball. Nodding to the posse of high ranking police members, one of the special guards produced a slim sheet of black cloth and wound it around Red's face and mouth, leaving his nose clear for breathing. Hands grabbed him and he went rigid when someone tore his jacket off effortlessly. They gripped his shirt and the crimson eyed man felt apprehensive...Were they going to strip him here? In front of two ladies and a brat? Thankfully, the hands simply patted him, pressing against his chest, stomach and right down to the awkward places and he shifted uncomfortably when the fingers traced around his neck and briefly put the slightest pressure on the hollow of his throat. With one hand, they could effortlessly strangle him and as they finished up their examination, he held his breath for as long as he could manage and only breathed weakly. Something sharp punctured him on the side of this throat, the tips of his fingers received the same treatment and he felt light headed and hazy. His head whirled and he imagined the world around him spinning in dizzying circles as well.

Then everything went black.

The two veiled men nodded to the International police members and hefted the unconscious form of Red on their padded shoulders. They regally brushed past the officers and Lack-2 moved after them. One of the men sharply rotated backwards and pinned him with a warning glare. His hand, decorated with a lethal yet intricately designed gauntlet, clenched in a subtle warning. The Unova native, instead of backing down, took off his visor and swept his mane of hair backwards. "I'm the one who put the request for this man to be deployed to Ransei, I have to come with you people and I already have a special pass from the Lord of Valora." Nonchalantly, he strapped the visor back to his forehead and followed them out to an armoured helicopter. Lack-2 smoothed the astonished expression from his face and climbed in the copter and to his utter revulsion, the duo strapped Execution's comatose leader in the seat next to him and climbed into a cockpit. The teenager watched impassively and wondered how they were going to fit a helmet over such elegant topknots. In tandem, the men undid their hair and slipped dull green helmets over their heads. The rotors rotated overhead and chopped the air in rhythmic beats. For a moment, the officer became deaf to everything around him and scooted away when the vehicle rose in the air and Red's body swung to the side. When they melted into the skyline of Sinnoh, the pilot looked back at him and flicked something. Lack-2 only had enough time to mutter an expletive before sinking into the safe lull of unconsciousness.

Soaring through a burnt orange and pink streaked sky, the helicopter did not fly far. After flying west and passing a couple of towns, cities and the mountain range, the airborne vehicle lowered and alighted on a helipad atop one of the numerous skyscrapers of Eterna city. They landed close to the airport and the two pilots climbed out of the cockpit and secured their unconscious passengers. Nimbly jumping out of their craft, they released two apricorn balls and two flying pokemon popped out. Boarding them, they expertly navigated all the way to the bustling airport and discreetly dropped right to the hangar, any airport official who wanted to voice their opposition on seeing two people fall out of the sky, wisely kept quiet after seeing them. The two looked around, beckoned an air traffic controller and showed them a picture. Bowing, the young man pointed to a direction and the guards set off with measured strides. Soon, they came across a small private plane. Nodding to person waiting for them, they slid open the door and found another steel door underneath. A fleeting smile graced the man's lips and he punched in a code, at once, a huge section of the plane unfolded and he dumped his load, Red, into an uncomfortable seat and strapped him down with steel reinforced cables. Valora's private jets were not designed with exorbitance in mind and everything had been reinforced with metal, locks and the most sophisticated security system. The plane itself was armoured and the numerous weapons were concealed under a luxurious facade. Inside, it boasted various types of metal and detectors, instead of leather upholstery and recliners, a gurney complete with hideous restraints rested at the back. After strapping the International police member to an unforgiving chair, the duo hopped back into the cockpit and this time prepped for a long distance journey.

Next morning

Ransei

Valora

A fortress.

Red woke up when one of the guards jammed a sickly sweet object into his mouth. The man stirred, moaned and to their surprise, ate it up and gagged. The imperial escorts decided to save their laughter for later...when there were no witnesses. They repeated the procedure with Lack-2 and the youngster acted in a textbook manner. He woke up, eyelids fluttering open so wide they got a good view of the whites of his eyes, doubled over and inelegantly spat out the chemical laden sweets in his mouth, therefore he glared heatedly at the retainers and wiped his lips. Red looked around while Lack-2 amused the guards and his crimson irises landed on the gate of the castle they wheeled him to. He had no idea of how he came here, he suspected the convoys put him to sleep and after reaching Ransei, transferred him to a wheelchair and wheeled him to this place. His arms were still bound, but they did not care to shackle him to the chair. Getting up slowly, he got a bearing of the place. Behind him the landscape stretched out with uniform bleakness, little houses and buildings all appeared like military barracks with their metal walls and chain-link fences. Even the very ground they walked on had metallic slats hammered over the earth. In front of him, stood the thickest, most decorative blast doors he had the pleasure of laying his eyes on and beyond it, wide pipes, gears and indented disks formed a sophisticated tangle up an escarpment and fed into an Imperial and futuristic palace. Red focused his attention on the gates again and marvelled at it. In the middle of the heavy iron doors, a symbol, similar to the one stamped on the cloth masks of his escorts, had been engraved, golden hinges gleamed brightly amongst the dull metal blue and he looked up to see a sheet of fluorescent blue illuminating the top part of the gate.

Execution's commander craned his neck and the castle loomed up.

A fortress, his mind agreed.

An inescapable, security heaped fortress with a door that could probably survive Arceus's wrath. And the castle didn't look too easy either. Towering turrets of dull grey and brown painted metal cast shadows over the rooftop of the pagoda; the walls of the castle were stouter and more solid than the average military base.

Probably because they had metal lining them.

What's the use of an electrified fence when the walls were too high and slippery to climb?

"...Nice place you have there!" Red joked in an effort to reduce the fathomless despair he felt, "it's very...Secure." A jab to the stomach warned him to be quiet and he wheezed and nodded understandingly. The two guards positioned themselves and the former criminal hoped they wouldn't blindfold him this time. He needed to see the interior of the castle should an opportunity to escape arise. Escape, his mind snorted. Good luck. The escorts gave him a push and he strode up the stone steps leading to the awe-inspiring gate. Using his gauntlet, the Ransei native rapped sharply and the entrance bombinated. Red shuddered and the whole ground shook violently as the blast doors slid apart to reveal a mechanical hell. He stood there, unable to articulate the sheer fear he felt as a mini earthquake rattled the teeth in his skulls. Finally, the vibration stopped and another jab to the small of his back reminded him to walk. Suddenly, the ex-champion tried to make himself small on passing through a procession of people and steel type pokemon tethered to leashes. He spied a dozen or so steelix grinning toothily at him, their owners grinned too and Red could imagine what they thought. His ears caught sneers and whispering of 'commoner' and 'low-born', the people of this noble country were disgusted to allow a criminal in their lands...And a commoner on top of that. Head hanging low, he posed the perfect picture of a depressed individual. Underneath the curtain of his sable bangs, his eyes darted about calculatingly and he made sure to remember the camouflaged entrance situated at the base of the hill on which the castle sat. A gear whirred and the rock face slid apart to reveal a cavern.

The inside was dark and it stretched upwards endlessly; kling, klang and klingklang populated the shaft and whirred about noisily. A simple elevator waited for them and Red obediently stepped on the platform and moved up to make space for Lack-2 and the two guards, one of them punched a button set into the rickety structure; the stage rocketed up with frightening speeds and Red swallowed in an effort to keep his meagre breakfast down. With a crackle unbefitting a royal elevator, it came to a juddering stop and one of the men grabbed him and deposited him to an earthen ledge. Red looked up and gasped; thick pipes wove over each other and plugged into a sheet of black metal lining the roof of the domed shaft. He opened his mouth in order to ask a question and Lack-2 gestured him to face forward. Another inconspicuous door glided apart and spat the band out into the basement of the palace. A metal works unfolded before Red's eyes and he peered at the various forges and ovens blackened by fire. Rows of metallic tables contained sophisticated equipment, mirrors reflected grim, sweat drenched faces hammering away on an exquisite vase or tempering an imperial weapon and lasers winked across, slicing great sheets of black, grey or white metal in square sheets where a magnetic crane would lift them up and deposit them neatly into stacks with an ear-splitting clang. None of the workers spoke as the guards guided him through a confusing maze of tables, worn out expressions and the dim glows of dying embers competing against the equally subdued glows of overhead arc lamps.

Another hiss of a door later, they emerged into a hallway. Beams, lacquered in crimson and decorated with silk banners disappeared behind him as his feet pattered over polished wooden tiles. Red spied many paper doors, each one identical to the last and made a great effort in order to keep his head low. Everything leapt up to him, dazzling him beyond words. Intricate metal partitions, lasered to perfection, stood side by side against silk screen counterparts. An elaborate chandelier fought with traditional paper lanterns in a show of which fixture could cast more light. Women, mute and clad in simple robes, briefly glanced at him and quickly looked away when he met their eyes, despite the sheer size of the castle, he could not hear a single noise out of place. The entire palace seemed to be soundless and only the muffled thumps of his walking assured him that he was not deaf, the guards glided along the floor and simply nodded to anyone who came across. Trying to remember the corridors proved to be a harrowing matter since each and every one they came across, appeared exactly the same. Instead of panicking, he calmed down and raked the environment for small details. Green would've been proud to know that his best friend was thinking for once.

Bonsai...a tiny tree in ornamental flower pot peeked out from an alcove in one corridor.

The previous one had silk screens with swanna in flight.

This one had metallic lace lining the decorative trim on the floor. He had to strain his eyes to see it, but the effort paid off.

The final corridor had black iron brackets set into wooden panels and beams. A sheet of coloured rice paper shielded the flames and threw ghostly shadows across the floor and ceilings. Abruptly, the bright and lavish corridor ended to give way to a shiny girder and a metallic corridor. Here everything turned modern and surgical. Cells, reinforced with blue highlighted material, winked in the gloomy interior and without a word, the duo pushed him inside one and shut the door with a deafening peal. The noise reverberated in the ex-champion's ears long after Lack-2 and the two men left. Sighing, he crouched down on the bare floor and thought, repeating the observations in his head in order not to forget. Hope still burned a bright flame in his chest; he will get out of here, no matter what.

No matter what.

A sad chuckle escaped his lips and he tried to wriggle his raw hands out of the rope. The thick coils did not move an inch; however, he sported new rope burns on his wrists, a glance around the cell revealed a toilet and thankfully, a shower hidden behind a steel screen; a bed bolted to the side of metal inlaid walls and a basin in the middle of nowhere. A mirror mirrored his sulky reflection back at him and on inspecting it closely; he noticed a tiny camera hidden in one of the ornate screws. Curling his hands into double fists, he smashed the device and heard an alarm blare deep within the castle. Good. He needed someone to untie his hands; he had urgent business coming up.

Nature called and demanded he answer promptly.

To his dismay, a platoon of imperial guards did not pour inside the corridor. Red spent a few good minutes hopping around the cell, cursing and eventually resorting to gnaw through the thick rope. He gave up a few moments later and simply sat pitifully in one corner of the dungeon, viewing the monotonous scenery through the shiny bars of his cage. His hands swelled up, his shirt was dirty and reeked with sweat whilst his hair had matted into thick locks which itched intolerably. The shower beckoned him and briefly he thought of kicking off his shoes and standing under the faucet with his clothes on. Bit by bit, he realized that these four walls represented his current home and his life would be nothing more than eating, sleeping, feeling miserable and providing the occasional entertainment to his wardens. The crimson eyed man looked forlornly down at his waist and tried to imagine Pika's irritated face glaring at him through the clear dome of a pokeball. Nothing. No Pika, no Saur, no friends or partners. He only had his depressing thoughts for company.

 _No Red...don't think too deeply about it, your job isn't to think, you leave that to Green and Blue, right now, look for a way to get out. You are not staying in this Mew forsaken place forever._ Crossing his legs, he noted the dirt stain on his jeans and spared another moment internally pitying himself, he wondered what the rest of his friends did, could he dare hope that they tried to rescue him? The mere thought sent a fresh wave of determination coursing through his otherwise fatigued body and he searched for an indent or a ventilation shaft big enough to slip through. There were two shafts, so small; his hands wouldn't be able to go through properly. A miniscule window let in light and like any normal jail cell, it had horizontal bars running across its length. Undeterred, Red painfully heaved himself up, the tips of his shoes barely grazing the floor and gasped on seeing the outside, even if he could somehow squeeze through the window, a sheer drop to a metal paved ground awaited him. He'd just be a disfigured, rusty splat on the shiny floor and it could take cleaners weeks to find his corpse. The Kanto native shuddered and moved away from the window, a sharp pain travelled down his abdomen and he felt like bursting. He groaned, rolled up into a ball and after the paroxysm passed, straightened out again and prayed that he won't leak. On hearing the sound of growing footsteps, his head snapped up and screwing up every ounce of dignity he could muster, Red sauntered to the bars and uninterestedly surveyed the guards.

"Commoner...I heard our Lord allowed him in here." Whispered one guard sensationally

"Don't be daft!" Hissed another, "he must be an illegitimate child of one of the warlords. Perhaps the man dwelled outside of Ransei and after growing up, posed a threat, our Lord would never allow a commoner in here!"

"Why don't we take a look?"

"That is not allowed, do not break the rules."

"You say that and yet you follow me..." the first man turned and gave his partner a haughty look, "and it seems like the rest of the castle and one of the visiting warlords is interested as well." The escorts bowed and hid their faces behind bell shaped sleeves. Red craned his neck and grimaced on seeing a short, gaudily dressed man enter the gloomy corridor. His bulk jiggled behind expanses of fine mauve silk and his face had been painted a ghostly shade of white. Atop a balding head, the man wore a long hat and on entering the metal lined corridor, the warlord snapped his fan shut and thrust the edge of it underneath the prisoner's face. He spoke some words in a high pitched voice and after snapping his head to the left, Red hissed and retreated further in his cell. This isn't a zoo and he wasn't an animal to be ogled at. More whispers and muted mutterings floated to his ears and he glowered back. Two retainers of the pasty faced warlord, pleaded with the noble to return. His posse left and before the corridor could empty out of all people, the blood eyed man stepped forward again and one of the guards involuntarily jumped at his presence. A delighted tingle ran down the convict's spine, so the nobles of Ransei were afraid of him as much as he was terrified of them. The guard's olive tinted irises grew hard and he brushed his heavily ornamented scabbard in a warning. Red held his arms up and begged him to cut the ropes, instead of complying, the warden sneered and arrogantly folded his arms across his chest. If the prisoner wanted to his bindings to be off, the commoner best start grovelling on the floor. Swallowing his dignity, the ex-champion started to crouch when his ears picked out a familiar sound.

"Do you want my autograph?" Red straightened up and leered, he smirked widely at the dark flush on the man's face, "I'm pretty famous no? A commoner from Kanto who has been given the green light to stay in Ransei's prestigious jail cells...What do they do when _you_ commit a crime?" The smirk grew wider with each passing second, "I'm pretty sure they don't offer you a place here am I right? Because this area is for top ranking criminals only..." The man blinked and glanced behind, with one fluid movement, he drew his sword and pointed it at Red, "I wouldn't do that if I were you...As from now...I'm worth more than you and both you and your warlord knows it..." Execution's ex-commander barely finished his sentence when the imperial guard turned around and uttered a horrible screech, the sounds gurgled and eventually died in his throat.

Another area:

In a highly secured room, Pika shifted inside its ball and uncurled itself from a restless sleep. Beady eyes blinked slowly and forced itself open. The electric mouse felt agitated and contemplated on electrocuting its master for such an unpleasant experience. Pikachu had never experienced such fatigue, his limbs were numb and the mere act of shuffling around inside the pokeball brought on a wave of nausea and pain. Shifting irritably, the mouse looked up. It rubbed its eyes, discharged itself and peered upwards again. Instead of seeing the shapely angle of Red's jaw and a mop of jet black hair stuffed underneath a peak cap, the rodent witnessed a milky film obscuring the glass dome of the pokeball and beyond that, abysmal darkness. Using flash, he lit up the surroundings marginally and saw boxes, crates, glass tubes and cages. For a moment, he wondered if its master had accidentally left him inside the legendary Pokemon holding cell...however, Pika noted the glass cages were a bit too small to house mythical pokemon. Moreover, Red never used such a weird pokeball. The electric mouse pressed its face against the glass and witnessed Saur sleepily shuffling about in the next ball. Suddenly, he remembered the events, his human was captured by some scarier humans and Pika, along with the others, were kept separate lest they try to help the master escape. The rodent snorted and licked it's fluffed up fur down. Meticulously, it cleaned itself and ruminated on unpleasant thoughts. Tail stiffening and cheeks sparking with electricity, Pika let loose a miniature thunder in the ball, resolving to fry the plastic casing and dissolve the glass. All its pent up rage let erupted and in a moment freedom will be his.

The thunderstorm ricocheted around the curved confines and streamed back into Pika who absorbed it and stored it in his cheeks and tail. It looked up and to its alarm, noted the milky dome turn whiter. The electric type breathed heavily. How? Not even an ultra-ball could contain a thunder of such magnitude so why? For the next several moments, the mouse unleashed torrents of electricity in hopes of rupturing the ball. Nothing happened and the top of the ball turned opaque with each attack till Pika could see the outside no more. This wasn't a master ball; a master ball had additional locks on top of the dome which completely sealed off any form of escape. This capsule felt weird and heavy, suddenly the rodent felt very afraid and squeaked itself to breathlessness. It panted and stared up at a white curved plane obscuring its vision.

What sort of pokeball was this?

" _Premier Ball sir...Those aren't for sale unless you have a special permit." Pika remembered a shopkeeper informing Red when the latter peered at the pristine white balls, "those capsules are very expensive and function akin to master balls..."_ the memory faded and the rodent curled up in the ball and rocked to and fro in a pitiful manner. The tiny hope of breaking the ball apart with brute force died out like a fickle flame and the miniscule electric type started by pressing its paws around the confines of the ball. There should be some crack...An invisible fissure hidden somewhere inside this ball and if he could just find it, Pika would send a thin trail of sparks and trigger the releasing mechanism. Crouching, it sniffed and prodded the ball, scraping the cushion pads off and shredding it. Underneath, the plastic casing felt cold to the touch and to his delight, a multitude of rough grooves and slots pressed against its pads. With a delighted squeak, Pika balanced itself on its tail and focused its concentration. It fed a dribble of electricity in the fine cracks and guided them down to the inner circuitry of the ball. With a muted pop, the milky dome popped open with a hiss and ejected Pika out. The rodent tumbled on the table and shocked the open capsule for good measure.

Hopping across the table, pikachu pressed its paw against the switches of five capsules and released Saur and the other monsters from their premier balls. Thankfully, none of them shrieked up a cacophony and in the dark they plotted to get Red out of whatever confinement these strange people put him in. Vee's forehead jewel glowed and the feline padded down, the heavy doors to the room opened up effortlessly before her and after erecting an illusionary barrier around the rest of her comrades, the band of beasts quietly traversed down the unfamiliar corridors.

* * *

Late afternoon

Sinnoh

Base of Mount Coronet

"We are-"

"The Red Rescue Team!" Dia cheerfully piped up in the middle of Green's lecture. The rest of the organization, crowded around a makeshift fireplace in the main chamber, dissolved into explosive fits of laughter and the cave echoed their snorts and gleeful shouts. Rubbing his temples and giving the waving boy a loathed look, the older male allowed the commotion to die down before continuing with his words. Taking Platina's suggestion, he decided to finally rally the departments together and search for Red. However, they were at a loss, for one, the Dex Criminals had no idea of where Red might be and he had a feeling that Gold, if not constantly supervised, will end up folding to his irrational ideas and going after the crimson eyed leader by himself. The ebony haired male's irises danced with a mischievous spark and he actively participated in their meetings with great vigour. As Dia and Pearl ended an impromptu skit, Oak slammed his hand on the flimsy whiteboard they purchased at the local department store and inwardly cursed when it splintered underneath his palm.

"Now..." he voiced lowly, "if everyone could listen and co-operate-"

"Then you won't end up like that whiteboard!" Pearl hollered and a wave of giggles broke out. "Sir, please continue..." the blonde squeaked and shrunk under his superior's furious stare. Strategy's leader exhaled a few times. He waited for a pin drop silence and listened to the crackling of the logs spitting in the fire place. The heat emanating from the fire made the room warm and cosy and he saw the flames cast capering shadows on the cavern's bare walls.

"Before we become the Red rescue team...we first have to gather information and GOLD! Shut up and listen to me!" The individual in question didn't shrink like Pearl, instead, he clenched his fists and Green spied the faint traces of a bluish bruise snaking down the adolescent's neck and disappearing beneath a deep cut collar. "As I mentioned before, we have to gather information, we don't know where Red is and if that wretched brat is sensible, he will deploy Red to a place we cannot reach so easily. Or they might be hiding him right underneath our noses. At the moment, we don't have a television so acquiring information on the outside happenings will have to be done manually. Hopefully, we will be able to get a flat screen soon...And no, you can't use it to play video games Pearl." Oak hissed under his breath and pinned his underling with a glare, the blonde feigned innocence and looked the other way, "Most of us will be split up however, it's imperative that some of us remain at base." Green ignored the furious hushed mutterings wafting from the group seated before him. Sapphire, her blue eyes shining like chips of ice, huffed and irritably jerked her head away in complete defiance. For a moment, Strategy's commander felt a great weight descend on his shoulders; Execution's remaining members were not pleased with someone else commanding them. In a surprising turn of events, Dia secured his position as a commander, but all the boy did was eat, create comedic performances with his best friend and occasionally stare off into the distance. The triumvirate formation they operated in lacked a corner stone and the remaining pebbles simply rolled off in different directions. "Sapphire..." the girl perked on hearing her name and zeroed in on him like a predator, "you and Yellow will go to Johto, I want you to tail Falkner and find out where they might be keeping your commander. At once, her eyes lighted up and the sharp edge melted into gratitude. She smiled, bowed a thanks and scooted next to Yellow.

Blue and Green simultaneously sighed, one pending disaster alleviated.

Throughout their strategizing, Diamond keenly observed the other two and chewed thoughtfully on energy herbs. The juices of the leaves were bitter and unpleasant to the tongue. Swallowing them down forcefully and taking a swig of water to wash away the lingering taste, he reached for Green's discarded whiteboard marker and started writing on the splintered fragments of the board. The rest of the members observed him with bated breath and the squeaking of the marker intermingled with crackling fire and the mournful lament of the wind as it whistled outside the mountain. He finished with his words and as Oak tried deciphering his terrible handwriting; the Sinnoh native turned and explained himself. "Ms Blue, can I ask Platina and Whi-2 to roam around Sinnoh? We have to find out about the Dex criminal's status am-ongst the public and if the comm-otion we caused several weeks earlier died down... If the police are still searching for us, we have to lay low for a while longer." Surprised by his sudden insight, Blue brushed her chocolate brown hair back, nodded and smiled at him, he returned the gesture with a fleeting grin of his own and continued, "then...I want seniors Gold, Green, Blue and Silver to go to Unova." Here the boy stopped and fumbled nervously with the woollen muffler wreathed around his neck. The words uttered by Dia all evoked different reactions; Gold showed a mouthful of teeth and gave him a thumbs up whilst Silver ignored his friend and preferred to look at his sister. Oak stopped trying to read Dia's words and spun around, with both his brows arched in confusion; Blue instinctively folded her arms over her chest and cocked her head to the side. Diamond caught the two eldest commanders share a fleeting look. He tried to read the atmosphere between them, unfortunately for him; they operated on a wholly different level.

A silence, punctuated by snippets of muted conversation, hung over the group. Diamond resorted to gorging on his muffins and Pearl fiercely gesticulated at the crumbs falling on the padded jacket. Aimlessly, the black haired teen brushed it off and resumed staring off into space. Perhaps the other commanders didn't like the way he voiced his opinions without consulting them first. A seed of trepidation rooted in his mind and he crammed the pastry in his mouth and swallowed his morbid ponderings along with it. If they did not like his proposition, they could simply voice it out aloud and together, create a better one.

"What about you Diamond? Don't you want to rescue Red?" The brown haired commander's question halted his rampant thoughts for a moment and he saw pity reflected in the glassy pools of her eyes. "I'm sure you miss him very much, we understand if you want to go and look for him."

The neophyte commander shook his head and rolled up his sleeves, "I can't..." he admitted and Blue leaned closer to hear his brittle tones, "I won't be able to help...I'll only be a hinde-rance." He paused as his co-worker gently clasped his shoulders. "Exec-ution executes plans and is the public image of the Dex-criminals...we excel in attack that's why our calling card image is a picture of two crossed swords." The azure eyed teen screwed his eyes shut and recalled the previous commander's words. "Execution is the department responsible for attacking...however, from today, we will be defending as well. I'm a fortress. I'm staying behind to defend this home...so that those who stay in it are safe...and the ones who are away on missions can have a safe place to return to." The muted chatter in the room came to a hushed stop and the entire organization stared at Diamond. Constellate's leader nodded in understanding and hugged him tightly. He caught a whiff of perfume, something sweet and gentle and it reminded him of his mother. "I want to stay behind" He softly added, "and I'm sure Gold and Green will appreciate looking for him more than me."

Untangling from her embrace with Diamond, the brown haired woman smiled at him one more time, straightened up and faced the underlings, some tried to supress their astonished expressions and off to the edge, she saw White and Whi-2 huddle closer underneath a shared blanket. "Diamond is right; we need someone to stay here and keep this base safe...I'm sure he will do more than an adequate job." The professor's critical irises bored into the indolent boy a few minutes longer, eventually, he accepted the proposition with a wry shake of his head and Blue continued with her speech, "now as Diamond proposed, I want Platinum and Whi-2 to roam around mainland Sinnoh. It would be in your best interest to go in disguise and your task is to gather intelligence about our standing. Find out if the police and the public are still talking about us and see where that takes you. We are all strained and overworked so if you want to take a day off and simply rest, you are allowed to do so. As always, safety is the priority, if you feel threatened, return to base immediately." The two nodded and Whi-2 tentatively crawled over to Platinum's position, the noble merely acknowledged her with a tiny nod of her head. "By the way..." The Kanto native brusquely stated, "who agrees that Green's fashion sense is evolving?" A single sentence was all it took for the congregated group to fixate their inquisitive gaze at him. Fighting down the urge to hide, he deliberately pulled the olive tinted, fur lined jacket closer to his body and put up the hood.

"Daisy bought it for me and it's quite warm...Enough about my clothing choice, we have matters to attend to. I've just checked the schedules for the S.S Spiral and it leaves for Unova every evening." Green looked up from his palm top and scribbled the times down on the fractured board, "shall we all leave together?" he asked and saw several people nod their head slowly. "Then it's settled, tomorrow morning, Yellow and Saph will leave for Johto via plane...make sure to book your tickets online. Blue, Silver, Gold and I will leave in the afternoon and arrive at Canalave city by the evening, we shall take the cruiser and it'll deposit us to Unova the day after tomorrow and we can start our missions then. Lastly, Platinum and Whi-2...It will be risky for you to come with us, so I suggest you leave in the evening and as Blue suggested, take your time and return to base at once should you feel threatened. Emerald," the blonde looked up from his handheld console and discreetly stowed it away on seeing his superior eye the video gaming device with blatant scorn. "Set up a private network so that all the field members can communicate with each other. Diamond will supervise you and you are to report to him at all times. I'm enforcing a new rule...You are to update your situation back to base every single day. Write up a report and send it to Emerald; I want no excuses." The spiky haired male thrust his hands deep inside the pockets and tucked his chin in the upturned collar. "Any questions?" he asked after seeing some members shift uneasily.

Gold's arm shot up in the air. "Yeah...Why in Ho-oh's name am I on your team?" he queried with incredulity lacing his voice, "Gimme Silver or Crys and I'm fine on working with them. I feel a bit uncomfortable working with you."

"Possibly because I'll be keeping an eye on your actions every step of the way?"

"Yep...I'm scared you might peep on me when I'm showering...Knowing how obsessed you are with your rules and all." The Johto native's tone turned flat and humourless, "you won't let me do what I want. And if I sneak out, I'm sure you'll haul me back and forbid me from ever stepping a foot outside again." Amber and jade eyes bored into each other and came to an understanding. The older man dipped his head and intoned that Gold could do whatever he wanted; the latter showed scepticism at his words but accepted the offer. "Fine, I get to do what I want and you simply look after me. I promise not to do anything naughty." At his words, Silver and Crystal involuntarily snorted and exchanged disbelieving glances, their best friend didn't jibe in return, he merely stared at the grey carpet lining the floor and rubbed his finger on it. Golden irises clouded with ponderous thoughts and for a moment, they darkened with despair. The ebony haired man blinked and reached for his friend's hands, he wrapped his own around theirs and leaned dispiritedly against Crystal. Every time he thought about Red, a hole opened up in his chest and he felt a sharp throb of worry and pain. He tried desperately not to think about Lack-2, however the image of the boy, with a sunny and slightly roughish grin, would pervade his dreams and on most nights, he woke up whimpering and drenched in a cold sweat. This current predicament they were in was all due to his negligence of disciplining Lack-2 properly and letting the boy get his way. In the darkest depth of the night, when the surroundings shone like black ink, the ebony haired man reasoned with himself that Lack-2 did not belong with the Dex-criminals in the first place. He only integrated himself in order to capture one of them. Gold knew all this yet his mind kept on screaming: It's your fault.

It's your fault...

Yes...He whispered and allowed the morbid thoughts to swirl in his head and caress him...It's my fault Red is gone.

* * *

Late morning

Ransei

In the corridors of Valora Palace

A group of six beasts shuffled forward cautiously and hid themselves underneath a shroud of invisibility. The environment around them remained deadly quiet and in the distance, Pika picked up obscure sounds. Aero did not like the way it had to slink across the ground, its talons scraped the polished wood and left ugly scratches on the otherwise oiled floor. Vee, who guided the disgruntled band of beasts, sensed the air around with her fur. The pink coat fluffed up and warned her of minute changes in the air. Stealthily, the pokemon crept forward and at one point, venusaur stopped and wriggled two limp vines in the air.

Plants are drawn to sunlight and they boast an acute sensitivity. They will find a way to reach their target no matter what obstacles they might face. Vegetation have been known to split rock, to grow from crevices of stone and even sprout thorns and vines to keep intruders at bay. At this particular moment, Saur wriggled its tentacles in the air and Vee hissed when it went past the reflecting screen she put up. Although the saurian monster did not boast clairvoyance like the psychic type, or acute sense like its other counterparts, it had a shrewd sensitivity to Red's presence and desperately sought to find the area where its master most likely might be. The vines lowered and snaked across the floor to the side, it met with a sheer wall of metal and wood, Saur retracted the tendrils, stiffened them to a bark like hardness and shot them out again. It punctured through the partitions and broke them down partially. Pika and Vee screeched in tandem whilst Poli leapt over the barrier and helped in breaking the walls down. Disregarding the two furious monsters, Saur ambled its way through the neat sized whole and continued in destroying the structures in a robotic manner. Pikachu and espeon gave up and meekly followed them. The psychic type lowered the barrier and erected an ominous sphere instead. Any humans who tried to get close to them will be overwhelmed by a feeling of dread and instinctively head the opposite way.

They continued bulldozing their way through a straight line. Venusaur's whole body tingled as they passed through beautifully decorated corridors. Close. Very close, it could feel Red, fatigued and in despairing need of the toilet, talk with a guard.

The lesser noble didn't see it coming but Red sure did. He heard the indiscernible thwacking of Saur's vines as his team of monsters got closer. A swell of confidence bloomed in his chest and he outright pressed his grinning face against the bars and taunted the man. Too late the guard noticed green shoots curl painfully around his throat; he sputtered something obscene and fell to the floor. Brick by brick, a section of the steel lined corridor fell apart and he smiled at his monsters. Pika squeaked pitifully and jumped up in the air in order to reach him. Hands still bound and his needs forgotten, Red held his arms out in order to receive his little partner.

All he received was a splatter of neon yellow blood across his cheeks and the bars of the cell. The ebony haired man blinked in confusion and horror on seeing a heavily armoured aggron punching the life out of Vee. Gold tipped spikes skewered into Poli and Red found himself screaming and begging for mercy. The site of the mega-evolved aggron whaling on his monsters unnerved him. His legs grew weak as the thick tail of the iron monster smashed the giant flower off Saur's back. One pokemon...It took only one pokemon to demolish his prized team and he couldn't stop screeching at the monster to stop. Crimson eyes darted left and right in order to find its trainer and the ex-champion saw no one ordering the pokemon. Finally, the aggron brutally flung his limp, bloodied poliwrath and the fighting type banged hard against the wall. The iron armour pokemon shifted and aimed one yellow tinted spike at him. Red kept on screaming till his throat became raw; he shuffled deeper in the cell and sank to his knees.

This wasn't happening...

 _This was not happening._

His team, consisting of the most well trained and powerful monsters across the five regions, did not get clobbered into a comatose state by a single pokemon. Red's mind refused to believe it and his eyes grew wide when the aggron curled its blood soaked claws around a shiny bar. Emerald blood...must be Saur's, his conscious supplied and he still looked at his beasts for a sign that one of them might miraculously wake up and show the iron plated pokemon a piece of hell. Alas, none of them moved, not even a twitch and the Kanto native started hyperventilating. Impossible, no one can damage his partners to this extent. An illusion...this was an illusion.

He kept mumbling to himself and staring at the semi-lifeless bodies. The attacks came so brutally fast, none of his beasts had time to retaliate.

"Stand down Aggron..." a baritone voice commanded from the shadows, "and return...you have no business here and Lord Ieyasu wants you by his side." The aggron stopped trying to tear off the bar and shuffled out of sight. Red wanted to see the speaker however he was exhausted.

"No...this isn't happening to me..." he kept on muttering whilst scarlet irises remained fixed on the bodies of his unmoving pokemon.

* * *

 **A/N:** Much gratitude to UTOPIAN ANGEL for alerting the story, hopefully it keeps on being an intriguing story to read. Gold can't get a break from Green and poor Red just witnessed his prized team getting mauled. Review what you think people. And thanks to all those who read and reviewed, virtual chocolates for you. At Eevee :D Ahahahaha, despite what I wrote on my bio, I'm actually a very lazy person, but, shh, you never heard that. How is everything by your side? And yes, I'm trying to be happy and I hope you are too. Oh yes, Merry Christmas. At Silver: Unown expelled foreign bodies and gave the Dexters memory loss to chew on. As you can see, his messing with the officials didn't go very well, although…you can wait and see how things turn out. Merry Christmas to you too, hope you stuffed yourself full of chocolate! At Jack54311: Secrets huh? Keep on wondering :D Dia is probably trying his best to be a fitting commander, but yeah, he thinks that the others might not be so appreciative of him. At AceTrainerLeaf: You could always say hi and tell me what you had for breakfast (I'm kidding). Red going insane? Heh, watch what happens.

At Guest 1: I kept on reading and re-reading your reviews when studying became a bit overwhelming. My sister kept on telling me to shut up because I was laughing so much. :D Wheew, thanks for the summaries, I hope you can continue to do them if you have time because they are seriously hilarious. Which is nice because this story just gets darker. I hope it doesn't turn away the readers though. Somehow, I picture the scenes perfectly. Bald Green and Gold cracking jokes that Yellow likes his hair better than him. Pfft :'D At Guest 2: (Or 1?) I googled some facts up and apparently Green is the tallest Dex Holder, followed by Red and then Silver. Yellow is pretty short but the shortest is of course Emerald. I think the pokeball sort of tames them in order to listen to whoever caught it and yes, I do think Pokemon rage, some of them will not listen to you (like in the games, if you do not have enough badges and the mons are over levelled) but let's not go to the mauling to death shall we? I do think pokemon families miss each other, but their primary cause of concern is their trainers. I also believe that close companions of a trainer can influence their pokemon, like when Green's haughty and (don't touch me mortal) type pokemon eventually becomes friendly when they spent time with Red, whereas Red's pokemon take on Green's I-am-better-than-thou attitude.


	67. Information harvest

**Chapter 67: Information harvest**

Early evening

Sinnoh

Jubilife City

Two females exited the bus and a crisp breeze brushed past their faces. Whi-2 disembarked first and turned around to see Platinum elegantly step down from the last stair. She wondered if the noble felt comfortable doing things she was not accustomed to. Even now, as the Berlitz heir slung a bag over her shoulder, she managed to attract the attention of a nearby group of teenagers. The boys ogled her whilst the girls snorted. Whi-2 suppressed a giggle, when one dressed like a fashion model, people were bound to turn around and gape. Ignoring the various stares people gave her, Platina hitched up her bag and marched down the alleyway, silver high heeled boots clacked on the ground and a pearly white scarf peeked out between the folds of her cream coloured cashmere coat. Her hair had been styled into a braided bun and wisps of it trailed sensationally in the chilly evening air. Whi-2 kept a step behind her glamorously clothed senior; the girl opted for a pair of jeans, black ankle length boots, a blouse and a silk overcoat to ward off the chill. Together, they zigzagged across the bustling streets and made a beeline for the shopping district. The Unova native let out a breath and looked up the towering stores with their neon signs competing for dominance and attention. Dazzling displays of clothing, accessories, food and technological gadgets winked out of floor to ceiling length windows. Instead of heading directly for the stores, Platinum stopped abruptly and consulted a map on the designer Poketch strapped on her wrist. Beckoning to Whi-2, the two squeezed into a side alley and emerged into a quieter street. Diners and hotels spilled mellow music and infused the evening with the aroma of freshly prepared pastries and bread.

They hiked up the worn stone steps of a homely lodge and stood in a softly lit foyer. Whi-2 eased off her backpack and interestedly peered at the paintings lining the lobby whilst Platinum booked for a room. The Sinnoh native collected the keys and strode regally up the stairs. Once they entered the room, they dumped their bags, sent a quick message to Emerald as per the new protocols and Platina faced her junior in order to discuss plans. "What should we do now?" The heiress questioned and Whi-2 stopped rummaging in her bag in order to look at her. "I...Never went out on my own so I am not sure what we should do" the noble admitted defiantly. The Unova native merely smiled and saw her senior flush with embarrassment; she haughtily angled her face away and stared out of the window. Whi-2 seized the opportunity and studied her cryptic senior. The moment anyone laid eyes on Platina, the image of a crafted porcelain doll sprang to mind. Pale skin complimented perfectly with her inkwell irises and indigo hair. She sat poised, always with her hands folded neatly in her lap whilst a large ring on her middle finger commanded attention. The signet ring of the Berlitz family either inspired terror or instilled a measure of respect, but if she looked past the perfect manners, past the facade of an arrogant heiress, Whi-2 saw a simple girl struggling to understand herself and wanting to keep the ache of loneliness at bay.

"First...You should change your clothes senior, ditch that fashion model look and wear t-shirt like me." Whi-2 let a short laugh escape when Berlitz eyed her disbelievingly, "if you keep walking around wearing stuff us commoners can't afford, they will have their suspicions." Platina slowly nodded in understanding and fiddled with her hair, "then we can take the day off. I'm starving, why don't we head to one of the restaurants and gorge oursleves-"

"Gorge?" An eyebrow joined her hairline, "we do not gorge on food Whi-2 and it's not proper manners." Platina sniffed and blinked when the younger girl dissolved into a fit of laughter. "I fail to see the joke."

"Ahahahaha!" Whi-2 rolled on her bed and fell off the mattress with a thump, her senior winced but the Unovian kept on laughing wildly till she gasped for breath. "We truly live in different worlds don't we?" The girl questioned and wiped tears of mirth, "for once, why don't you allow yourself to behave the way you want senior. I'm well aware of your status as a noble...But come on! You can't ever say that you didn't want to eat till you drop...Or shop till you drop. And you dress like an adult all the time, what's wrong with wearing skinny jeans and sneakers? I bet they are more comfortable than wearing high heels all the time." The brown haired girl's voice dropped tenderly, "it must be difficult growing up with so many expectations and pressures. You are the heir of the Berlitz family, you have ties to the noble families of Ransei...But just for tonight, you are Platina. You are normal girl who wants to eat, sleep, shop and not care about inheriting the huge assets your parents will leave behind. You are you." The older female let her junior's words sink in. True...She wanted to do the things normal people did, she wanted to go to school and mingle with other children rather than be holed up in a study and listen to experts drone about various subjects.

And she was tired of wearing stiletto heels and stiff, designer dresses.

"Just...For tonight..." Platinum hesitantly agreed and Whi-2 uttered a wild cheer and dug in her bag. Forty five minutes later, the noble stepped out in the brightly lit street donning a denim skirt, a pair of glittery leg warmers coupled with pumps and a loose blouse. She vehemently refused the several graphic printed shirts Whi-2 urged her to wear. Her hair had been styled into a messy braid and that did not stop from a pair of guys smiling suggestively at her. Furious and cheeks tinting pink, she rotated in the opposite direction and with her head held high, marched away with Whi-2 at her heels. The youngster grabbed her senior's delicate hand and dragged her into a bakery, Platina eyed the decorated cakes impassively whilst Whi-2 pressed her face against the glass box and drooled over them. The things she ate at home were far more expensive and luxurious than anything they might find in this crowded city. A tiny smile bloomed on her pale pink lips as her azure eyed companion ordered a cake. The girl accepted box, located an iron wrought table tucked into a dingy corner and sat down. Articulating a delighted sigh, Platina watched Whi-2 blissfully dig in the pastry and she held up a slice. The cake did not look elegant and the cream they used was at least a day old...Nonetheless, the Sinnoh born accepted it and found herself smiling widely when her team mate smeared cream all over her chin.

She could get used to this; Platinum pondered as she listened to her friend's nonsensical ramblings about clothes and guys...Her shadowy reflection on the large window stared back at her with a content smile.

Next day, mid-morning

Sinnoh

Jubilife City

"The members of the Dex-criminals are elite individuals whom the Professors' of a particular region chose in order to gift the Pokedex to. It is rather sad to see that they would resort to crime instead of helping the country become a better place. Recently, the International Police force gathered together and attempted a large scale bust. Before this, they had several mishaps on their missions, I'm sure you heard about the Unova incident and the failed snatching of the Azure flute. Because they were careless in their escape, they left blazing trails and we pinpointed their base and hit them hard. The organization operates in a triumvirate formation which is quite unusual these days, however, it keeps them flexible and allows them to work both independently and as an entirety. We managed to capture the ring leader of the public image of the Dex Criminals...the faction known as Execution which is represented by two crossed swords. We believe the individual in our custody is the lynchpin of the organization and for the safety of the public, we shall not reveal his, nor any other names. Doing so will result in our detriment as they are very good with mixing in crowds and they dedicate an entire department for information harvesting." Platinum and Whi-2 fixated their attention to the flat screen television showing the news. The duo agreed to comb the streets and shops this particular morning and found themselves side-tracking into a furniture department store. On reaching the floor selling electronic equipment and devices, the Constellate duo halted dead in their tracks and viewed the news through a floor to ceiling length window. Pictures of a reporter conducting an interview with Sinnoh's Champion, Cynthia, multiplied several times over on the screens of different televisions. The duo mutely observed as the blonde woman detailed how the police devised and drew up intricate plans in order to trap them. Whi-2 gasped when they mentioned Hugh...Apparently the Unova league finalist divulged vital information which helped the police in capturing Execution's leader.

Her body suddenly went stone cold and her fingers benumbed. She couldn't move. Hugh...How could he give the police information so carelessly? Didn't he care at all? _Of course not_ , her mind venomously delivered, _why should Hugh care when he begged you to stay with him and you simply kicked his broken emotions aside and left?_ Lack-2 as well, none of them care, they are only interested in keeping themselves out of harm's way. Silent fury coursed through her veins and she inhaled deeply in order to calm the blend of confusing emotions threatening to drown her. A quick peek at her superior told her absolutely nothing. The Berlitz heir's face remained a perfect, emotionless mask as she listened intently. When the news finished, the noble faced her and together they made their way out of the store. The stuffy heat reflected off the pavement and hit Whi-2's face with a hot blast of wind. She swept her azure irises around and inspected the bustling city critically. A white skyscraper dominated the city's skyline and ensnared all attention with numerous satellite dishes mounted on a spire attached to the roof. She knew the building housed the broadcasting headquarters of Sinnoh and also functioned as a landmark. To the west, the Global trade station conducted the import and export of goods in Sinnoh and speakers repeatedly blared figures too large and complex for Whi-2 to properly process them. When she first arrived in the busy metropolis, a sense of nostalgia overcame her, now, as she spied posters and news headlines lining the sidewalks and decorating streetlamps, the city emanated a hostile presence. Caricatures of the Dex-criminals leered at her from all sides and she swallowed nervously on peering at a drawing and actually realizing whom they represented. Silver, the colour of his hair a mockery to the original, wore a black uniform with the letters TR emblazoned on the front in large red letters, next to him, Blue waved the azure flute about. Underneath them, several grotesque drawings represented Diamond, Pearl and Crystal. Behind this image, the shadowy silhouette of Red overshadowed them all.

Tearing her eyes away from the poster taped to the side of an information board, the Unovian saw Platina staring rivetedly and reading a few of the condensed articles displayed on the streets. Hurrying to her senior, she caught the words _Berlitz heir_ , _organized crime_ and _Dex criminals_ printed in large letters before a pale hand reached up and viciously ripped the sheet of white cardboard off the concrete pylon. Dark hair swayed as the noble marched to the next poster and took it down violently. The headline read: _Information traders, the esteemed Berlitz family is suspected of having illegal dealings with Dex Criminals, sources reveal that the aristocrats are funding the organization's atrocious deeds_. One by one, the haughty female ripped the posters up and discarded them carelessly on the streets. Some people gave them a passing glance and walked on whilst others viewed them with mild disgust. Running after her senior, Whi-2 eventually caught up with her and stopped Platinum tearing yet another derogatory headline into shreds. The normally pale skinned girl flushed heavily and had her lips set into a thin firm line. She blinked rapidly and the younger member noted the dark emotions swirling heavily in her eyes.

"Senior..."

Platinum wrenched her hands out of her junior's grasp and elegantly combed her hair away from her sweat stained face. "I have acted in a rather unprofessional manner...I apologize for my actions Whi-2" The brown haired girl dipped her head; "I suppose the public are not very welcome of us and the police are still hot on our tails. We have the evidence right here...Come, let us see what other information this city has for us."

* * *

Late evening

Sinnoh

S.S Spiral

The sea swept by in a vast expense of dark water and in the distance, Gold watched Canalave city's harbour pull away and become smaller. The cafes and shops lining the waterfront gradually vanished from view and all around him, the world collapsed into a sea of shimmering blackness. Pushing himself away from the railing, he lowered his peak cap to hide his face and weaved through the evening crowd in order to go below deck. Velvet carpeted corridors coupled with melodic chatter and ambient lightning induced a relaxing mood. Ducking into one of the hallways, he located the shared room and twisted the ornate golden knob. Inside, Silver sat on the floor, in one corner of the luxurious cabin and had his nose buried in a book. Sprawled on the bed and with all his clothes still on, was Green. The man slept fitfully and his muted snores could be heard through the chamber. Gold grinned on seeing the spiky haired brunette clonked out and his best friend shut the book with a snap. A stained coffee mug sat on a little glass table and the amber eyed man grabbed it, opened a window and flung the cup out in the sea. Pulling off the too tight peak cap, he hauled a backpack out of a little overhead compartment and rifled through it.

"What did you do to Green?" Silver asked and jerked his head to the individual who grunted and turned over, "it's unnatural for him to be sleeping so early...And he keeled over right after he drank that cup of coffee."

"I spiked his coffee," Gold replied and pulled out a rumpled shirt, "with a generous dose of sleep powder I managed to get from Diamond. Hey, gimme a wig will you? I need it." The red head eyed him critically before pulling his bag and extracting the item, he questioned his friend on his doings and the amber eyed man paused a bit before answering, "Green's not gonna let me play at the slot machines so I put him to sleep. He's been watching me like a hawk since we boarded this cruiser, I mean, doesn't he have anything better to do?" Silver sighed and looked away when Gold changed his clothes in the cabin. "Do you have a fancier looking shirt?" Zipping up a pair of black jeans, the black haired trainer rummaged through the contents of Silver's bag and seized a military shirt peeking out from the bag, he put it on and smoothed it out, "it's a bit tight...But nice. Heh, I need to get me one of these." Finally, he snatched the proffered wig off the table and put it on his head. Silver's lips morphed into a distorted smirk, as usual, Gold looked ridiculous when he tried to disguise himself.

"You will chase all the ladies away." The red head taunted and got up from the tiny couch squeezed in the cabin, "here, let me help you refine your disguise." His friend stood patiently as Silver styled his silver wig into stiff spikes, he forced on a chain and a pair of fingerless gloves. Taking a step back, he admired his handiwork and nodded, "your eyes need serious work, don't stare too deeply at anyone or they will be able to identify you with the colour. I don't have contact lenses with me; they are all in the trolley bags..." Reclining back into the sofa, the red head observed his friend staring into a mirror. "Gold...Don't do anything stupid alright? Green is only being like that because he's worried about you."

Satisfied with his appearance, he turned around and winked at his friend. "I'm not doing anything stupid Silver, I'm just hitting the casino. And why can't I look at anyone huh? What if I see a fetching gal in this place? I'm sure there are lots of them around her." Gold adjusted his gloves, "Wanna join me?"

"No..." Gold shrugged at his companion's reply, "and don't be too late or I'll come and drag you out of the gambling place myself." Silver irises observed the man flashing a sardonic grin as he let himself out. The breeder waved and shut the door with an audible click. "Seriously...Don't do anything stupid." The Johto native muttered to himself and watched Strategy's commander toss once more on the bed.

Gold followed the flashing signs to the casino cabin and the two bouncers standing in front of the doors gave him a tiny nod and motioned him to enter. The doors swung easily before him and at once, he sensed a euphoric buzz in his brain. Slot machines lined a corner, numbers reeling, lights flashing and sounds blaring hypnotically when someone hit a jackpot. Tearing his eyes away from them, he gave the room a sweep. A crystal chandelier dangled from the roof and the windows were draped with heavy wine coloured curtains. Fancily dressed men bet their stakes at cards and roulette tables whilst women, dripped in silk and ornate pieces of jewellery, hung on to the men. The Johto native inhaled deeply, the room reeked of money and greedy individuals. People barely gave him a glance as he sauntered to his favourite spot. A slot machine beckoned him teasingly. Grinning to himself, he let Aibo loose and the pokemon dove out of sight. Rubbing his hands gleefully, he pulled off the gloves and peered into the screen. One of ambipom's twin tails peeked out of the machinery and waved in a circular motion and Gold viciously pulled the lever. Rows and rows of numbers, symbols and pictures reeled by on the electric screen and he watched them monotonously, eyes darting about minutely. He waited for the machine to stop, his muscles tightened involuntarily and his breath hitched ever so slightly.

One...

Two...

Three...

The machine exploded with seizure inducing colours and a deafening cacophony. Gold smirked and watched the coins pile in. The man next to him gave him a thumbs up and drunkenly sputtered what sounded like a congratulatory phase. Pulling out his coin case, he reverently scooped the metallic disks up, his fingers enjoying the cold, engraved coins. For a good portion of the night, he sat there, hypnotized and hit the jackpot without fail. As the night passed, more and more people began to take note of a silver haired individual sitting at the slot machines and raking in the money. Dealers paused and stared as another annoying ditty permeated from the corner. The mysterious man never rejoiced when he hit the jackpot, instead, his eyes remained glued to the screen and after mechanically grabbing the coins, he pulled the lever with such force one would think he had a personal vendetta against it. Rumours of cheating passed around the cabin and the patrons discretely sent him glances. Finally, one of the officials placed a white gloved hand on Gold's shoulder and he looked at the guard with glazed eyes.

"Yo!" he greeted and gestured at the machine with a thumb, "I'm on a winning roll here. Mind if I get back to my game?"

"Why don't you try your hands at the other games good sir?" The bouncer directed Gold's attention to the cards and tables, "you seem to have Giratina's luck...I'm sure you'll be able to win more than that." The ebony haired man blinked stupidly and his irises widened at the bulging coin pouch. The official didn't say a word, he had seen worse, some people fainted at the slot machines and this individual was no better. Nodding understandingly, the gambler flashed him a brilliant smile.

"Yeah, you gotta point buddy, no use wasting my time here." The Johto native got up weakly and hauled his over flowing case with him, "by the way, could you tell me what time it is? I don't see a clock in here."

"It's two o'clock in the morning sir."

Two...

Sleep could wait.

"Thanks" Gold intoned and walked over to the roulette tables, his retreating figure reflected off the guard's dark glasses. The man whispered a few words to the mike hidden in his tie and after making sure the gambler fully immersed himself in another game, the official crouched down at the slot machine and inspected it. His brows furrowed, he didn't see any sign of tampering and there wasn't any strange devices stuck inside the machine. Straightening up, he dusted his slacks and looked at Gold once more. All vestiges of confusion disappeared off the silver haired stranger's face and his piercing, golden eyes swung back and forth intently like a pendulum. The bouncer sighed, chalked the odd winning streak up to luck and went back to his post. At the roulette table, the amber eyed trainer became the centre of attention and hot gossip. The other gamblers eyed him with envy and helplessly forked over their hard earned gambling earnings to the new person who joined them. On his left shoulder, an ambipom wound its mauve tails around the man's neck and grinned at them diabolically. Gold's eyes spun in tandem with the roulette and his face split into a smirk when he the little white ball fell into his predicted number. He threw himself on the table and eagerly pocketed his winnings. A feather light touch graced his nape and he straightened up to come face to face with a beautiful woman. She smiled at him, the corners of her glossy lips complimenting the dimples in her cheeks as she wound her arms around his shoulders. The Pokedex holder caught a whiff of perfume; he stepped out her sensual embrace and continued with probing Aibo for the next prediction.

Several hours later, the door to the cabin opened with a bang and Gold stumbled in whilst clutching a bag. Silver unwound himself from his cramped sleeping position on the sofa and stole a glance at the clock, the luminous hands showed half past six. His friend staggered about, dumped the bag on the little table and sunk down on a bed. Green still snored peacefully and after making sure that the commander won't suddenly wake up, the red head turned to his friend and hissed: "It's six in the morning Gold! And I warned you not to stay up all night." Kicking off his shoes and pulling off the wig on his head, the amber eyed trainer ignored his friend and reached for the stuffed bag. Silver's eyes widened on seeing the sack full of money and a few notes fluttered down and settled on the carpet. "Gold...Go to sleep. You have been up all night."

"Did you stay up just to lecture me?" The breeder slurred, "I appreciate the gesture but you didn't have to." Grabbing a fist full of money, he attempted to count it, instead, the notes kept on slipping through his fingers and raining on his feet.

"Are you drunk?" The red head grabbed his friends chin and scrutinized him in the dim light of a lamp. Glassy irises stared back at him dumbly. "Hey...did you-"

The ebony haired man garbled something incomprehensible and Silver understood that Gold had spent far too much time in an adrenaline fuelled state. When he finally came out of the casino, his body simply decided to crash. "Not drunk..." Gold confirmed his suspicions, "my eyes have been spinning in circles and the whole world is spinning with me. I'm so tired I could die." Instead of quietly laying down, Gold gave his friend a little push and reached downwards in order to gather up the notes at his feet; he fumbled about in the dark and sluggishly located the snippets of paper. Holding them more securely this time, the man grabbed his bag, crouched in a corner of the cabin and started counting his money, placing the notes in neat little piles on the table. Silver sat opposite him and simply watched, the rocking of the cruiser lulling him to a state of comfort and relaxation. Time trickled by and he observed Gold tallying his money with an uncanny look in his eyes. The rustle of paper and Green's soft snores provided an odd combination to the silence.

Rustle.

Fingers flew over the notes.

The notes were gathered into a pile.

And placed neatly on the table.

"Why do you want so much money?" The phantom thief softly questioned and his companion looked up dazedly. "Never mind Gold. Get some sleep, you still have quite a bit left before you finish and in the state you're currently in, I won't be surprised if the figures don't add up. When Green wakes up, he'll throw a fit if you aren't ready by the time we reach Unova."

The rustling stopped and the golden eyed Johto native dumped the remains of the notes back in the bag. "Execution doesn't have much money." Gold admitted, "I lost a good portion of it...well...It happens all the time so I didn't dwell on the situation, besides, when we go on a mission, we can easily earn some money and bring the budget out of the danger zone. But...Things didn't go as planned. Senior Red got busted and we had to leave everything behind and run away." A slight pause punctuated the conversation and Gold fiddled with the shirt he wore, "when Green proposed Execution merging with the other departments, I felt a sense of relief...However, Dia didn't want to go anywhere and decided to command the faction by himself. Can you believe it? He is a little brat and he wants to be the leader of Execution" A dry chuckle escaped his lips, he lapsed into a brooding silence and listened to the occasional snore, "He is a brave brat though, I seriously admire him for doing what he did. So I decided to give it my all and help him. I'm the oldest in the department and yet I didn't step up and take responsibility the way he did. Since our huge budget problem won't miraculously disappear; and I can't just take off to the game corner whenever I want to...I took the opportunity to earn quite an amount." Silver nodded understandingly at the bulging sack, "the money should last us quite a while provided the police don't come busting us again. Dia's not good with handling money and budgets so I'm doing it for him." At his words, the red headed male smirked mockingly, "Oi! Don't laugh! I know it's ironic but I swear I won't go wasting this money anytime soon...Man...I think I just threw half of my life away tonight! There was this fine lady being up close and personal with me and I didn't even look at her 'cause you said I shouldn't!"

"Good, I'll arrange a trophy for your accomplishments," Silver drawled and rolled his eyes whilst Gold bemoaned his lack of female companions, "Now will you _please_ get some sleep? I don't want lug your dead weight around in the morning." The execution team member got up from his corner and yawned heartily; he crossed over and moved towards the door.

"Sure, I think Senior Blue has a spare bed in her room...I'll jus-"

Thud.

Silver let out a huff and quietly placed the table lamp back on the wooden bedstead. It had a polished bronze base, perfect for giving his best friend a concussion and knocking him out for the duration of the journey. He smiled sadistically and hauled his weightier co-worker on his shoulders. Staggering, he ambled his way to Green's bed and unceremoniously dumped Gold next to the older man. If Green woke up and instinctively choked the intruder to death...It wasn't his problem. Pulling thin blanket over the black haired man's sleeping form, the red head retired to the next bed and curled up. His eyes found their way to the clock and he let out another involuntary sigh. Half past seven...He spent the last hour trying to coax Gold into sleeping and got nothing but suffering in turn. Sunlight bled through the drapes and danced on the carpet, he eyed the shadows maliciously and pulled the duvet over his head.

Work could wait...

First, he needed to sleep his fatigue away.

Morning of the next day

Unova

Castelia City Wharf

The Kanto and Johto natives sat inside one of the harbour cafes and listlessly drunk their choice of hot beverages. Blue eyed her friends warily; her male comrades huddled opposite her and gave off strong, pessimistic vibes. The professor clutched his head and groaned, Gold, with dark circles around his glazed eyes, had his face squashed on the wooden table they occupied. Silver grabbed his mug with both hands, his expression so dark and thunderous; it reminded her of an imminent storm. She wondered what happened between the three of them. Surely they didn't get into a fight did they? Sapphire irises gave them a once over and arrived at a negative conclusion, they didn't have any bruises and the trio simply appeared to be overly tired. Outside, swanna and ducklett fluttered down to the waterfront shops and a multitude of early morning workers swelled through the entrance of the cafe in order to buy breakfast or coffee. The Dex Criminals tucked themselves away in an inconspicuous corner and Constellate's leader kept a watch on the crowds whilst her friends mulled about. Overhead, a fan rotated lazily and distributed the aroma of milk and freshly baked croissants throughout the fancy cafe.

Green shut his eyes against the light spilling form a wall fixture, everything seemed too bright. The sun burned his retinas when he disembarked from the S.S Spiral. Gurgling the steaming contents of his mug down, he set the cup down with a clunk and furiously rubbed his temples. "Gold...What did you do to me?" He hissed lowly and trained his jade irises accusingly at the ebony haired man. "I feel nauseous and my head is pounding."

"That's the last time I'm spending an entire night in the game corner..." Execution's member blathered nonsensically, "everything is turning around me...My life is flashing in front of my eyes." Gold peeled his face off the table top and snatched another envelope of sugar, tearing the top part off, he dumped it in his half-drunk coffee and swirled the dark liquid around. Silver observed him with a grimace, his best friend put one too many sugars in that coffee of his. "I'm tired...can we take a day off and sleep?" The amber eyed man questioned and pouted at Blue, the woman rolled her eyes and shook her head firmly, she pointed at a livid Green and repeated his question.

"He spiked senior Green's drink with a generous dose of sleeping powder..."

"He...YOU What?!" The spiky haired brunette's fists curled beneath fur lined cuffs and he sat up straight.

"And then he spent the rest of the night lolling around in the casino and making a mess of himself." Silver ignored Green's hostile response and glared at Gold, "Fortunately, he didn't do anything to compromise our position so you can cut him some slack." Oak relaxed his rigid stance but his incensed gaze never left the Johto trainer, "Gold had some responsibility to uphold and he knew you wouldn't allow him to go and blow his energy in the game corner so he resorted to drastic measures." The red head tucked his chin in the black turtle neck he wore and listened to his sister's disproving remarks. "I understand Sis, he's forever doing stupid things and his actions will continue to be irrational. He won't listen and the only way to keep him quiet is to clobber him into obedience or fix a date with a girl he fancies..." The Kanto natives gave Gold a fleeting glance and despite being tired, the perverted male still had the energy to wriggle his eyebrows in a twisted manner. "See? Can we give him a break for today? He's-"

Constellate's leader brusquely stood up from her chair and cut Silver's request off. "I'm sorry Silver...we can't afford breaks." Turning to execution's member who highlighted his self-induced plight with a pitiful moan she added, "Shape up Gold, Silver went through many nights without sleep, what kind of rival will you be if you can't last a night?" Her words had a profound effect on the golden eyed trainer and at once, his dulled irises ignited with a competitive spark. Drowning the lukewarm coffee in one gulp, he stood up defiantly and sent a gesture at Silver. The man simply rolled his eyes and preferred to stare at one of the painting displayed on the wall. It showed a latte art and he wondered how people felt when they drank little masterpieces, did those taste any better or... "Come on guys, we have to book a hotel, draw up plans and sortie. Don't dawdle around." Piling the dirty cups into the centre of the table, Blue left a generous tip and they trooped out into the bustling street. For a moment, Gold swayed at his spot and grabbed on to lamp post as the quartet briskly made their way to a hotel. The surroundings seemed to close on him and he shook his head vigorously to ward away the vestiges of sleep. This part of Castelia seemed very familiar to him and he struggled to quash the bitter memories which threatened to engulf him.

 _How could he do this to me?_

They booked two rooms and Gold timorously complained when they found out the rooms contained one bed each. He didn't want to be anywhere near Green, the male savagely stated and Silver suggested that he sleep on the floor. Ignoring the bickering trio, Blue did a customary sweep of both the hotel rooms; she checked underneath the beds, removed the paintings, studied their frames and scrutinized the door knobs, basin taps and even the screws holding the bathroom mirror up for any bugs or hidden cameras. Satisfied with her observations and the tasteful decor of their semi-luxurious rooms, she unpacked her trolley case on a chestnut desk and hauled a multi compartmented box out. Green and the others stopped their arguing when they laid eyes on the chest as it fanned and gave them a perfect view of the contents. Pallets of make up in all sorts of colours, lip balms in an array of different shades, contact lenses, wigs, fake eyelashes, eyebrows and face enhancements lay juxtaposed with each other. In another section, the brown haired woman ran her fingers over a row of coloured hairspray. Plucking a can out, she turned towards her comrades, grinned and held it up. The three males ceased their verbal fight and smoothly settled for poking each other viciously as they took synchronized steps away from the female commander. Green brought two fingers together, gave an accurate and painful jab in Gold's solar plexus and after all the energy in the ebony haired male's body drained out, the spiky haired brunette pushed him towards Blue. Constellate's leader winked at her quarry and he frowned miserably...the wink promised pain. Whilst being dragged to the bathroom by an unrelenting Kanto native, Gold helplessly glanced at Silver who peeked at his best friend disinterestedly and resumed in his dispirited scanning of the room. The painting in the top left corner looked very interesting...Far more interesting than Gold's wild gesticulations for help.

* * *

The mournful bellow of Sinnoh's bitterly cold winds as they lamented through rocks and whispered past peaks, sung a sad tune in Emerald's ears as his fingers flew over a keyboard. A fleece blanket tucked around his shoulders provided warmth and his hunched form cast a haunting shadow on the cave wall. To his side, the fire crackled merrily, hissing, spitting and reducing wood to cinders and ash. A collection of five laptops lay open before the midget blonde and expertly, his irises flew over them as information streamed in from all corners of the world. Despite hacking his way deep into the hearts of several intelligence agencies, he still had to find a lick of information on Red. Perhaps the ex-champion's affairs were being handled in an off record manner. It would make total sense to keep quiet if the International Police didn't want a public riot on their hands. His stringent gaze veered off one dimly lit screen to the other and he spared a second to read up the new reports streaming in from Green, Platina and Yellow's group as they uploaded information on an hourly basis. The chamber he sat in remained eerily quiet and slowly, very slowly, the sound of a deep breath and brush of hot air skimmed past the top of his ear. Clenching his jaw tightly and reigning in an outburst, he jerked his head around and his long blonde hair whipped the intruder in the face. Diamond blinked and sheepishly backed away from his scowling senior.

"To bed...All of you, I'm accustomed to staying up nights, it's a requirement when you are part of Team Strategy, the only thing you people are doing is distracting me." Rald hissed and stared at the shifting band of humans accusingly, "Ruby...Crystal...in fact all of you...Just leave me alone and go to sleep!" The group seated behind him scooted back a bit more and refused to leave. Glaring at them for a moment longer, he turned his attention back to the laptop and found cake crumbs all over the keyboard. "Diamond...Move back or I'll shift someplace else." The new commander crouched next to Pearl and the room descended into a quiet hush once more. Rald saw Ruby straining his eyes to get a glimpse of the screen and for the benefit of the unmoving crowd, decided to read some of the snippets of information out aloud. "Platina and Whi-2 stated that the police and public are still wary of the Dex-criminals and thus we should tread carefully. As for senior Gold...He let himself get wasted in the S.S Spiral's Casino...Wait, they have games in there?" He heard Crystal exhale angrily and continued with his commentary, "and now Senior Gold is giving the rest a difficult time...Oh, he also spiked Green's drink." At this, Rald and Pearl giggled fitfully as they tried to imagine their commander falling for such an old trick. "They are currently in a hotel room and senior Blue is fixing up disguises for them. As for Saph and Yellow, they will be landing in Johto shortly." Instead of alleviating the tension hanging above them like a cloud, the blonde's words served to worry them further. Right at the back, Crystal hugged White close to her and sighed.

It's going to be hard to stay awake through this long night.

* * *

 **A/N:** Poor Gold, his gambling tendencies and the torture the Kanto native will heap on him. Anyway, did everyone enjoy New Year's day? Good, because I was writing exams. Much thanks to all those who read and reviewed, virtual hot chocolate for all.

At Jack54311: Mega-evolved aggron looks pretty nasty, and apparently aggron mercilessly beats up anyone that violates its environment. How is he gonna get past that? Heh! At sakurafox1218: How are they going got get past the aggron? Read on to find out. Red's pokemon are powerful, they were just caught off guard. Gold and Green, heh, have fun reading more about them. At Guest: Your review was…AWESOME! I like delving deep into a character's mind and seeing what makes them tick. I've got two Ace Attorney fanfics where I explore Godot and Kristoph's inner workings. Anyway, the short story was fantastic. Obviously Yellow won't always be sunny. Glad to noted the little details, I like to put them in because it's the little things that make the most impact. Pfft, Gold should have reckless as a second name and I honestly think he will flirt with Yellow just to rub Green off the wrong way :D


	68. Probing into his cognizance

**Chapter 68: Probing into cognizance**

Early evening

Johto

Goldenrod City

The magnetic levitation train came to seamless stop in the underground station. Pneumatic doors hissed open and the crowds poured out in an orderly manner. Sapphire got off the plastic leather couches and together with her petite senior, hauled herself through throngs of people and stepped out on to the station platform. Electronic voices streamed in from all sides, directing passengers and providing information whilst e-boards winked with timetables and train routes. The duo made their way past the cloying underground air, located a flight of stairs and emerged into the watery light of the evening sun. Yellow took a moment to hitch her bag up her shoulders and admire the radio tower, the red skeleton of metal gleamed vividly against an orange tinted sky. Taking a deep breath, she motioned for Sapphire to follow her as they made for the nearest bus terminal. Their original destination, Violet city, also served as the home of Falkner, a flying type gym leader and the vice chief of the International Police. Repeated combings of the web and hacking into the International Police's servers failed to divulge Red's location and thus, the commanders decided to either wring information from the vice chief himself, or raid his office for the important documents. Staying in Violet or Goldenrod City would be tantamount to giving themselves away and the latter also housed the Police headquarters of Johto; the blonde viewed the skyscraper dwarfing the other buildings around it. A few flags fluttered from the mast set into the roof of the building and she tore her eyes off the menacing domicile and focused on the region map instead.

Azalea town, tucked into a cove sheltered by the Union cave to the right and the Ilex Forest to the left, seemed to be a perfectly safe town to stay in; the gym leader of the town, Bugsy, did not have any affiliations with the police and he was currently visiting Cherrygrove city. The hamlet also served as a stop between Violet and Goldenrod; confirming their new destination with a firm shake of her head, Yellow set off with Sapphire lazily trailing at her heels. On entering the bus, the brown haired junior squirmed uncomfortably and settled for staring outside the windows. Cityscape gave way to rolling green pastures, dotted with miltanks and mareep. As the station to the Ilex forest loomed closer and the dark canopy of trees stretched higher, the Kanto native sensed an increasing urgency in her co-worker's actions. The girl fisted with her shorts, pulled on her gloves and ran fingers through her hair, making it messier than a murkrow's nest. Finally, unable to ignore the way Saph's eyes skirted around nervously, the blonde spoke up and asked her a question.

"I was wondering senior Yellow..." the teen's words came out in a hurried rush as she glanced out the window, "...can we stay in the Ilex Forest instead of a hotel in Azalea Town? Ever since I was young, our family used to go camping and...Well, Papa stopped camping after Mama died, he spends his time immersed in fieldwork and I help him a lot, but we never stay together." Uttering a silent groan of misery, Sapphire forlornly watched as the bus rattled right past the station platform. The crude stage of wood grew smaller till the trees swallowed the scenery up. There goes her camping plan. Exhaling in a defeated manner, she leaned back on the lumpy seats and tucked her hair behind her ears. The healer gently smiled at her and pressed one pale hand against the Hoenn native's forearm and the girl eased the tension from her body.

"Of course we can stay there, I like camping as well and more often than not, I spend nights in the Viridian Forest." Yellow softly admitted and Sapphire giggled, "Since we missed the stop, we can take another bus...Or hike from Azalea town. Hmm, come to think of it, we don't have camping equipment." Her junior snorted and replied that they didn't need camping equipment and the blonde woman agreed. "I suppose so...After all we have been through, it's nice to take time off for healing." They lapsed into a comfortable silence and discreetly, Sapphire peeked at her senior. There wasn't a person in the organization that disliked Yellow for some reason. Everyone adored her and privately, youngster felt a bubble of jealously wafting around her head, the green eyed monster dissipated when the older female held out a lunch box packed with delicious sandwiches. Famished due to the constant travelling and infrequent break times, the wild trainer gladly grabbed a sandwich after wiping her grubby fingers on the back of her shorts. Yellow frowned disapprovingly at this but Sapphire smiled cheekily and after thanking her, bit into her food with obvious relish. Mood content and hunger satiated, the brown haired teenager reclined with her face squashed against the window and soon fell asleep with the purr of the bus' engine roaring pleasantly in her ears.

Night

Johto

Ilex Forest

Shafts of silver light permeated between gnarled trunks and cast shadowy illusions of the creatures inhabiting the forest. The ground splayed out before them, patches of white intermingling with grey and black, plants waved in a thin breeze, buckling under a half moon. The semi-circle suspended in the sky, struggled to be seen through dense foliage and uttering a grunt, Sapphire heaved her machete and hawked her way through a sea of branches and vines which roughly brushed against her bare arms. Behind her, Yellow followed at a slower pace, the wild girl carved a thick trail by breaking tree branches and stripping off bark. Ferns and smaller angiosperms were brutally crushed under her sneakers. Wiping a sheen of sweat from her brow, the blue eyed girl brought out a flask and drank a healthy amount of water, smacking her lips, she stood deadly still and heard the distant buzzing of angry insects. The hum faded and she continued her senseless slashing after glancing back and making sure Yellow followed. Despite the humid heat clinging to her skin, the night time forest provided a welcome retreat from her urban surroundings and the bitter chill of their new base. The plantation stretched out endlessly in all directions and her sharp vision picked out pokemon slinking along and keeping a watchful eye out for these intruding humans. The haunting hoots of noctowl echoed and re-echoed. Volbeat and illumise danced in the night air, their bodies pulsing akin to golden globules of light. Sparkling crimson eyes glared from the deep, their hostility outlined by a complimentary snarl and a flash of ivory canines. Talons scratching on bark alerted her to the presence of predatory birds.

None of these fazed the two females as they blissfully continued their night time stroll through the forest. Finally, the duo came to a clearing, laying down her backpack gratefully on the spongy grass, Sapphire cleared the area of woody plants and Yellow proceeded to gather the sticks for a fire. Toro popped out of his capsule with a shrieking growl and several birds flew away instantaneously, their wings temporarily blotting out the moon. A spark ignited into a roaring fire and soon, the two humans and blaziken had miniature flames dancing in their eyes. Retrieving several cans of max repel, Sapphire generously emptied them on the tree trunks lining the glade and tossed them with a satisfied huff. Marching back to Yellow, she helped the older female in laying out blankets and unravelling their sleeping bags. The sticky heat eventually evaporated into a crisp breeze and it skimmed past her skin, leaving her hairs standing on end. Grinning wildly, she smoothed out her blankets and unceremoniously plopped down on them. All around her, the undergrowth whispered, screamed and cried with the tongues of different pokemon. Sapphire inhaled deeply and the sickly saccharine smell of sweet scent drifted to her nose along with a faint whiff of something toxic. She looked up and admired the stars with a content sigh. When was the last time she spent a clean night like this? With the stars as a roof and a bed of springy grass to sleep on? Near her, the blonde strategy member kept on milling about, meticulously tending to the fire, waving off a few bugs that were brave enough to trespass and unpacking food along with other essentials. The Hoenn native observed her carefully and an uncharacteristic ache took root in her heart.

Yellow reminded her of her mother.

"This is nice, thank you for the suggesting that we spend the night in the Ilex forest Sapphire." The blonde nodded warmly and settled down on her sleeping bag. A long twig in her hands repeatedly stoked the fire and doused the clearing with a dry heat. Toro snuggled on her lap, the bulk of his upper body resting on Yellow's legs. One by one, the din resounding deep in the forest died down and stillness descended. The crackling of flames roared loudly in Yellow's ears and this sound was punctuated by the occasional buzz. She let go of her ponytail and it tumbled down into a silky mess. Running her fingers through her hair, she attempted to untangle it and jumped on feeling another pair of fingers winding through her strands. Green had a sneaky habit of doing this when she was asleep at her desk and the thought of him coerced a red flush on her cheeks as she imagined the jade eyed male being near her. Swallowing her fantasies, the hazel eyed woman half turned to see Sapphire combing her fingers through her hair, the teenager's face was masked with a pained emotion. Smiling at her, Yellow allowed her to do what she wanted; after all, being in the organization tore a person's consciousness in more than one ways.

"...Your hair is nice and soft..." Sapphire trailed off and the frozen expression on her face melted when her senior looked to the front, "no wonder Green likes to run his fingers through it." The Hoenn native grinned on seeing her senior's form stiffen due to embarrassment. "Rald to me about it...That midget is a pervert you know...You should be careful of him." Yellow nodded in agreement and laughed, the little giggle escaping her lips rung like bells in Saph's ears and reminded her of days gone by. "Why did you join this organization senior?" The azure eyed girl further questioned and her hands fell from the silken strands, she waited, her breath stilling as her companion replied, her tone delicate like fine glass. Yellow's reason for joining the Dex-criminals remained painfully simple, she ran after a man she admired and that caused her to be embroiled in the very heart of the criminal group. "Yeah...I kinda get your feeling 'cause I did the same. I run after Ruby and till today, he is one step ahead of me and staring me down." Her hands resumed the restless combing of her friend's hair and she absentmindedly divulged her inner contemplations, "I hate it when he refuses to battle because he shrieks about splitting a nail or ruining his skin, I know his reasons are more than that, possibly due to gym leader Norman constantly pushing him to become a better fighter. I wish we could all just spill our secrets to each other and get over with it! I mean how hard could it be?" Fuming internally, she caught the sound of her senior's mellow laughter and quieted down. "Stop laughing..." the girl sternly stated, "we hardly ever hang out together and here I am, telling you things I won't dare tell Ruby." A pause followed her words and in a tiny, childish voice she confessed: "You remind me of my mother senior Yellow, Mama was a very kind and gentle person."

The sounds of the environment completely died out from Sapphire's ears. Even the air seemed to stop blowing when the woman got up, turned around and engulfed her in a tender embrace.

Something wet and salty cascaded down her cheeks.

" _I never cried when Mama died...I couldn't. When I saw Papa hanging on to her and sobbing I had to be strong for him."_

Her voice talked of its own accord; she didn't remember saying those words out aloud.

More wet and salty tears traced a line on her lips and dripped down.

The hug became suffocating and unbearable, she couldn't breathe; couldn't speak and yet at the same time, she felt safe.

So safe.

Like a sheltered child in her mother's arms.

Sapphire wailed like a wounded animal and a chorus of howls erupted around her and drifted off into the recesses of the night. The forest shifted, the winds picked up and played a sad whistle in tune with her bubbling emotions. Yellow held her tightly, murmuring words of comfort whilst Toro prowled around the two females, his ears perked and feathers ruffled from a mixture of fear and anxiety. It never saw its master cry like this and the scene before him unsettled the fire type. At long last, his human quieted down and sobbed her way into unconsciousness. The Kanto native wiped her tears repeatedly and witnessed as her junior delved into slumber. Hopefully the next time Sapphire wakes up, she will forge ahead with one less burden in her heart.

* * *

Mid-morning

Sinnoh

Jubilife City

The headlines, black ink on white posters, gnawed on her mind like acid. Platinum forcefully steered her smouldering gaze away from the enticing posters, they served to irritate her, sensational words whipping the reader and public into a frenzy over nothing. The Berlitz family has been suspected to have ties with the Dex-criminals...So what? The nobles of Ransei have their hands puppeteering several dastardly plans and no one bats an eyelid. Spying the worrying gaze on her companion's face, she gave Whi-2 a stiff smile and marched without looking back. They didn't need to scour for any more information, the sheer hate for the Dex criminals, both from the police and the public, came in tangible waves. Even though people most likely did not have the faintest idea of her identity, she felt their eyes on her, judging, leering and trying to figure her personality. Platinum didn't know herself so how could others unravel her or know of her never ending struggle to pose as the perfect heiress of the Berlitz family? Behind her, the Unovian viewed her surroundings with an amiable smile. Whi-2 had morphed from a shy girl to a frightening spy. The girl's expression showed an easy and carefree attitude despite her inner turmoil. A vein of admiration surfaced in the noble's jumbled thoughts, her list of admired people had expanded to include all her friends in the Organization.

Suddenly, she is struck by a thought.

"We should split up." Platinum flatly declared and pretended not to notice the betrayed look in her comrade's eyes. "The Berlitz family is in the centre of a huge scandal," the girl pointed to the placards, "and I will return to my parents and get to the bottom of this. Please understand that I am only trying to find a source of information. We have a good idea of what the public thinks of us...we are trash...Scum." Whi-2 flinched on hearing such crude words from her normally poised senior. "My family archives have information not found anywhere else in the Poke-verse...I will come back with something valuable. Meanwhile...Please continue the investigation without me." The brown haired teen said nothing, only an angry flicker of her azure irises leaked her feelings. Nodding silently, she managed a sunny grin and guilt churned in the heiress's stomach, making her queasy. "I apologize once again, however this search of ours is futile. Let me escort you back to base and I shall leave from there."

Whi-2 kicked at a discarded snack wrapper as it tumbled in a breeze, "No thank you," she grit out politely, "I'm fully capable of taking care of myself. You can leave senior, I understand that being a noble must be pretty hard on you. Take care of yourself." It might be Platina's imagination but the noble discerned a pitying undertone lacing her junior's voice. "I'll conduct my own investigations and don't worry about people trying to harm me; I'll kick them where it hurts." The Unova native cheerfully waved, walked away with a bounce in her step and hollered, "I'll be back home later so tell the others not to worry about me."

And she was gone, one of the many casually dressed girls in the crowd.

The Sinnoh native blinked, tried to process the strange turn of events and eventually gave up. When you had co-workers as flamboyant as Ruby and sombre as Silver, one tended to accept anything thrown at them. Taking a moment to compose herself, she smoothed out the wrinkles in her pale pink wrap dress and neatly arranged the strands of her hair so it would frame her face perfectly. Adapting a strict posture, she strode to the nearest shuttle service and sought to take the next available tram to Sandgem Town. Although she could call her parents and they would gladly send an armoured vehicle to pick her up, Platina found that taking public transportation would enable her to sort out her crowding ponderations and she welcomed the prospect of emptying her head from rampant contemplations.

Several pairs of interested eyes followed a lone figure down the sidewalk. The girl looked cute, with her long chocolate hair styled to two buns on either side of her head. Crystalline irises were shaded by a visor and her sneakers made little noises as she dragged them down the pavement. Whi-2 let out an irritated exhale and glanced at her surroundings, glassy shop fronts reflected her shadowy image back and her eyes veered to the news...the Police put up a reward for anyone with information on a member of the Dex criminals. For a moment, the offer became tempting; she could easily sell them and go back to her old life. The picture of a smirking Lack-2 and Hugh popped up in her mind and she gritted her teeth furiously. Traitors, her so-called childhood friend were betrayers and this sent an incensed throb of fury coursing through her veins. She won't be like them, the teenager promised herself, she would rise above both of them and keep true to the Organization she currently called home. Her members, unique in their quirks and personality, were kind and brilliant people. Shrugging, she continued her aimless walk down the streets and abruptly turned to find a blonde haired rich kid trailing her. Perfect, the Unovian rolled her eyes, now she had one more problem to add to her plate. The dude smiled at her suavely, running a hand through short cropped hair and she caught the glint of several rings adorning slim fingers. He had an air of carelessness, a teenager rebelling against his parents if the thick silver chains choking his neck were any indication.

"Are you lost?" He asked and she looked up to be ensnared by a pair of forest green eyes, "I don't suppose you are from Sinnoh, because we don't have girls with features as fine as yours." Blonde dude flashed a brilliant smile and the sun mirrored off his polished teeth, "Wanna hang out together?" he finished and only the slight fiddle of his fingers let slip the nervousness he felt. Whi-2 found herself comparing the stranger with Gold, give a few years to this kid and he'll put the amber eyed senior's flirting skills to shame. Smiling coyly, she noted the fervid gleam in his eyes and urged the desire to kick him. Stepping a bit to the side, he swept his hand around and indicated to his friends, a group of teenagers much like her. The females had mixed reactions, some of them grinned and greeted whilst a few others snorted and sneered.

She missed her old life.

Maybe...

If she could forget about them and just mingle in the crowd. Fade out from view.

From the radar then perhaps could she start anew?

Highly unlikely. Blue would find her. As much as she loved the woman, the beautiful leader of Constellate was a luxray in mareep's clothing. And if that lady found her, they would show no mercy.

"Sure I'd like to hang out with you," Whi-2 grinned, "but first, what do you think about the Dex Criminals?" Her question made the others flinch, however, the one standing before her cocked his head to one side and feigned interest.

"I think they are cool..." he dismissively waved his hand and lightly grabbed her arm, "come on, let's hit the game corner together." Whi-2 let herself be dragged and intently studied their expressions. No good, she concluded, these young people were too immersed in life to care about the environment around them. The world could fall apart for all they cared. Fashion trends, social media, games, money and food were more important. She and her rich kid escort lagged behind the rest of the group as they traversed down shady alleys permeated with the smell of rubbish overflowing from dumpsters. In a smooth move, she twisted out of his loose grasp and instead of following his friends, he hobbled after her. "What are you doing?" he voiced exasperatedly and gestured to his crew, "didn't they make you feel welcome?" A silver of worry passed his glassy irises and she felt slightly remorseful for doing this to an unsuspecting individual.

"No...It's not that...Umm I'm not sure if I should tell you this..." Whi-2 trailed off and her eyes flickered around in a show of worry, her hands gripped the pleated skirt and scrunched up the clothing in a bunch. Calmly, he placed his hand over hers and smiled comfortingly.

"You can tell me whatever you like..." the teenager paused, "does this have something to do with the Dex Criminals?" She nodded, "well...they are an erratic bunch, my dad follows the news zealously and he forces me to keep up with current affairs. Apparently, those people are a group with Pokedexes who uses their prowess and skills for criminal activities rather than contributing to society. Pfft, I think they are cool; seriously, they are forcing everyone into a wakeup call. Secretly, I wouldn't mind joining them but I hear that they don't recruit people in a normal way. The moment someone, somewhere in the world gets a Pokedex, they are automatically kidnapped. Like a secret cult huh?" The boy talked animatedly and Whi-2 understood not everyone hated the Dex Criminals, according to her Organization's actions; the public either loved them, or viewed them as dirt. "What do you think about them?" he asked and leaned dangerously close, "do you agree with me or..."

"My sister has been kidnapped by them...I think they are the bane of the Poke-verse" The Unovian flatly replied and scrutinized him, his face tightened indiscernibly, pale skin pulling over his shapely jaw. A second later he relaxed and the previous tension from his face vanished.

"I guess...They are abominable people...But not all criminals are as deplorable as we think...maybe they have their reasons. I don't know. But they are human aren't they?"

 _They are human aren't they?_

His words echoed around her head as the boy slumped to the ground, his biker jacket grazing against the rough brick face of the building. Putting the Taser away in a hidden pocket, she crouched down to the handsome figure and unzipped his jacket. The dull metallic colour of a gun commanded her attention and she slipped her fingers into an inside pocket and pulled out several snippets of paper. A grim smile formed on her lips. Rich kid served as a lower ranking member of the police and obviously had a good idea of who he picked up. It's a shame though, instead of arresting her on sight, he had the sense to try and cajole her into giving herself in. Shredding his papers, which included a picture of Blue, a blurred mug shot of her, and a portrait of Platina; she threw them over his fallen form like confetti and ducked out of the alleyway.

Her explorations were done and she had a piece of advice for her friends.

Trust no one, not even the random, good looking stranger offering to befriend you.

* * *

Late afternoon

Valora

Imperial Palace interrogation room

A grip nestled in his ebony locks and tightened comfortably. It was a sweet sort of pain, tugging him back to his teenage memories when Pika used to wake him up by snatching his hair. Who else did that? He pondered, Misty, once, when she yelled at him for being so irresponsible; Gold, who would keep on shaking him till he groaned and woke up; Diamond and Black...Heck, Green as well when the older man needed to prove a point. The mellow ache on his scalp intensified, his skin protesting against the rough treatment. Soon, a fiery pain radiated from the crown of his head as a person snatched a fistful of raven hair and viciously yanked his head back. Red heard his neck snap and he gasped in pain. His head tingled unpleasantly and he wanted to reach up and massage the numbness away. Unfortunately, his hands remained bound with a special brand of Ransei's ornamental rope. He wore a loose fitting shirt and pants, standard wear for the criminals of Ransei and draft blew about his legs, flapping the excess fabric hanging limply on his form.

"Speak." A guttural voice spilled from the guard currently fisting his hair, "we complied with your request, your pokemon have been treated back to perfect health and due to their rather daring nature, we kept them safe inside premier capsules." Crimson irises shifted apathetically and disregarded the lower ranked noble's rumblings. The ex-champion noted a few more sentries posted at the entrance of a lavishly decorated interrogation room. Huge porcelain vases displayed exotic plants...No doubt poisonous by the looks of their vividly coloured flowers. A silk screen separated the room vertically into two asymmetrical halves and last night, the room had been empty save for himself and his escorts. This time, Red sensed the presence of someone and through the miniscule spaces of the dyed threads; he could pick out the pompous form of a bulky warlord. "Speak!" The voice grated on his ears and he languidly gaped at the guard and flashed him a mocking smile.

It earned him a hard slap against his jaw. He tasted blood, filling his mouth with the sharp tint of iron.

"You will not get a word out of him if you keep on doing that Tenkai." A masked man slinked out from behind the screen and levelled a look at the prisoner. "His tenacity is admirable, two days without sleep and only the barest article of food and he still has the energy to sneer." Hanzo, a ninja in the service of the Warlord, slammed a flat palm on Red's chest. The criminal's breath stilled and his heart slowed down. A searing agony spread from the left point of his chest and rolled down his entire body. He broke out in a sweat, saw stars gallivanting around the room and he found it difficult to breath. His heart squeezed in terrible grip and moments later, he doubled over and threw up blood, coughing and gagging for breath. "If he still does not talk...we may have to kill him." Not caring if his hands got soaked by blood and saliva, he warrior reached for Red's chin and snapped it up. "Tell me...Where are the rest of your comrades?" Hanzo hoarsely questioned and positioned another palm over his victim's rapidly beating heart. He could taste the man's fear.

"I don't know."

" _I don't know."_

I don't know.

Hanzo's eyes widened in disbelief. For the past two days, despite the treatment he received, the prisoner kept on repeating the same sentence over and over again. I don't know where they went, I don't know what they are doing and I sure don't know their objectives if I'm holed up in this fancy dump! The scarlet eyed convict vehemently swore and said. The ninja curbed the impulse to form a fist and smash it against Red's chest. A well-executed touch of death would put the man out his misery with minimal effort and blood spillage. After all, his arteries and veins would rupture inside the body. Curling his hand, Hanzo drew it away and disappeared. Red blinked, not quite believing his eyes and saw a shadow collapsing on the tatami mat. Must be the creepy ninja and his equally terror instilling pokemon. Sighing, he crumpled forward and drowned out the roar of blood filling his ears. Fatigue overcame him and he welcomed the idea of a nice sleep in his stark bed back in the dingy cell. The moment he shut his eyes, a scalding bucket of water poured over his head which was followed by a pail of ice cold water. His senses screeched and petered into numbness. Blinking the excess moisture out of his eyes, he straightened up.

And his vision obscured with the form of a hulking man mountain.

Warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu, his muscle laden chest made wider by pleats of decorative armour, studied Red like an interesting specimen. The latter, instead of being awed by the man's presence, wondered about his dubious fashion sense and inwardly heard Blue clucking her tongue in scorn. An elaborate war helmet sat proudly on top of the man's head. The top of the head gear spanned a meter off the helmet, in a shape of a tempered sword whilst the rest of Ieyasu consisted of a wall of muscle hidden behind strips of blue, gold and silver sheets of metal. A royal blue cape and sash softened the overall metal man appearance and on spying the man's dark eyes, the ex-commander saw a tingle of fatherly warmth swirling in the depths. His aggron, wearing a collar of diamond studded gold, shuffled after him and Red nearly wet himself with fear. The metallic monster hammered a primordial fear in him the first day when it singlehandedly sent his entire team tethering on the brink of extinction, since then, he couldn't look at the iron armour beast in the eye. Everything Red was ever afraid of surfaced on seeing the monster and it drove him to the edge of unconsciousness.

"You are unwilling to talk boy..." The warlord's rich tones bounced against the rice paper doors and walls. To him, Red was a boy, a naughty child who needed to be punished. "This is quite a predicament you landed yourself into. A champion, well loved by the public. If you wanted to do underhanded deeds, make sure you put a shield on your sins and pay your retainers well." Ieyasu leaned closer, leather straps and armour plates groaning against his bulging thews. "You have to understand that I am sacrificing my pride to allow a commoner in our prison cells. Nonetheless...Since we have accepted the proposition of the police, we are tasked with drawing information out from you. However, you are not making our work easy. From the firm look in your eyes, I presume you shall not divulge any information. Physical force has been futile so we shall resort to other, less attractive ways." The way Ieyasu expressed his next phase of torture, made a criminal look forward to whatever heinous treatment they nobles might have in store. The fighter squirmed, defiance shining in his scarlet irises as the warlord pulled away and marched out of the sliding doors with the detestable aggron following him like a loyal puppy.

The Kanto native exhaled.

No matter what they threw at him, he could take it, take it and emerge stronger than ever.

He had to do this.

Red imagined Pika, Saur and his friends cheering and jeering him on. It brought a semblance of comfort. He delved into the rhapsodized escape of his mind and let his conscious skip around blissfully imagined fantasies. He wondered about Misty and his heart fluttered in his chest, did she know about his capture. Did the red head play a piece in getting him here? Funnily, the thought didn't make him angry; it was her job after all. Wriggling on the hard, wooden chair, he worked some feeling into his stiff legs and slumped as far as his bound hands allowed him. Time to take a nap before the next person tries their luck with him. Tucking his head towards his chest, he heard the faint, dismissive snort of Tenkai. The guard wanted to jab the prisoner awake when the man simply rolled over and snored moments after the current session. Guarding a commoner proved to be a menial task and every day, the other members gossiped about him. Shaking off his anger, he kept a hawkish watch on the ex-champion, so far, the male did not entertain any thoughts of escaping but it never hurt to be cautious.

The next time he woke, the room felt a lot colder. Jerking upwards, he saw the lamps and brackets devoid of flames and none of the guards were in the room. A brief bout of confusion overtook Red and he craned his neck to catch a glimpse of someone.

"Looking for me?"

A cruel voice sent shivers down Red's spine and he sat up straight on feeling three sharp prongs graze his throat. Where did the weapon come from? He couldn't see anyone in front of him. And why were the surroundings so dark? A feeling of restlessness seized him along with the growing pressure on his throat. The pain grew to intolerable proportions and it hurt to breath. Suddenly, his vision shattered. The traditional styled room broke and revealed stained tiles and a filthy cell. Opposite him, a body hung limply about a meter off the ground. The corpse swung listlessly, its neck clamped securely by a steel brace and chained to an overhead girder. Crimson eyes trailed up the unfortunate man's dirty garb and stopped cold at his head. A head full of ebony locks fell over partially open, lifeless eyes. A dribble of dried blood ran down chapped lips. Glassy, scarlet eyes stared back at him.

Red screamed and kicked backwards. He was looking at his corpse which swung silently mere meters in front of him.

He kept on screeching till a hard slap brought him back to reality.

"Looking for me?" The ear curling tone belonged to another man currently jamming a three pronged hand guard against Red's throat. Breathing, the ex-champion sniffed like a child and tensed, he had an impeccable view of the warden's muscles, knitting tightly against each other beneath a flimsy fishnet shirt. Several belts, looping over his waist, shoulders and arms, contained an array of short knives, throwing stars, spear heads and a sword. An ornamented forehead protector pushed back a wild mane of blood red hair and the ninja warrior's deathly pale face had red streaks decorating it. "Kotaro." The man curtly introduced himself, "Ieyasu called me to extract information out of you since...You refuse to give into the palace guard's inadequate treatment. I don't blame you." His leathery voice ghosted like a dead man's whisper over Red's ears and the criminal shivered from fright. How could so many things in this region scare him senseless? "Don't worry, even though zoroark played a lovely trick on you. It won't be enough to force you to spit something out. First of all tell me..." Kotaro eased his deadly hand guard away from Red's sweating neck and queried whilst the latter swallowed rapidly in an effort to keep his nausea in check, "how did it feel to see your dead body hanging in front of you? Gruesome isn't it?" A sadistic smile wound its way to the Warlord's lips when instead of replying, the prisoner did the only thing he could do in this type of situation. The commoner doubled over and threw up all over the polished wooden floor, his body convulsing painfully. Walking behind him carefully, the ninja grabbed the victim's sweaty hair and yanked his head up. "Do you know about manas dunking?" Trembling in his grasp, the scarlet eyed man shook his head in a negative, "Ho...It's a method where one person delves into the mind of another." Sharp nails scratched against Red's scalp, "the procedure is outlawed in every other region except this one due to its drastic side effects. However you don't have to worry. My zoroark and I will make sure to keep your mind in barely capable state once we are done."

 _Please don't..._

Red wanted to speak but found that he couldn't move his tongue. His sense numbed, folding on each other as a series of bizarre and fear provoking images flashed in his head. A child dragged out, bloody and screaming. A boy abandoned by his parents. The same boy digging a grave for himself next to his deceased parents. Planes roaring overhead, dropping missiles and exploding the earth apart as clods of dirt sprayed up and formed a screen against the sky. An infant crying in the severed arms of his dead mother. A champion sitting alone in a lavishly decorated room and sobbing himself to unconsciousness.

The Kanto native's head lolled over to one side as Kotaro dug into his memories. Due to his recent fright, all his experiences and emotions were starkly divided and neatly stacked instead of being tangled and embroiled with each other. The temporary groupings won't last long as the neural network will attempt to restructure the brain into a normal functioning state. The Warlord worked fast, smiling as the man before him gave up information and secrets he'd rather carry to his grave. Finally, he chanced upon the information they all looked for. The Dex-criminals...An interesting group of people whom the prisoner held in high regard, they were his makeshift family and after separating his raw emotions from the particular memory, the ninja brought it to the surface in order to study it. A cavern set in the bowels of Mount Coronet in Sinnoh, apparently, they hid there for the time being. However, when Kotaro expanded the memory for reference, he found himself entering the dilapidated cave.

And found it empty.

Save for the floor strewn with severed limbs of the people dear to Red, both from his past and the present.

Night

Ransei

Dragnor

 _So young_

Nobunaga, ornate smoking pipe set between thin lips stared impassively at the officer speaking to him from a digital screen. Russet tinted irises, rimmed with fatigue, droned on and on about the Dex-Criminals. His words mingled with the sharp snores of the three headed hydreigon slumbering on the Warlord's lap. The dragon master caught snippets of what the teenager said; the boy talked about a band dangerous criminals collecting legendary pokemon in a desperate and sure attempt to recreate a world in the dimension of Giratina's distorted universe. Lady Noh, sitting demurely next to her husband, noted the startled look in his charcoal black eyes when the boy mentioned the goals of the Dex-criminals. With practiced grace, he removed the black wooded pipe from his lips, tapped it into a crystal ash holder set on the low table in front of him and resumed smoking, teeth grinding furiously over the pipe.

"Kotaro...Warlord of Yaksha and the best interrogator in Ransei, could not elicit any information from him." Nobunaga accepted the cup of wine from his wife and tossed it back in one gulp. "The manas dunking procedure did not work on this prisoner you asked us to detain. We found false memories amongst his real ones and it is implied that he conjured them up whilst unconscious. Tell me officer Lack-2...Just who is this man?" Lack-2 reeled backwards; manas dunking didn't work on Red? He questioned and the Warlord shook his head, "It did...This Red of yours gave us a very interesting perspective on the Civil war of Kanto which took place almost twenty years ago. In any case, it did not reveal the location of his comrades. They supposedly hid in a cave situated at the base of Mount Coronet...However, the information he supplied is discreditable, the people inhabiting the cave are all dead. I understand this Red never entered this cave himself so why does he have memories of its interior?"

"Possibly false ones he created in order to comfort himself..." The copper haired youth murmured distractedly and glanced down at the file in his hands. "I asked you not to use the manas dunking procedure on him...It is a practise detrimental to the human mind...How is he?"

The warlord shifted, black silk rustling against each other as he adjusted his posture. Hydreigon grunted and resumed its sleep. "You seem concerned," slanted eyes crinkled in delight on seeing the teenager's face twitch subtly, "he can speak, although his words slur together and day by day, his motor functions are improving. As for his memory, it remains fully intact. Do not worry; your prized prisoner is not going to end up a blubbering mess like the boy you experimented on in Unova."

"I have another proposition." The Unovian's words hitched ever so slightly on remembering Hugh, "there is a woman he is fond of, a Kanto native by the name of Misty. She is the gym leader of Cerulean City and briefly helped him during his quest to become the champion. Apart from the Dex-criminals, she is the only one he might possibly open up to." Nobunaga's eyes widened in scorn on hearing Lack-2's words, commoners are such gullible fools. "I would like her to be allowed into Ransei in an effort to crack him. She is of noble descent like the Berlitz family and her genealogy is traced to the aristocrats of Fontaine. Unfortunately, her ancestors have severed any ties they have to Ransei and thus, in your books, she is merely a commoner. I ask you to please reconsider my words. It is highly imperative we find out where the rest are hidden. I don't know where they went; the commanders only divulged this information to the people directly under them." Dragnor's Warlord nodded his consent and Lack-2's gratitude fell on deaf ears. Sitting on a decorated niche, out of the sight of prying eyes, the dark dragon stone gleamed dully in placid lantern light. Nobunaga's fingers itched to caress the stone in order to coax the dragon out of it, sensing his thoughts, his wife carried the sphere down and he fell over it like a starved child.

"Creating a new universe..." he uttered to himself, "is a taboo practise our ancestors dabbled in a long time ago. I wonder if Black City still floats, fastened to its spot by chains fashioned out from the essences of the elemental titans. Noh..." the woman leaned closer to him, "we may have to put an end to this upstarts if they dare succeed in what they want to do. Send Kotaro a letter and tell him to bring this commoner in. Hopefully she may be able draw their whereabouts from this prisoner." She dipped her head in agreement, pressed her fingers gently against his shoulders and muttered words of assurance. "I understand," The warlord breathed, "However the balance must be preserved...you cannot create a world within the pocket dimension and I'm still waiting for Zekrom to wake. Together," his voice dropped to a husky murmur, "we shall unite Ransei under one rule. You will help me won't you?"

Noh didn't reply, she turned her face away from her husband.

She refused to see the crazed look in his tourmaline irises.

* * *

 **A/N:** People, I'm apologizing for my tardy updates, exams are the bane of my existence, secondly, the story is turning darker and hopefully it's not going to stop anyone from reading. Much thanks to all those who read and reviewed (virtual cup of coffee to you) and leave a review to tell me what you think of this chapter.

At sakurafox1218 playing honestly, Gold? I do not know what you speak of, check the scene again, Gold is cheating 101%. I agree with you though, Poor Lack-2. At Guest 1: Gold's character growth huh? I'm glad you liked it because he is quite devious and basically likes to goof off and do things for fun. Nice to see him doing something good for a change (even if the methods weren't). At Jack54311: Responsibly irresponsible? *files away for later use* Platina does need to loosen up, she and Whi-2 could be great friends (at least I think so). At AceTrainerLeaf : Cornflakes for breakfast? Man, I wish I could eat those once in a while. Heh, escape is so not going to come easy, revel in the anticipation! You have a nice day too and fix yourself a sandwich for breakfast one of these days, a grilled cheese and tomato one. *And now I'm hungry* At Guest 2: Green and Yellow will probably stare at each other's eyes and out of the window whilst thinking how awesome the other is. Sounds romantic to me, I feel that those two won't need much words to convey what they feel for each other, which is lovely because love is felt, not said.

Whoa! I just pulled some Confucius wisdom right there!

At Guest 3: I like torturing all of my characters, and the readers like reading about them :D The others are not allowed to go out, due to the police searching for them high and low. Green is very well known amongst intellectual communities and Platina…whelp, forgot about her. As for the pyjama party thing, I reckon Ruby would join them and feel at home. At Eevee: Goeie dag :) (Good day in Afrikaans) Life is handing me lemons and I hate sugar so I can't make lemonade. In short, it's both cruel and fun :P Mindy is fine and she says hi to you as well. Something that made me smile huh? Well, tonight my sister was blasting this k-pop song on her laptop whilst I was studying for practicals (thanks Mindy) and my mother happens to mishear the lyrics as something that's rather obscene in our language and she yells at Mindy to change the song. My stomach cramped because I was laughing so hard. The funny part was that Mindy kept on correcting her and mom just says the wrong stuff. At Guest 4: I still, honestly think that Blue and Green are nothing more than friends. Your ideas are fantastic though and interesting to read. Blue does notice what other people wear, it's just that teasing Green is much fun than teasing Red or her brother. Plot twist? Heh, there is a different type of plot twist waiting for you :P Obviously Blue is really kind, I mean, she had the heart to rescue Silver from his confinement when she herself was trapped as well.


	69. Craft of betrayal

**Chapter 69: Craft of betrayal and the simplicity of trust**

Early afternoon

Unova

Hotel room

"The heck! We are starting right now? As in this very moment?" Gold exploded and Silver shut his eyes with an irritable sigh. Blue ignored him in favour of styling her brother's hair into something he wouldn't readily appreciate whilst Green, calmly sipping his umpteenth cup of coffee, informed the amber eyed trainer that they needed to move quickly in order to get a lead on Red's whereabouts. "Yeah I get it; I just wanna know why we're leaving so early, the dye on my head has hardly dried properly." Spinning around, he caught his reflection on a framed mirror hanging on the wall and touched the fire red strands with mild delight. "Heh, I look like Silver, but a more handsome version." The red head in question snorted at his antics and inwardly blanched on seeing his sister reach for a scissor. His hair, dyed a neutral black, could be pulled into a classic ponytail or shoved underneath a beanie, no need to cut the ends off. Constellate's leader ignored his pleas and he sadly observed her cutting an inch off his mid-back length hair. "Why should we all look for Red's whereabouts together?" Gold questioned much to everyone's chagrin and Oak sensed another revolt from the breeder. "It'll look suspicious; imagine a whole bunch of shady looking people walking in the direction of the police headquarters. They know we are skilled in disguise and it'll scream a warning to any guards patrolling the area." Silver nodded at his words, the pervert had a point. "I understand Blue and Silver can scale up the building and enter it through the windows...You can't do that in broad daylight!" The disguised Johto native sputtered heatedly when Blue counter argued, "the people will see you, spies or not! And besides, the four of us looking for Red's whereabouts is improbable, we should divide our tasks so we can finish this mission with the minimal amount of time." Golden irises bored into each member of the four man team, daring them to question his motives. The thieving duo tuned him out and refined their disguises with hushed words. Green set his mug down with a soft clunk and spoke up:

"What do you want to do Gold? From what you said, I figured you don't want us to travel together as a group, moreover, you are not interested in looking for Red, as your words imply. So...What do you want to do?" Pressing his hands together, the professor waited for an answer.

Gold blew a strand of hair away from his face and replied, "Cool, I see you're keeping your end of the deal up." He grabbed a sheet of paper and knelt down to the chestnut table. "Blue and Silver can break in the Police Headquarters and do their spying, hacking, whatever and find out where my mentor is kept. You can join them if you want..." the amber eyed trainer waited with bated breath and exhaled when Green stated otherwise. "Fine, be my watchdog. I want to look for Lack-2 so I can give the brat a piece of my mind." The murmurings from Constellate's members quieted down after his bold announcement. Peeking around Silver's head, Blue scrutinized her best friend's seemingly neutral expression. Oak's face tightened in anger before he nodded at Gold's proposition. Irrational he may be, but if Gold became angry and decided to turn on them, it'll spell disaster for the entire Organization. Till date, the whimsical black haired man remained one of the undefeated. A victim of governmental conspiracy, the moment anyone tried to put him down, the Johto native quietly reminded them that he took on Red, and won a fair fight. If push comes to shove, Gold could easily defeat the remaining commanders by himself. "We'll leave once Silver is done looking pretty." The male announced and his face split into a self-satisfied smile.

An hour later, the Dex criminals left the hotel. Green and Gold paired off and disappeared into the busy streets whilst Silver and Blue set their sights on one of the numerous skyscrapers dotting the skyline. The bustling crowds of Unova city moved seamlessly through the wide streets and amber eyes took in business men, balancing their satchels in one hand and a phone in the other, as they rapidly fired instructions to the listener on the other end; teenagers, clothed in pristine uniforms, hurried either to homes or part time jobs and adolescents, their fists clutching a sheaf of correspondences, tried their luck with a new job. The world and its affairs spun around him and he led his senior around in aimless circles. To be honest, the breeder didn't know where to start looking, he wasn't even sure if Lack-2 was currently in Unova or not. However, the stoic individual, silently stalking behind him a few paces, offered a chance and Gold intended to utilize it fully. Ducking into Mode Street, he remembered the last time he came here, about three and a half years ago. They were on a mission to capture Kyurem and the russet eyed boy simply vanished the moment they stepped into Castelia. Lack-2 was eventually found, eating an ice-cream and staring off into the distance. The ice cream vendor still stood proudly, supplying the crowd gathered in front of it with Castelia cones. Ignoring the twang of regret blossoming in his chest, Gold marched right past the vendor and ambled his way down to Narrow Street.

They slunk right past some shady thugs who changed their minds on attacking the traversing duo after getting a peek at Green's incensed glare. Shrinking against the dirt encrusted walls, the gangs let them pass. Unhesitatingly, the breeder strode up to Cafe Sonata and pushed the glass door open. A bell twinkled pleasantly and the dilapidated inside mirrored his astonishment. Right...He forgot this cafe had more of a night persona than a day one. Mumbling a sheepish apology to one of the over worked waitresses; he ducked out and began his listless roaming once again. Running a hand through his blonde hair, Strategy's leader wiped his fingers free from blonde coloured hair paint and shattered the uncomfortable silence between him and Gold. "Any idea of where the brat might be?" he asked and got a shrug in return, "take your time..." Oak's voice dropped into a surprisingly soft tone, "we have the entire day to ourselves." Gold ogled him with distrust swirling in his irises and found the man gazing elsewhere. The Kanto native seemed deep in thought and the Johto trainer faced forward. They were all tired, scared and desperate to find Red in order to bring a semblance of order back into their lives. The amber eyed trainer pondered over how Green might've felt on seeing his best friend taken away while being helplessly unable to retaliate. His grief must be unfathomable and all he, Gold, did was act like a spoiled child. He couldn't help it, he thrived on affection and if the care became lacking, he sunk into depression. Sparing the brooding man another glance, the black haired man resolved to find his traitorous lackey and squeeze the life and information out of him.

The sadistic contemplation brought on a sick sense of satisfaction.

Thoughtlessly, the duo ambled all the way to the wharf. Stone piers stretched out and next to them, luxury cruisers, ships and other private yachts bobbed gently in the greyish waters of the sea. A gust of wind blew the flying swanna off course and whipped at Gold's hair. Heaving a petulant sigh, the Johto native cast another scrutinizing look across the streets and shaded coffee shops stared back at him. A crowd rushed past, doors opened and closed, their various bells ringing in a pleasant harmony. Giving up his fruitless quest, Gold dragged himself forward and resolved to spend the rest of the day back at the hotel, in a well-deserved sleep. Just as he walked, the glass door to one of the baroque cafes lining the harbour area opened and a teenager stepped out

A brown haired boy wearing a visor and a dark duffle coat weaved amongst the crowds spilling out of the shop. Amber irises zoomed in on him predatorily and Lack-2 instinctively turned to see his mentor, triumphantly standing a few meters away and smiling murderously.

His blood ran cold.

Gold grinned and clenched his fist on spying the startled form of his former student. The boy stood petrified with wide, unblinking eyes. The breeder's lips curled backwards sardonically.

He found his prey at last.

* * *

Early evening

Unova

Castelia City

From afar, Castelia city painted the perfect picture of a metropolis with its towering skyscrapers forming a jagged line across the horizon. The city boasted a harbour, airport and bustling train, bus and shuttle services. Up close, the sheer size of the city unnerved a newcomer, there were always crowds rushing in the streets, spilling from transportation terminals or coming out of department and other specialized markets. The city didn't sleep. At night, neon signs, street lights and numerous apartment lightings bled across sky and kept the night alive. Even at midnight, there seemed to be people milling about on the streets, staggering home from a wild party out. Silver, who kept this all in mind, lowered a pair of high magnification binoculars from his eyes and peeled himself off the concrete roof of the department store he currently lay on. Dusting his jacket, he rotated around to inform his sister of his findings only to see her nowhere near him. Gnashing his teeth in anger, he stomped over to the vending machine and strategically kicked it twice. A can of lemonade rattled from its shelf and fell...Snagging halfway on a packet of snacks. Giving the machine another furious kick, he reached inside the flap and retrieved his prizes, a can of lemonade and a packet of chips. Anger mitigated somewhat, the disguised red head made his way down the stores and found his sister in a clothing shop, seducing the clerk into giving her a deal on an expensive scarf, Blue twirled her platinum silver hair between her fingers and winked whilst the clerk, stiff faced and uniformed, refused to budge. Sneakers squeaking over the pristine tiles, Silver quickly bowed an apology and dragged his sibling away from the relieved man.

"What's the news?" Blue chirped and eyed the fuchsia peacoat on display, "any luck with the entrance?"

The Johto native took a moment and mapped several key points on a palmtop. "We can't scale the building, it's made from a special coated glass and the ventilation shafts are too tiny to squeeze through." The adopted siblings rode the elevator down and sat on a bench in the lobby of the multi-story store, they exchanged their information in low tones and a marble fountain spewing water in acrobatic swirls, drowned their words from prying ears, "The windows of the building are constructed out of tinted glass and most likely contain anti-sense jammers in case anyone decides to construct a psychic or dark barrier for illusions." Silver kept on scribbling on his minicomputer with a worn stylus pen, "I also noted a flock of vullaby and braviary circling the precinct, they probably have cameras wired to them so thank Arceus we didn't scout the location in person or else they would already have a profile of us. Either than that, the only was it go through the front...we don't have much intel on the inner workings nor do we have a map..." the thief trailed off and glanced at his commander worriedly, "...we don't even have Emerald for backup in case things go wrong. What are we going to do Sis? And how are we going to break in? We are highly unprepared for such a dangerous mission." Silver grabbed hold of his chain and twisted it, showing a rare moment of nervousness.

Blue remained calm. She drank the last of Silver's lemonade (when did she take it from him? he wondered) and crushed the can in her hands. Her immaculately painted nails gleamed brightly underneath the floodlights and expertly, she flicked the flattened can into the waste bin next to her. "Simple, we will complete the mission in the old fashioned way." she stated and her brother heaved a sigh, "You sound like an old man Silver...Shape up. Sure we have absolutely nothing on the building and its schema so in cases like this, you do it the way you rob a bank... you go in thoughtlessly." The man winced, a red flush creeping up his sunken cheeks when he remembered their bank robbing days. Ruby always insisted on using hand sanitizer after counting the money whilst Platina would sniff in her noble like way and march disdainfully out of the room. A few months later, the heiress announced that she will be responsible for funding their assignments and since then, there were no risky trips to the bank any longer. Peeking into Silver's palmtop, Constellate's leader studied the crude map he drew and nodded to herself. "The foyer functions doubly as a police station am I right?" he nodded in affirmative, "the second floor houses office space for administration whilst the third contains an infirmary and an interrogation room," here, the azure eyed woman laughed scornfully, "I suppose the criminals would need medical treatment after being clobbered...Anyways, a few floors after that, we have the information processing departments and on the tenth floor, the police headquarters." Blue inhaled sharply and inwardly commended her brother for his accurate observations. "Then it's the defence, intelligence and military departments which are of no concern to us...Moreover, we won't break in... causing a commotion by tripping the wires and blacking out the building will work more in our favour. Splitting up..." The Kanto native paused and thought for a while, "is probably not the best idea, we are working on tenterhooks, by the time we are finished, they will know it's us...Who else would be so desperate? In any case...Let's divide our tasks and head out shall we?"

Two hours later, Blue, with an ugly bruise marring her otherwise slender neck, stumbled into the foyer of the Unova Police headquarters. On seeing her, several guards, inattentive and engrossed in a television show, snapped awake and immediately reached out to help a damsel in distress. The woman's shapely form had been highlighted by a black velvet bodycon and if it weren't for her smeared makeup and bruised neck, she would've been an ideal date. Behind the counter, the receptionist policewoman quickly picked up the phone and began spitting instructions whilst Constellate's commander began sobbing uncontrollably and drawing all attention to herself. She told a tale of an abusive partner and whilst everyone fussed over her, the doors slid open and let a shadow through. The blur quickly disappeared out of sight, slinking past corners in a blindingly fast manner. Blue sniffed, smiled coyly at the several men and some woman fussing over her and gratefully dabbed at her fake tears. Her story became ridiculous as she went on but it didn't matter since her enthralled audience ate swallowed every lie with relish. Just as she was about to reach her limit, the lights flickered, the attention of the band of police shifted off her and another second later, the entire building plunged into a black out. In the basement, weavile blinked and considered its inky surroundings, the shredded wires in front of it emitted faint orange sparks. Licking its metallic claws and growling at the unpleasant taste of burned metal, it racked its appendages over the circuitry once more and the board exploded in a fabulous display of sparks and flames. Shrieking, it instinctively froze the wires and bolted out of the area.

The sound of shattering glass doors threw the crowd standing in the foyer further into a flurry of panic. Shouts were heard, pokemon tumbled out of their capsules in bright, momentary flashes of light and firearms were drawn. Blue neatly sidestepped when an officer tried to reach her and after releasing ditto, ordered the pokemon to duplicate her. Dipping past the confusion, she met up with Silver near the foot of the stairs and together, they bolted at top speed. A race against time. Shoving away hysterical officials, the duo fought their way to the top floors, their sable environs appearing as ghostly green apparitions in the night vision goggles they wore. Despite being early evening, the interior of the police quarters were dismally dark. Hissing a few obscenities under his breath, the phantom thief reached for a pokeball and let kingdra loose. The water dragon executed yawns and hydro pumps. People stampeding downwards either keeled over where they stood, their bodies sliding down the stairs or suffered jets of pressurized water to the chest which flung them brutally against the walls. In no time at all, the emergency lights flickered back on and for a brief spell, time stood still.

Armed men gaped at a platinum silver haired woman and a black haired man wearing night vision goggles. A kingdra sailed pompously next to the duo and executed a surf. In the narrow confines of the stairwells, the swell of tumultuous water swept the unsuspecting personnel off their feet and gurgled downwards. Ripping off their goggles, the thieving pair gave the impassive dragon a curt nod and continued their relentless journey up the stairs.

"Fourth floor..." Blue gasped, "Let's start there, we don't know where the information is kept. Since...It's in the evening and a blackout, all of the workers are being escorted to safety. The generators are up, therefore they will be using the elevators." She irritably tore a slit in her movement restricting dress and continued careering after her brother. He reached the archive entrance and in one smooth movement, drew a lock pick from the folds of his clothes and set to work, jiggling the slim piece of metal against a keyhole. Standing almost proudly on his shoulders, weavile inserted its claw in another lock and in tandem, the master and monster turned and pushed. A series of smooth clicks gave way to an open door and the beast and human trio rushed in and shut the door with a bang.

Rows of dull, metallic grey file cabinets stretched out endlessly before them. Tables held screens and computers all holding a wealth of information. Blue and Silver gulped, trawling through just one floor of data could take weeks. Constellate's leader strode to the middle of the room, below; she could hear shouts and screams erupting from the lobby as the people tried to make sense of what happened. She wondered how her ditto fared in the commotion, it probably escaped after being found out.

"Let's get started..." The blue eyed woman glowered at the steel cabinets. "Silver, you take the computers and I'll go through the files. Time's ticking, only search for what's relevant." Without sparing a glance at her co-worker, she got to work and located the file cabinet marked R, opening the drawer with more force than necessary, the woman furiously pushed her dyed shock of hair backwards and searched under the dim lights. "We'll find you Red..." she whispered to herself and blinked back raw emotions. "I promise...we will find you and bring you home."

* * *

Afternoon

Johto

Violet City

The night spent in Ilex forest proved to be a rewarding experience. In the morning, an energetic Sapphire shook her senior awake and began the day with boundless energy. Packing up their crude camp, they retreated their steps through the thick trail the Hoenn native carved out the night before and arrived in Azalea Town shortly after the sun rose. Locating an old fashioned eatery, the duo made their way inside the wooden hut and gratefully wolfed down a traditional breakfast of steamed rice, soup and grilled fish. Thanking the elderly couple who manned the shop, they made their way outside. Sapphire, her attention ensnared by a colourful poster pinned up on the board in the village centre, ran off to inspect it whilst Yellow ambled off to the nearest tram station and checked the times. From the information, a tram was due in the next fifteen minutes and it will make scheduled stops at the Union cave, looming on the outskirts of Azalea town; the ruins of Alph, a historical and ancient ruin which has been declared a heritage site; beyond the ruins lay Violet City which was surrounded by a forest of trees. The tram will continue after its stop to Violet City all the way to New Bark Town where it will resume its return journey. Just as the blonde finished reading, her junior came puffing all the way to the station.

"You won't believe it!" Sapphire exclaimed and bounced on her heels, this Falkner dude is hosting a gym battle today and his challenge is open for the entire day; senior, I should participate!" the brown haired girl's eyes shone with excitement and Yellow did not have the heart to tell her otherwise, besides, it might be a good way to gather information on their opposition. Nodding her consent, the strategy member suffered an adorably bone crushing hug from her over eager companion and settled on the benches to wait for the next tram. Sapphire, her energy overflowing, did warm up stretches. A semi-filled cart eventually rattled to a halt in front of them and after giving the occupants a smile, Yellow and Saph climbed in and seated themselves on the rickety wooden benches. With rumble, the cart set off, slightly wobbling on the frayed tracks. A mild breeze rustled through the trees and the vehicle made its way to the mouth of Union cave. Here, several miners disembarked with their spades and digging tools slung over their backs, the little crowd in the tram cheered and waved them off. The tram entered the cave and the dank smell and cries of zubats immediately assaulted the senses. Half an hour, they were in the sunlight again. More travellers, scientists and aides, from the looks of their garb, stepped down at the Ruins of Alph and Sapphire itched to get up and stretch her legs in the cramped space. Finally, the tram rolled to a stop in Violet City and the two members cheerfully waved their good byes as the cart resumed its noisy journey to Cherrygrove city.

Normally a quiet village, the city bustled with people coming in from far and wide to due Falkner's gym challenge. Not sparing her senior a word, Sapphire tore off in the vague direction of the gym and ignored Yellow's pleadings as the older member uncharacteristically shrieked at her to be sensible. All the Hoenn native did was run faster and leave a trail of dust and confused people in her wake. Shrugging helplessly and apologizing to the other patrons, she sheepishly shouldered her way through the throngs and appreciated the sights. Built during ancient times as a sheltered hamlet for those unfortunate victims of Kanto's civil war, Violet City remained largely unchanged and only boasted minimal modern buildings. Most houses were styled in traditional Johto architecture, the domiciles were elevated from the ground and sported wooden verandas along with a garden which added to the serene atmosphere. In the northern part of the city, the Sprout Tower stood proudly, swaying gently in tandem with a breeze, a stone bridge and a large pond separated the sacred tower from the rest of the town and today, tourists found themselves taking pictures whilst posing with the picturesque scenery as a back drop. Situated in the very heart of the City, the gym materialized, a domed brown roof curving over three storeys of metal, brick and glass. From here, a line of trainers snaked out from the foyer, brimmed into the streets and clogged all the routes. The nearby mart and Pokemon centre became flooded with requests and injured Pokemon as the Gym neatly spat one defeated trainer out after the other.

On the third floor of the gym, Falkner subtly adjusted his wrist guards and looked down to see his cyan tinted hakama pants stained with faint traces of blood. A crew of cleaners rushed in after the last challenger and methodically scrubbed the remains of the last battle off the arena. The international police officer rubbed his temples in an effort to dissipate a growing headache. He had a packed schedule, his gym will be open for two days maximum, then he had to fly over to Kanto and coax Misty into going with him to Ransei. After escorting her to the Imperial region, he will have to run back to Unova to pick up confidential documents, drop those off to Kalos because ex-champion Red's affairs are to be handled in an off record and a delicate manner, then hop on to a plane and run back to Johto in order to open up his gym and continue accepting challenges. The Johto Champion's league was due to open after two more weeks and the Pokemon Association did not look too happy, apparently his gym functioned at random times and complaints from visiting trainers were quite frequent. Falkner had been warned severely, when the league opened, the Violet City gym must be open for the duration of the entire league; this included at least six months. In these six months, should the association receive a single complaint that the gym had been 'temporarily closed for urgent business' then Falkner will be fired from the roster. No questions asked. The flying type expert shut his eyes as the warnings flashed in his mind, he will have to beg Anabel for a leave or else his family gym will be claimed by some outsider.

In the foyer, Sapphire wrinkled her nose in mild disgust; the area stank of sweat and the sharp chemical stench of potions. Trainers crammed themselves into the lobby, sitting on top of each other on the couches or standing with their backs pressed against the walls. The marble tiles disappeared under a thousand grubby footprints whilst the potted plants, more a hindrance than a decoration, were irritably pushed aside as more teenagers and adolescents shoved their way in. The guards manning the entrance gave up trying to inject sense in this chaos and besides, the trainers had every right to secure the Zephyr Badge as soon as possible. Due to the Gym's disorganized schedule, many trainers forfeited their quest for a shot at being a champion five years ago. Burning with passion, these adolescents impolitely shouldered their way to the reception desks and demanded a pass. Waiting patiently for a turn, the brown haired girl got a lucky break when a scuffle broke out behind her, two teens invariably pushed her aside and with luck, she landed herself a sweet spot in front of a receptionist's mildly amused visage. Grinning and peeling of a wad of bills for her participation fee, she gathered her receipt, dipped her head in a gesture of thanks and sprang gleefully to the elevator waiting to take trainers to the second floor where they shall begin their trials. An official standing guard at the elevator offered her a few wise words, a bottle of water and a potion. She rode up the lift with his well wishes ringing quietly in her ears.

The audience was massive and Yellow apologized sweetly as she stepped on shoes and bare toes. Wriggling, she found a seat at the front and plopped herself down, smoothing her sundress over her knees. Below her, on an ornately decorated arena, Falkner stretched out his arm and a pidgeot gracefully curled its talons and perched. Another match finished with a defeated trainer. As the man dragged himself out, Yellow watched several people emerge from the shadows and clean up the stage. The fighting area was beautiful, situated atop glass tiles and one could view the happenings of the second floor by simply looking downwards. It also served as a distraction measure as unprepared trainers glimpsed down and found themselves queasy. The walls of the third floor vibrated with wild cheers and jeers when each new trainer tired their luck against Falkner. Yellow perked up when Sapphire appeared, to her alarm, the girl had a stripe of something smeared diagonally across her face. Sneakers squeaking loudly against the stained glass tiles, the Hoenn native confidently sashayed towards the elevated arena and took her post opposite Falkner. The gym leader acknowledged her presence with a slight nod of his head.

Ready...And START!

The trainer profiles and other information were displayed on a giant screen hanging to the side of the arena. The battle had been styled as a knockout round for two of Falkner's chosen pokemon, a low-levelled hoothoot and his prized pidgeot which generally ended the matches the moment it swooped into the battle field. The umpire drew away and Yellow focused on Falkner, his trainer details displayed on the huge monitor did not offer her the information she needed. Sapphire released her tropius and a barrage of green energy projectiles tailed the rapidly flapping hoothoot around the stage. The gym leader's composure was remarkable, even when the Hoenn trainer climbed on her pokemon's back and directed it with a finger, Falkner did not flinch. Understandably, hoothoot crashed a few minutes later, but it managed to put the tropius to sleep. The dinosaur-esque pokemon swayed on all fours and with a crash, its long neck flopped on the glass tiles and it lay still. The cyan haired man did not smile, not even a fleeting grin. Putting his hand in the pocket of his pants, he took out a bird shaped flute and whistled in it. A large bird dove down from the rafters and perched elegantly on his arm.

Sapphire peered at her opponent with calculative eyes; the pidgeot posed a huge problem. Its levels, stats and battling experience were in a league of its own. Neophyte trainers were probably lulled into a false sense of security after their easy defeat of the first pokemon...their hopes were thereafter brutally crushed along with their pokemon under the powerful talons of the avian. Pidgeot, its majestic head plumage gleaming like fire in the arc lights, shifted on its master's arm, its polished talons curved with just enough force not to injure the human. The Hoenn native weighed her options, Falkner served as a vice chief of the International Police, he worked at the headquarters in Goldenrod and commanded an entire faction. To find information on Red's whereabouts, they most likely had to raid his office for the official and top secret documents. Her eyes veered to the man's pockets...People with strict routines liked to keep their important possessions to themselves. Maybe...She hoped and tossed the next capsule up and down in a gloved palm...he might have his security passes in his wallet, perhaps a key or two for unlocking the doors to the headquarters. The girl licked her lips in anticipation, trying to pickpocket him in broad daylight was a feat few sane people would pull off on a well-respected officer, but Sapphire determined to try. Azure irises shifted to the audience and picked out a blonde, her delicate face screwed in concentration. The brown haired teen smirked; hopefully, her brazen actions won't give Yellow a fit.

"Go. Toro!"

Her chosen monster raised a few eyebrows, a fire and fight going against a flying type? Weird, the girl must be intimidated and forced into the wrong decision. Yellow frowned; surely her junior could do better than that? Blaziken exploded out of his capsule and twirled in the air, wreaths of orange flames dissipating off its form. Pidgeot stopped its arrogant preening of brown feathers and with a screech, launched off its perch and delivered a whirlwind with a flap of its muscular wings. Two cyclones of air smacked into the fire type and sent him soaring and smacking into a concrete pillar. Sapphire's eyes dulled with anger and resolve, she barked a few short commands and her monster pushed itself up and resumed its stance beside her. The girl bounced tautly on her heels and scanned the roof for the predatory bird. In a blink of an eye, the pidgeot descended and raked its claws over Toro's face, barely missing its eyes as the fire pokemon ducked and swiped at the beast. Drops of orange-red blood splashed on the stage and the audience cried out wildly, imploring Falkner to end the match.

Execution's member waited. She bid her time, gritting her teeth as an air slash flayed open Toro's skin and muscles. Like its master, the fire bird merely crouched down, shielding his eyes from any impromptu stabs and following Pidgeot's trajectory. Master and beast's eyes travelled across the domed roof, a scrutinizing gaze fixed on the terrible avian currently ruling the skies. The moment the flying type flew past Falkner's head, it dipped downwards and Sapphire shouted an order. Tendons and muscles coiling, Toro torpedoed forward, straight at Falkner and the man's eyes widened a fraction. It brushed past the human, bounced in the air and executed a brutal drop kick on Pidgeot. Snap. The crunch of splintering bones reverberated clearly amongst the shouts and like a cannon, the predatory bird plummeted towards the ground, landing on the glass stage with a sickening splat of blood and matted feathers. It articulated a horrible screech and then became still.

The crowds erupted with a cacophonous cheer and Yellow blinked...What happened?

Indeed...What happened?

Falkner, face twitching imperceptibly, used his forefinger and wiped his face clear of a stain of blood. His heart thumped rapidly, beating a rhythm in the confines of his ribcage. The events occurred a bit too fast for him to process what happened. He saw the fire and fight type career towards him, instead of veering away or vaulting over the gym leader, the monster brushed right against him. The cyan haired deputy could feel the unpleasant mixture of fur; coarse feathers, a searing heat and whiff of blood as blaziken moved too close for comfort. The fight type then ended the match in a spectacular display of strength. Nodding and offering a wry smile, he presented the Zephyr badge to the brown haired challenger and waved her off. Shouting exuberantly, she waved her badge at the camera, grinned toothily at the crowds and photographers and left with a whirlwind of journalists following her zealously out of the gym. The first winner of the day, Falkner mused...She will create quite the sensation.

Night

Johto

Goldenrod City

After Sapphire managed to lose the trail of journalists, the criminal duo used their pokemon and flew all the way to Goldenrod City. Under the glare of a million lights, they alighted in a park and watched the dazzling colours set the horizon ablaze. The most beautiful fixture happened to the Goldenrod radio tower, a gentle melody diffused through the air as the tower glimmered with a multitude of glows. In the park, a few people milled about and slowly made their way home. Sitting at a wooden table and bench, underneath an old fashioned light post, Yellow and her junior pored over the things currently scattered on the desk. Toro used thief when brushing past Falkner and in a split second, managed to steal everything in the man's wide pockets. A few feet away from them, the fire bird perched, fiery talons stretching out to cuff the stray beautifly as the bugs searched for flowers blooming in the night. It managed to hook one of the bugs and when the creature gave it a sharp sting, the fire type breathed a flame and reduced the insect into charred dust.

Hazel eyes watched disapprovingly when Sapphire flipped open Falkner's wallet, the girl gleefully showed the security pass and stowed the card away in her bag. Next, she pulled out a hefty sum of money from the worn leather purse, eyed a few of his cards and expertly threw it into the nearest waste bin. Pocketing the money much to the older female's dismay, the youngster ignored her pleas and picked another object off the table. "What do you think this is?" she queried and held it up to the light.

"Looks like a pokeball embedded in a wing." Yellow replied and ran her fingers over the transparent, yet stiff as metal feather. "It's a good way to catch flying pokemon; the wing comes from skarmory I think. Few bird pokemon has feathers as tough and light as skarmory." Sapphire nodded and kept the pokeballs apart, the duo also had the luck of finding keys, a poke-gear and a palm top amongst Falkner's possessions. "We have to get going Saph..." The Kanto native quelled her apprehension and glanced at her wrist watch. "Let's move, it's almost midnight...we have to finish before dawn."

* * *

Execution's members would be the death of her.

Did covert not exist in Sapphire's dictionary? Yellow wondered as the girl screamed a war cry and kicked yet another door open.

Her bellows echoed through the dimly lit corridors as the wild trainer screeched unnecessarily, kicked and punched her way across the thirteenth floor of the police headquarters. Camera's swivelled to record their actions and underneath their indicting gazes, the blonde tried to make herself small and invisible. Moments later, Chuchu, noticing its owner's discomfort, broke free of her pokeball and destroyed the cameras. Yellow breathed a bit easier afterwards, her peace of mind promptly shattered when she saw Sapphire slam her leg right through a triple glass door.

The girl's leg sported a few cuts when the sheet of reinforced glass failed to break properly.

"Sapphire!" Yellow scolded, "It's a covert mission, we are not here to make a mess of things. We have Falkner's pass so let's make our way to his room and get the information." The Hoenn native half listened to her whilst she cleaned herself up. "We are not supposed to touch anything else..." her voice faltered as the air split apart with the distant ringing of what sounded unmistakeably like a police siren. In response to the peals, the brown haired girl grinned akin to a Cheshire cat.

"It's the police...we have to do our job quickly!" The azure eyed female declared and swiftly used her aggron to demolish a wall.

"You are not supposed to do that!" her blonde senior moaned and shook in anger. Whipping out Falkner's stolen computer, she consulted it and fiercely jabbed at the screen. "His room is around the corner, come on we have to...DUCK!" The healer threw herself over Sapphire as a powerful searchlight cut a swath from the windows outside and swept a blinding white light across their heads. Hissing in displeasure Yellow crawled over the tiles with Sapphire in a tow, she was careful not to scrape her hands against broken glass or fragments of plaster. Breath hitching, the pair shimmied across the floor and ended up in front of the designated room. Footsteps thundered in the floors beneath her and Yellow tried to calculate how much time they had before the police would find and bust them. Snatching the keycard from her junior's fingers; she sent the younger girl a heated glare and stood up. Her knees wobbled with fright when a bang resounded downstairs. Hands trembling, she swiped the electronic card and the door slid aside with a whine. Sapphire vaulted in and fancily kicked the door shut.

Yellow jumped at the sound.

Her heart almost leapt out of her chest.

The frail healer sat down on a stool and kept a sharp eye on the brown haired teen. For once, the girl stopped monkeying around and did her job seriously. Switching on the powerful lights...Another mistake when doing a stealth mission, the wild girl methodically combed Falkner's stained oak desk and carelessly threw the unimportant documents in the air.

"I found it!" Sapphire heroically declared and waved a sheaf of papers in the air. Relieved, the blonde woman stood up from her chair and made her way towards her partner.

A loud thud came from outside and Yellow let loose an involuntary scream.

 _This is the last time I'm doing this! Her mind offered vehemently. I'm not used to field work and I'm not letting anyone talk me into this ever again!_

Outside the door, Falkner observed wordlessly as a team of armed forces pressed their shoulders against his office door and attempted to break it down. The camera records showed two masked personnel infiltrating the headquarters and making for his room. Thus, the gym leader had to close up his gym as another emergency popped up.

Maybe he should honourably resign...It might score him a handsome pension. If the Pokemon's association fired him, there will be nothing but disgrace for his family.

The door finally gave way and the soldiers tumbled in the room, their pokemon and weaponry primed and ready to attack. However...the room was empty. There were signs of a raid, his desk lay on its side, papers carpeted the floor...the lights were on? How bold, he drily chuckled. And on the far end, near the floor to ceiling windows, the heavy silk curtains swayed in a strong breeze, billowing out through a broken window. Striding briskly to the gaping hole, he peered through the cut glass and a stiff white card whipped him in the face. A few of them rushed downwards, carried by a violent wind and flew strategically through the shattered pane. The vice chief stared at the card and inhaled sharply.

Two maroon crossed swords, a mug shot of blaziken, aggron and a pikachu mocked him with vindictive grins and he thought about the young teenager smiling joyously for the cameras.

"Ring up the Police headquarters in Sinnoh." He spun around and ordered, "Tell them...the Dex Criminals are back."

 _And they want revenge_. He silently added to himself on seeing the dilapidated condition of his chamber.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sapphire is giving poor Yellow a stroke and Gold found Lack-2. Much thanks to chi4ngo and ncread for alerting/favoriting this story, hopefully it continues to entertain you. Virtual chocolate cake to all those to reviewed!

At Magic111: Did Lack-2 divulge inside information? Heh, and rich people sometimes abuse their power for…special privileges. At Silver: Flooded with homework? Aren't we all? Kotaru and Mukuro? Why not? They are both creepy and highly skilled in what they do. To be honest, I found the Pokemon Conquest game and its mechanics very intriguing. At Jack54311: I hate anything that is too sweet, hence my preference for dark chocolate since they aren't as sweet as milk chocolate. But yeah, my sister doesn't drink anything I make because they aren't at her level of sweetness. I like honey, especially raw, unprocessed ones. Now I miss my beehive. At Guest: When I was young, I wanted to be a philosopher, I still do. I mean, people is going to thank you for your ideas one day, isn't that great?


	70. Beyond the veil of delusions

**Chapter 70: Beyond the veil of delusions.**

Late evening

Castelia City

Police headquarters

Clang!

The sound of a metallic drawer being shut rung discordantly in the quiet room.

Tap, tap

Tap...Tap tap tap.

Slender fingers flew over keys and made a small noise.

Clang...Clang!

Blue shut the drawers with more force than necessary. Shaking her head at Silver who turned to look at her with mild concern, she closed another metallic drawer and let the harsh ring echo in her ears. The woman nodded, platinum silver hair cascading down her face and pointed to the window. She did not find the files they were looking for and now wanted to move to the next floor. Shutting down the computer, Silver and Blue made their way with practiced ease and clambered out of the building. The duo climbed on an inflated jigglypuff and lazily floated upwards. Eight floors down, police cars flooded the foyer as people attempted to make sense of how the Headquarters suddenly blacked out. Intruders ran rampant in the buildings and the entrance to the stairs and the elevators were sealed shut with a sheer sheet of ice. A kingdra patrolled beyond the translucent block of barrier and glared at them hatefully. The water dragon blew drafts of gelid winds which rolled into the foyer and reduced the personnel into shivering masses. On spying another creature looming beyond the fearsome dragon, the police felt their courage crumble and their hearts' skipped beats. The Dex Criminals were well known for collecting legendary pokemon but who guessed that they would one day command Giratina to battle? The ghost type legendary stood as a sentry, its grotesquely majestic form warped by the sheet of ice.

Kingdra snorted on seeing the weak willed humans with their flimsy blow torches and feeble fire types. They should be scared of her; the dragon proudly thought...Not that sham of a Giratina. Locking eyes with pseudo legendary's beady eyes, it spat a water gun and the transformed ditto quivered ever so slightly.

It didn't sign up for this.

On the ninth floor, the two thieves worked silently. Like clockwork, they entered a chamber by laser cutting a window and letting the pane crash into the street below. Once inside, the duo split, the male headed for the computers whilst the female walked down the rows of file cabinets and searched for the one marked R. Viciously tugging a metallic drawer open, her fingers rifled through several files and folders. As her quest became more urgent, her concentration slipped. Not finding the piece of information she sought, Blue angrily shut the drawers with a bang and once again, Silver eyed her with mild concern. She shrugged at him, her form disheveled underneath the strip of emergency lighting. The struggling daylight shone through the tinted glass and threw spooky shadows across the tiled floor. With one hand flying over the keyboard, the disguised red head dug his other fingers in a pocket and retrieved a stack of calling cards. He generously threw them all over; not caring of some fell on his head. A warning beep from the computer ensnared his attention and he momentarily stopped in order to read the message. It had him grinning victoriously. The machine required a pass-code in order for the user to access the contents of the archives. Silver stuck a flash drive in a port, he sent one of Emerald's viruses and tore the cyber security apart. At last, the files became accessible and he beckoned his sister on finding a document related to Red's case.

Blue found her breath stilling. She did not want to get her hopes up...However, it would be nice to have some results after their fruitless searching.

The document opened up with several photos of a lilac, spiky haired boy. One showed him wearing a school uniform, a waist pack looped loosely around his waist. The other image depicted him in trainer garb, eyes solemn and chin tucked into an oversized collar. A few others showed snapshots of his pokemon and the final image had Constellate's leader gasping softly. Hugh, as the photo caption supplied, was bound in a wheel chair, wearing a hospital gown which hung off his skeletal form. His eyes, formerly sparks of ruby fire, dulled into lifeless irises. A neck brace propped his chin upright and atop his head, he wore some sort of stark white helmet. Silver scrolled down the document and quickly scanned its contents, it read:

Hugh, a Pokedex holder nominee, had his brilliant status put on hold after two other candidates were kidnapped from Aspertia Training school. The two children, Lack-2 (undercover officer posing as a student) and Whi-2 (Hugh's neighbour) were his best friends and after their disappearance, he showed an increasing tendency to truancy and petty crime. His parents reported him missing from home on several occasions and he was found all over Unova, sleeping on the streets, pick-pocketing and outright stealing in order to stay alive. The boy claimed to search for his friends and always kept photographs of the two teenagers with him. Several attempts to rehabilitate him and sessions with a psychologist did more harm than good. In a turn of events, spurred on by a member of the Elite Four of the Unova league, Grimsley; they boy stopped his delinquency and focused on challenging the Biennial Unova league. He became an instant favourite of the public due to a passionate display of his battling skills and sheer desire to win. After completing the gym circuits, he signed up for the league and managed to win the knockout round and was thus one of the four finalists. Unfortunately around this time, the league suffered a pincer attack from two criminal organizations, the Dex-Criminals and Team Plasma (for more information pertaining to this incident, see the file marked Damages). Here, he had the disastrous fortune of running into the ring leader of the Dex-Criminals' organization, an individual named Red (formerly the champion of Kanto) and his former best friend Whi-2. Psychologists debate on his motive for taking on the criminal; these vary from pride, personal safety, fear and trying to untangle his best friend from the Organization which kept her hostage. The boy was found in a critical condition. His one leg fractured, he sported several shattered rib bones and some of them pierced into his lung and induced a hemorrhage. He was rushed to emergency care, cleaned up and interrogated via mind dunking (manas dunking). Full report included below:

Silver scrolled downwards and felt his sister's fingers digging into his forearm, so this is how they found out about Red's involvement with the league. The word 'mind dunking' leapt up to the red head and he fervently flipped the digital pages and skimmed over the entire article. Manas dunking, his silver irises honed in on the expression, was used on Hugh in an effort to extract information on his encounter with Red and Whi-2, the boy vehemently refused to offer any details. In a desperate attempt, they used Sabrina, the most capable and famous mind prober amongst government circles, to dive in his conscious and extract his memory. Regrettably things did not go as planned, however the police managed to record his memories of Red's and Hugh's fateful encounter and use that as a strategy to ensnare the corrupt individual. The experience left Hugh's brain in a mess of rewired neural networks. The boy lost his memories of the past six months and his parents have been increasingly worried when he kept on doing the same things over and over again. A visit to the hospital revealed him to be suffering from anterograde amnesia. Hugh will not be able to make new memories.

"And they have the gall to call us criminals..." Blue spat and read the document angrily, "...Silver..." her tone shook, "do you think...do you think they are doing the same thing to Red?" her voice trembled and she clutched his arm painfully, he felt her nails digging through several layers of fabric and pinching against his skin. "What if they are tearing his mind apart? What if he can't remember anything and ends up like the poor boy?" She whispered hysterically and shook her brother.

"Calm down Sis..." he intoned and heard her inhale sharply. "Senior Red is tougher than that...I'm sure the authorities won't want him to be wholly incoherent so they might torture him physically but will go easy on the menta-"

"What do you mean torture him physically?" Blue demanded with a violent edge to her voice and the Johto native wondered why she got angry at him. "What are they going to do him?"

"The heck should I know?!" The male hissed and immediately regretted his spontaneous outburst when his sibling shrunk under his poisoned gaze. "Sorry...I'm just stressed." he mumbled and resumed reading. According to the article, the Pokemon association and the Unovian authorities grouped together and started funding for Hugh's treatment. The boy was flown to Kalos and even Alola in an attempt to restructure his brain through exercises and psychic training. A specialized team from Sinnoh, who claimed success in treating another boy with a similar problem, were employed full time to keep an eye on the lilac haired teen. From last month, Hugh showed remarkable progress, he recalled past events but to prevent a traumatic relapse; his memory is being edited to exclude his quest to become a champion. Whi-2 and Lack-2 were considered to play an integral part in shaping his personality and were thus preserved. In a few weeks, he is predicted to be able to walk without the use of a crutch. His speech is clearing up as well and he retains fifty percent of his memory when given a new task to do. Silver took a moment to peer at his sister, she ogled the monitor with listless eyes and he wondered if Blue still remained mad at him. "Sorry..." he repeated again and felt her vise grip slack to a comfortable one.

"It's my fault...don't worry about it." She fanned her face. "I'm also stressed...Ever since he disappeared I just wait in constant fear that the Police will find us again and take someone else away. I don't know what I'd do then...I suppose I could live if Green or any other person is caught...But if they take you...I'd probably defect from the group and run after you on my own." The azure eyed commander stepped backwards and exhaled in an effort to calm herself. "Green...I wonder how he's faring with Gold. Sometimes, I tend to disregard his feelings because he keeps them hidden, but he must be suffering greatly as well."

"We are all suffering...And you won't be the only one affected if I'm gone sis..." The pale man gently pointed out. "Just think of what Gold and Crys would do." He let his words sink in and saw his adopted sibling ruminate. "In any case, come see this, hopefully it'll cheer you up." He beckoned her back to the monitor and it showed a video clip. Silver pressed the play button and for a moment, the two convicts forgot about the dismal events surrounding their lives and focused on the video in front of them. It showed Hugh, without the neck brace and his eyes marginally brighter than the previous picture. The boy grabbed hold of an ornate wooden cane and heaved himself up from the wheelchair. Smiling brightly, he walked towards the camera and came to a halt some respectable distance away from the lens. Then he began speaking, words slurred horribly over each other to the point one could not understand; the more his spoke, the more clear his speech became till Blue and Silver fully understood his words.

"My name is Hugh" the boy articulated with minimal difficulty and smiled sweetly. "Yesterday, I played with my sister and her pokemon, she became upset because her...purloin scratched me on the cheeks. Today I took a test and I scored fifty percent on it. Mom and Dad are proud of me." He cocked his head to the side and presumably looked at the camera man who motioned him to continue. "I'm getting better...though sometimes I have these huge headaches and my mind goes blank for no reason at all...and people can't understand when I speak." His words tumbled over each other and the next few minutes, the video blacked out and cut to his family standing on either side of him. Hugh carried a cute little girl up in his arms and despite the obvious exertion it put on his limbs, he was determined to hold her. "My recording is done for today...I'm re-tire...reti-er...I'm going to bed now..." he subtly frowned and on trying to walk away, collapsed with his sister still in his arms.

The video ended, Blue sniffed and wiped a tear.

"Copy that...I want Whi-2 to know the truth in case the media feeds her some lies about Hugh giving information to the police willingly. The girl has a right to know that both her best friends are not traitors."

"Will it be wise?" her brother queried but copied the file anyway, Constellate's leader nodded absentmindedly. "I'm done Sis...Let's try our luck with the next floor."

On the ninth floor, the blue eyed female tackled her task with renewed determination. Unlike her previous attempts, in which she simply rifled through the folders, this time, Blue pulled out the individual manila envelopes and read the contents of it. Top secret files, hidden from the public and other regions alike made the woman grin to herself, the Berlitz family would pay hefty sums for these bits of scandalous information . Methodically, she gathered the files and piled them back into the drawers again. She did not want any other information either than where her best friend might be kept. Blue snorted at herself, she was losing her thieving touch. Pulling out another parched brown folder she froze on reading the heading. Emblazoned in stencilled letters, the front of the envelope had the words: Top Secret: Information on the Leader of the Dex-Criminals, Execution's faction, Commander Red; written on it. Time stood still, the faraway sounds of sirens, traffic and helicopters died away as she tore open the seal and spilled the papers out.

"I found it..." she whispered, not quite believing her eyes even though a mug shot of Red stared back at her from the top sheet of the documents. "I found it Silver!" she shrilled louder and her brother abandoned his senseless hacking of the computer and joined her on the cold, tiled floor. Tossing the folder behind her back, she picked up the stack of papers and grimaced on seeing them. "Ugh...That's one ugly photo they used for his identification."

"...Blue...That's not the point..." Silver deadpanned and rolled his eyes.

"Right..." The Kanto native sheepishly nodded and added "let me quickly skim through this and see if it contains the info we want. "Name: Red..." she read aloud, "birthplace: Island of Cinnabar...wait what? Red is a Cinnabar native? I always thought..." Blue trailed off and skimmed the rest of the details in silence, her best friend's past remained one giant mystery and whenever they talked about his childhood, he told them he hailed from Pallet Town. From the records before her, the Champion was born in Cinnabar Island and at the time when the Kanto civil war broke out. His father worked as an Ace trainer for the authorities whilst his mother became a voluntary nurse. They tried to flee from the effects of war when it struck the island but was unfortunately killed. Tiny Red survived, a rescue squad picked him up and deposited him in an orphanage in Viridian City. They boy quickly became a problem for the management team as he preferred to sneak out of the facility and spend his time with street children and corrupt soldiers. When a young couple attempted to foster him, Red hightailed from his adopted home and wandered the streets. With a poliwag for company, (suspected to be given to him by his late father) the child quickly gained a reputation for illegal street pokemon battling till one day Professor Oak happened to catch a glimpse of his skills and offer him a home in Pallet Town. Since then, he challenged the league without prior schooling and managed to become history's youngest champion at the age of eleven.

Eleven...

He never had much of a childhood did he? Blue wondered and compared her life to his own.

The only difference happened to be that Red enjoyed his careless and adrenaline fuelled romp throughout Kanto whilst she shivered in the dank cells of an underground basement and prayed for the demonic Team Rocket members not to hurt her.

The day he took up the Champion's crest, he remained one of the undefeated. As he aged, the Kanto Pokemon Association grew increasingly worried about their new champion, with all the new technologies available, some other teenager might eventually topple their boy wonder. With help of the nearby region, Johto, they agreed to use him to test out battle simulations. Red's initial response had been satisfactory, he managed to cleanly defeat all his opponents and as days went by and the simulations became more realistic and monotonous, he showed signs of emotional desensitization and brutally knocked out his virtual target's pokemon. A new league circuit opened up in Kanto which required the possession of all the badges in Johto as well. There were plans to merge the two leagues together and create a victory plateau in which Red will become the ultimate champion. As soon as the circuit opened, within half a year, a challenging teenager (a member of the first wave) secured his victory against Red and became the first new champion after nine years. Alarmed by this foreigner, the Kanto government accused the Johto native of cheating and the boy was blacklisted.

For more information see file marked GOLD (under the heading, governmental conspiracy and reasons for blacklisting)

"Sis...we don't have time...Let's move." Silver urged his sibling and she ignored him in favour of poring over the documents.

After the entire cheating scandal, the Pokemon Association closed up the circuit and attempted to re-train Red. This ended in failure. Around the same time, they noticed his increased, unexplained disappearing from the league issued living quarters and Police suspect that he had already created the Dex-Criminals. For the next few years, the seamless vanishings of more Dex-holders from different regions prompted the International Police to take notice. The group, notorious for their kidnappings of several legendary pokemon were dubbed the Dex-Criminals due to police suspecting them to be Pokedex holders. Since then, pilfered important artefacts, relics and even conducted warrantless experiments (see BLACK MEWTWO). Three years prior, officer Lack-2 was sent in as an undercover agent and as planned, the Organization kidnapped him and placed him in Execution. Numerous raids ended in failure. Last year, the factions decided to split and peruse individual projects which ended in their detriment, after they converged, the full International Police (along with the other superintendents) lead a raid and successfully captured Red by the help of Lack-2. The convict is currently held in a cell situated in Mainland Sinnoh.

 _The convict is currently held in a cell situated in Mainland Sinnoh._

"So he's in Sinnoh..." The information sounded too good to be true. Blue flipped through the documents again, in order to make sure her eyes didn't miss anything. Exhaling, she repeated: "Red is in Sinnoh...That's great isn't it?" Her brother saw doubt flicker on her face, if the police spent their last three years to get their hands on the wayward champion, why would they keep him right under their noses? As bait for the rest of the Organization to crawl out of their hiding places? Highly likely, the commander mused and glanced down at the papers in her hands. She exhaled, blowing a strand of hair away from her face and got up from the floor. "Well...I'm glad he is within reach, this snippet of information must be credible or else it won't be under such high security." Silver nodded and shut the file cabinet drawer, he motioned to the windows. "Yes...Let's leave. Once all the teams reconvene back at base, we can share our info and draw up a rescue plan." She tried to suppress the growing excitement in her voice but failed to do so. The red head smiled lopsidedly, his sister looked brighter than she had for the last couple of months and not even the ominous roar of a helicopter dampened her spirits.

* * *

Mid-afternoon

Castelia City

Wharf area, in one of the cafes

Lack-2's ponderous form stared back at him from the dark brown contents of a ceramic mug. He stared into his unbroken, unblinking reflection and wondered if his deceased parents would be proud of him. After all, he managed to waste the last three years of his life in trying to track down a criminal and bring him to justice. The teenager only rested easy once he placed the ebony haired felon in a rather lavish jail cell. Valora boasted the heaviest defences and the most secure prison facilities in all of Ransei. Call him paranoid but inwardly, the russet eyed youth wholly agreed that it is the best place for the ex-champion. The Dex-criminal's fluidity and Green's status as a respected pokemon professor, backed up by his prestigious grandfather, allowed him and his department to slip undeterred into other regions. However, the imperial region operated under different rules and they will never be able to enter Ransei without their identity being thoroughly scrutinized. After all the nit-picking, whoever enters Ransei should have a valid reason to do so, unless you were of noble birth, then access is permanently denied. Lack-2 knew prominent professors, researchers or public figures were not allowed to enter unless they received a summoning. A royal letter, bearing a legitimate crest of a particular Warlord is the only way to gain access to the region and Lack-2 made sure Green, or Samuel Oak, would not get a summoning anytime soon.

His plan had been fool proof. The teenager blew into his mug and watched his reflection ripple against the confines of the stark white cup. Three years of his life, wasted.

Wasted...

Not wasted. His mind offered and he raised his face to peer over the rim of his mug to see Pibo squeaking happily. An involuntary smile lifted the corners of his lips and Lack-2 caught himself, after an internal debate, he kept on smiling when the little rodent bounced happily on the plastic table top with a poffin in its tiny paws. A dish of cream vibrated on the table and pichu happily took its time in order to lap it up and dunk its already soggy poffin in it. The rodent then ate the sodden mass with obvious relish and articulated another delighted squeak.

"Like it?" His voice became hoarse from disuse, who should he talk to anyway? Most of his co-workers were seniors, far above his age and one could only taunt Lt. Surge before the man decided to electrocute you to death. "Want some more?" The rodent squeaked so he translated it as a yes. The cream and berry stuffed poffins were quite an expensive combination and Pibo's diet consisted exclusively of these two products. Flagging down a waitress, he spared a moment and eyed her, noticing the cheerful gleam in her eyes and the form fitting uniform, briskly, he ordered another course for Pibo and inwardly berated himself for being distracted.

He picked up some bad habits from Gold.

The young officer did them unconsciously till his subordinate pointed out his strange mannerisms. His first offence was cooing to samurott and genesect after a virtual battle, both Looker and genesect eyed him with mild disgust and concern. His next offence happened to be his over attachment to Pibo. Once, the rodent bounced off to Dialga knows where, Lack-2 had a debriefing to go to and outright hyperventilated when he failed to find the creature in his apartment. Looker arrived to see the normally immaculate place in a mess and his superior in a breathless huff over a cute little mouse. Pichu eventually resurfaced half an hour later and on seeing him, the brown haired boy simply exhaled in relief instead of disciplining it harshly. After he handled Red's departure to Ransei and simultaneously completed all the paperwork accompanying the International Police's bizarre request, Lack-2 went to the Magician for a health and mental check-up and to his dismay, the maintenance man told him that he suffered from a mild version of Stockholm syndrome. Glaring at his advisor deplorably, Lack-2 scoffed at his speech and told him to fix the scanners whilst inwardly, his mind whole heartedly agreed with the advisor's words. In order to remedy his psychological status, the officer undertook a new project; tracing the whereabouts of the remaining Team Plasma members, specifically the Shadow Triad. Day by day, he pored over the documents and maps, chasing down rumours even though they might not be wholly credible. Looker had been deported to Alola in order to search for a lead and in the meantime, Lack-2 had absolutely no one to talk to.

A lonely existence.

An image of a thoroughly displeased Gold continued to plague his waking and sleeping moments. He never remembered the amber eyed adolescent's expression when Red had been arrested. The Unovian refused to meet his former mentor's eyes. He didn't want to see the hurt and anger the man harboured at the moment.

Lack-2 felt afraid to meet Gold's eyes.

Since...he knew...there would be noting but disgust swirling in them.

"What am I doing?" he muttered to himself and pichu spent a second to shoot him a cute grin. "The magician was right...I'm starting to lose my sense of morality." A feeling of weakness pervaded his body and he put down the heavy mug with a soft clatter on the table top. The people around him held amiable conversations; he caught tender tones, laughter and the occasional soft compliment. There were so many patrons around him and yet, it seemed as if he lived in a world of his own. Why did his latest assignment bother him so? He read and re-read his reports; Chief Anabel gave him a perfect score since he managed to secure a ring leader with minimal injury. Lack-2 kept on convincing himself that he done a good job but his mind disagreed. The other superintendents praised him heartily; however, the superficial praises fell on deaf ears. The teenager craved warmth and longed to go back to where it he received it unconditionally.

Back to the Dex-Criminals...Where he spent the last three years of his life being coddled, carried around and cared for.

The thought terrified him.

He could not go back, the very idea is ludicrous. Blasphemy. They are criminals and you are the police...How dare you shun your morality for your own selfish desires? Their work is taboo and it is your duty to stop them, and you want to go back? You want to contribute to the ultimate suffering of humanity? What would your parents think? His consciousness venomously battled against each other. The russet haired youth grew increasingly exhausted from trying to reason with himself and at the end of the day, with so many unfilled forms strewn around him, he managed to make no progress at all.

' _Gold loved you like a little brother...'_ the words echoed with the ticking of the clock, the drumming of the rain and with the beating of his own heart till it roared and drowned out every other sound around him.

The young officer long gave up on the prospect of having another family figure; he did not let people grow close to him because kindness, warmth and filial love didn't exist anymore. They died along with his parents.

My feelings are dead...He firmly told himself...and my only purpose is to ensure that the criminals are placed where they belong.

No they aren't dead, his brain quibbled, or else that golden eyed man won't be such a source of misery and worry for you.

"Pibo...let's go." Shutting down the voices in his head, Lack-2 got up from his chair and left his half-drunk coffee on the table, his pichu uttered a non-committal shriek and after eyeing its unfinished poffins, it bounced over to its owner and perched on his shoulder. "I have to get over to headquarters" he drawled, "apparently there is some commotion going on. Tsk, these idiots have to call a superior officer for the tiniest of things." Quickly scanning the message popped up on his Xtransciever, he stowed the gadget back into his duffle coat pocket and ignored the waitress politely bowing at him. Pushing open the door, he let a crowd of school children pass...no...He wasn't eyeing them wistfully. Chin tucked in and visor pulled low over his eyes, he shuffled forward, trying to make himself part of reality. As he dragged himself down the sidewalk, an instinctive prickling made him stop and turn around. Between the business people, the shoppers, joggers, school children and faceless crowds, a space opened up and Lack-2's blood drained from his face and body. Pibo's urgent cries sounded like they came from a distant space. Even though the person staring at him was disguised, beneath the mop of fire red hair, one could see the unmistakable tint of burnished gold which made the man so popular with the ladies. Instead of a perverted smile, his lips curved into a grim slash, conveying his murderous thoughts by pulling back into an animalistic snarl. Pichu, still loyal to its former breeder gave a high pitched squeak and tried to jump off. Grabbing him by the scruff, the teenager shoved the beast into a pocket and inwardly screamed at himself to move. Gold veered closer, weaving himself through the crowds and Lack-2, with great difficulty, turned tail and ran. His heart hammered in his chest, blood rushed around his head, heating him up and making him sweat. Ears pounding, he forced himself to move. To run away.

To run away.

 _Traitor...Traitor..._

His footsteps told him.

 _Hypocrite...Hypocrite_

His heart beat mocked him.

He couldn't breathe...Maybe if he let Gold catch up to him then it will be all over? Perhaps the gold eyed man would understand that Lack-2 had to do this?

The Unovian glanced back, no such luck. His lungs were about to burst and he rudely shoved people to the side in the quest to put as much distance as possible between himself and the breeder. Gold wanted to kill him. The Johto native's undiluted hatred and wrath emanated from him in perceptible waves.

"Traitor!" A brush of hot hair scraped his nape and Lack-2 instantaneously crouched down. The crowds screamed, panicked and rushed around in all sides. Gold's fingers missed his collar by mere inches and momentum carried the older man forward and he stumbled over. Seizing the window of opportunity, the russet eyed youth shot up from his position, felt a few people knocking against him and he twisted, stepping through the crowds and melting into them.

Lack-2 disappeared.

Gold swore vehemently and kept on hissing expletives under his breath till Green put a hand on his shoulder. The amber eyed trainer twitched and breathed steam through his nose. Sweat matted his hair against his scalp and plastered the shirt he wore to his body. "He's gone...Let's go back to the hotel Gold...We can't run after him any longer. The brat will be on his guard." Oak soothed and watched the younger man's shoulders droop. "If we manage to rescue Red...It will undo all his hard work, you can get your revenge then. For now, focus on getting a good sleep and don't try to do anything crazy." Giving his shoulder another firm squeeze, the spiky haired blonde walked away first. Casting another glance at the wary crowds, Gold spun around in the early evening's cool heat and trudged after his senior. The previous outrage dissipated and left a hollow feeling in its wake. Lack-2 appeared positively terrified of him and instead of calling a backup police force from town and arresting them; the boy, wide eyed and terrified, turned tail and ran.

"I hate him" the breeder timidly declared and Green, who strode a few paces in front, noted the lack of anger in his junior's voice. "...I don't sound very convincing do I?" Slinking behind the Kanto native, Gold opted for ogling at the metropolis as the duo ambled their way back to the hotel.

"It's difficult to hate someone when you think of them as your own." Strategy's commander intoned, "don't forget he is a traitor Gold...In our Organization having a traitor loose will spell death for all of us."

"...I know...I know." Lacing his hands behind his head, the Execution member looked up to see the sun slowly descend. "Thanks by the way" he mumbled and exhaled noisily.

"For what?"

It might be his imagination but Gold swore he heard a tiny hint of amusement in his superior's voice, it made him ball up his hands with embarrassment, "Thank you for not interfering when I chased the brat and for not lopping his arm or head off when he escaped. I know you were perfectly capable of doing so and yet you just stood by and gave me a chance." He let out a huff and strained his ears in chase Green let loose a chuckle or something. To his relief, the older man remained quiet.

"Don't forget...He is a traitor Gold." Abruptly halting in his tracks, the commander turned around and pinned the younger man with a viridian glare.

"I know..." Gold repeated, his vision trained to the dirty floor where he could pick out wads of greyish bubble-gum, soil and weeds peeking out from the crevices of the black stone pavement. "The next time, I will act in a more responsible manner." The Johto native promised, "You have my word."

* * *

 **A/N:** I apologize for the lack of violence in this one. For all those who still anticipate Gold punching the daylights out of Lack-2…I'm sorry, you will have to wait for long, but it will happen. Eventually. Much thanks to fubja for favoriting the story, hopefully it continues to be a pleasant read for you. And virtual hot chocolate for all those who read and reviewed, you guys rock :)

At Sakurafox1218: Guess the killing didn't happen in this chapter huh? Sinnoh police, probably a mixture of: Arrgghhh! And Oh heck NO! At AceTrainerLeaf: Once again, I sincerely apologize for grinding your hopes to pieces. But to make it up to you, I wrote a really nice chapter of how Gold half kills him, now you just have to wait for it. Sapphire is not named the conqueror for nothing. The word has a nice ring to it. At Jack54311: Raw honey also has impurities in it, but I eat them anyway. The beeswax is not good though, and its recommended to press the honey out of the combs before eating it…who has time for that? Saph should get a crash course from Ruby on how to conduct stealth missions.


	71. Pieces of a puzzle

**Chapter 71: Pieces of a puzzle**

Mid-morning

Sinnoh

Sandgem Town

Following her separation from Whi-2, Platina made the return journey with a thousand thoughts tumbling over each other in her head. By the time she strode up to the gates of her mansion and walked down the cobblestone pathway leading to a set of stained oak double doors, she made up her mind on what to do first. When the head maid and butler escorted her in and her parents, startled by her abrupt return, enquired about her condition, the heiress politely excused herself and went upstairs for some time alone. She showered, changed her clothes and ruminated whilst the servants brought up dinner. The next morning, at the crack of dawn, she roused up her father's underlings and demanded they open up to the information archives. Bewildered by her request and not really being unable to refuse her orders, the agents complied with her demands and the frosted glass doors slid open to reveal her family's prized secret. The Berlitz information archives. To most, it might paint a picture of a library of books, sitting pompously on ancient oak shelves but this chamber looked nothing like a library. It appeared as a laboratory of sorts, hundreds of computers hooked up to a main supercomputer stationed in the middle of the vast room. From the entrance, one could see it, a thick cylinder of black and red metal towering up to the ceiling. The features were all wireless and thanks to this modern invention, the marble tiled floor remained clutter free. With a small band of researchers, the young female marched inside the room and seated herself before an antique study desk; her father's agents automatically veered off to their work benches and since then, silently trawled through the archives in search of a single piece of highly classified information.

"I want to find an individual by the name of Red." She stated, her voice full of quiet authority like her mother, "He is the ex-champion of the Kanto League and a commanding member of the Dex Criminals. When our holiday mansion was raided, the police arrested him. My associates at the base are unable to find where he is kept and due to certain..." here she paused, however, none of the workers looked up, "complications...we assume he is either hiding right under our noses or being detained very far away." Platina remembered Lack-2, the boy responsible for the mess they were currently embroiled in. The former Dex Criminal member knew how they operated and thus would take drastic measures in order to keep his sole prisoner in check. She briefly wondered if Gold managed found traitorous lackey and her thoughts turned to the media, which heaped disgrace on her family due to rumours that the Berlitz nobles funded the Organization. Her eyes hawkishly zoomed on the bowed heads of the men in front of her, who spilled this information? She questioned herself and inhaled sharply, whoever did this needed to be quickly found and punished.

Severely.

"Ma'am, we have several reports on his location." One of the agents stood up and reported. The noble pulled her attention away from the papers in her hands and motioned at him to continue. "First...I'd like to report that we lost a considerable portion of money in order to secure this information...the security officials demanded heavy bribes and thus the budget is..." he hesitantly informed and Platinum waved her hand dismissively, "well then, I shall continue. Red is claimed to have been held in Mainland Sinnoh, according to the Unovian authority. The Kanto and Johto officials state he is detained at Unova whilst other rumours go as far as Kalos and Alola. Tracing these tales have proved to be ineffective." Looking up, he met his future employer's eyes and saw a displeased gleam passing through her inky irises, nodding slowly, she asked for his opinion and he quickly glanced at the laptop before speaking up. "I think he might either be in Mainland Sinnoh...or Unova. Sinnoh is a good area because the region's champion is an active member of the International Police, whilst Unova is an excellent choice due to it being the hub of the world." Situated at the far front, he breathed a relieved sigh when she told him to sit down and commended him on a job well done. He flushed and sat, wiping his clammy hands on black slacks. With such a beautiful daughter taking over, he looked forward to spending his days in the service of the Berlitz family in relative ease.

Sinnoh...Unova...The informant had a point. Platina ruminated and heard the terminal emit a soft buzz. She stared into the blank monitor of her laptop and thought. Red could be anywhere and the sensation of guilt, which she took root in the pit of her stomach, steadily intensified as the morning grew longer. She internally apologized for squandering her father's money in this way, however, if they discovered a concrete location on his whereabouts, then her organization could stage an escape plan and the dishonour on her family would shift to accommodate more sensational news. The teenager tapped her nails on the glazed surface of the desk. They could not afford a large scale operation because the whole world remained wary of the Dex Criminals, a slight weakness in their plan will cause the already fractured Organization to spiral further out of control. Combing an entire region is impossible at this rate...Maybe...She could ask her father for help? Perhaps hire some people? No, the commanders would disagree. Speaking about commanders, Platina was shocked at Diamond's self-issued status as Execution's new commander. Despite Pearl vehemently denying it, she privately thought her best friend did not do a very good job of taking control.

He let his emotions fuel him.

But for someone so young, she admired the way he stood up and proceeded to take command whilst disregarding what others may think of him.

For this, she respected him very much. Her friends taught her the meaning of freedom. Pearl's relentless coaching lessons and blatant remarks hammered reality into her head whilst Dia's potent display of empathy towards her and other people's plights made her realize how important it was to convey emotion and not keep it suppressed. She knew all this but yet her destiny dictated her to act with a stiff upper lip. Why was it her fate to be the Berlitz Heiress? Shutting her eyes, the girl attempted to compose herself. Now is not the time, she chastised her mind, to be thinking of what ifs...She should focus on the task at hand and ponder on how to minimize the damage to their funds.

"My lady...I believe the individual you are searching for is currently being held in Ransei." A well accented voice spoke and she blinked.

What?

"More specifically..." the man droned, oblivious to her devastation, "he is detained in Valora Castle which is..."

 _What?_

"...Situated on a flat plain and boasts the most secure defences in the entire region. Valora is flanked by Spectra to the east, Dragnor to the north and by Nixtorm to the west..."

Nixtorm! Why did Valora have to be next to Nixtorm of all places?

"...Military style...Slats of metal...the Imperial Palace is a fortress...I believe this prisoner...Kept there." Her informant's words fell on deaf ears as Platina tried to reign in a panic attack. For as long as she lived, she never felt such terror. Her breath hitched, coming out in short, uneven gasps and her hands and feet became cold and clammy. Heart drumming in her chest, the rush of blood pounding in her ears made all other sounds imperceptible.

"Stop!" The noble commanded in a shaky tone and the man fell silent at once. "I understand." She breathed through her nose and swallowed, something slimy and unpleasant slipped down her throat. "You have done your research properly; I am convinced that he is indeed in Ransei." Her eyes caught the fleeting smile the man gave her before reorganizing his face into a neutral expression. "You have done well, I will ask father to raise your salary...For now, you are all dismissed." Bowing politely to her, the men filed out and the teenager closed her laptop. Ransei...It made perfect sense for Lack-2 to somehow wriggle Red all the way there. None of the Dex Criminals will ever be able to sail in its sea space much less land on its shores and rescue their leader. The Imperial region only accepted pure nobility and those who were invited via a royal letter to serve some purpose or the other. Stories of the Warlord's or their retainer's illegitimate children were rife but even these half royalty were not allowed and their noble parent shunned their existence. Platina rubbed her hands together and worked feeling into them, she spied a few colourful rubber bands encircling her wrist and smiled sadly to herself. Whi-2 bought them for her, claiming it will bring good luck. In a way, it did bring her luck.

Both good and bad.

Time to have a serious talk with her parents, the noble decided; and convince them to open up their relations with the main family of Nixtorm. Unlike the other noble families of Ransei descent, the Berlitz maintained their ties and her mother (who had been of noble birth) frequently visited Nixtorm to conduct business. However, as the rules stated, only she was allowed inside the region and her father, as well as herself could not enter without invitation.

Still...She could try.

Hours later, Platinum gazed at her reflection in the full body mirror as her maids adjusted her dress. A dark blue satin evening gown wrapped around her slender form and glided over the floor. The hair stylist pulled her hair in an elegant updo whilst a delicate golden necklace rested on her collarbones. As the servants fussed over her outfit, Platina felt slightly foolish for asking her parents on a formal dinner, but on remembering her two friends, she strengthened her resolve, whispered a thank you to her maids when they hurried out of the room and thereafter waltzed out. In the lavish dining room, her parents eyed her confusedly as she sat down opposite them and related her experiences. A queer sensation overtook her as she talked; never before had Platina sat down and confided in her parents like this. Her father, the more amiable of the two guardians, tilted his head slightly and grinned whilst her mother, a prim and proper woman by anyone's standards, had a ghost of a smile wavering on her pale pink lips. The Constellate member spoke, pausing for effect and conveying her thoughts clearly.

"No."

Her parents articulated in tandem and gazed at her disbelievingly.

"Platinum darling..." Her father's warm voice did nothing to soften the icy resolve in her heart. "You are asking for the impossible!" he stated softly and glimpsed at his wife who ate her food gracefully. "As your parents...we cannot ask you to open our relations with the main branch, they will demand something beyond our capabilities and since this Red is detained in Ransei...There is nothing we can do. We are not allowed there and you can be sure no other commoners will be able to set foot in there. The region is heavily guarded and trespassers are killed or executed without mercy. Please be sensible Platina and resign from the Dex Criminals, you cannot associate with them any longer."

The teenager set down her fork and wiped her lips with a napkin. "I can...And I will," she repeated Pearl's favourite words. "If mother is allowed in there, then as her daughter, I should be able to go in as well. I don't care if they ask for the improbable, my organization and I will find a way to fulfil their requests." Her father exhaled and shook his head disdainfully, "please understand, this is what I want to do...I don't want a future marked down in stone. Father...Mother, I never asked you for anything so please for once in my life...Allow me to do what I want." She waited patiently whilst her parents exchanged troubled looks. Pushing his plate away, Mr Berlitz got up from his table and vacated the dining room. The chandelier light cast a mellow glow around the room but to Platina, the surroundings seemed harsh and discordantly bright. Her mother, resplendent in a blouse and skirt, deliberately ate up her dinner with measured tardiness and after finishing her drink, eyed her daughter in the eye and silently commended the younger noble for not flinching. She motioned for her maid and the servant brought down her handbag. Extracting a tablet from the krookodile leather bag, she brought up a document and read it out aloud.

"Should a branch family, which keeps minimal relations with their main family in Ransei, decide to open up and fully forge ties with the main family due to them wanting to relocate to Ransei, then, it shall be decided that the branch will offer their offspring in a marriage contract to one of the Main family's heirs." Mrs Berlitz faced her daughter and saw distress etched on the girl's pale face. "In simple terms...Should you want to go to Ransei, your father and I will be forced to marry you off to a one of Lord Mitsuhide's sons, or if his lordship wishes, one of the retainers or their offspring." She shut the tablet with a tap of her finger. "You claim to not want a future set in stone...tell me Platina, do you see yourself as an Imperial noble's wife? Darling...You don't understand why we do the things we do. We simply want what is best for you." Mrs Berlitz also got up from the chair and passed her bag to waiting maid. "Please be sensible child and listen to your father, resign from the Organization you work in and come home, you are growing up and it's by time I show you how to manage your future assets."

"I have to do this..."

"You will not do this and I am not allowing you to." Platina's mother whispered fiercely and glared at her daughter. "Do you want to throw your life away for people that may be simply using you? Do you think they will do the same for you? Do you? Answer me Platinum Berlitz."

Platina pulled the chain looped around her neck and ended up breaking the fine thread. One of the maids gasped softly and ran forward to receive the broken filaments. The noble ruminated on her mother's words and in spite of the threat of her dismal future and the prickling of hot tears pooling at the corner of her eyes, she forcibly answered her mother's queries: "Yes they will. Pearl and Diamond will do anything for me...My friends will do all they can for me and it is time I show the same loyalty to them. Senior Red and the commanders put our safety first and repeatedly allowed the younger generations to leave the base whilst they protected us. Mother..." the girl tried to keep her voice steady as the expression of disbelief on her parent's face became more pronounced, "send them a letter asking them to open up the boarders, I will agree to their conditions. This is my resolve...Please let me do this." The older woman shook her head and pressed her eyes closed, whirling around; she left, heels leaving loud clucks on the tiled floor. Grasping the soft fabric with both of her hands, Platina tried to control her emotions and not think about the consequences. She reminded herself that if anything happened to her, they would equally try their best in order to find her. Besides...Living in Ransei might prove to be a novel experience...didn't Pearl say that experiences are the joys and sorrows of life? It allows a person to live life to the fullest.

Her lips trembled.

 _It's going to be okay_

She sniffed.

 _I'm going to be alright._

And Platinum begun to cry. Hot tears sliding down the curves of her cheek and dropping into dark splats on the fabric of her dress.

* * *

Afternoon

Sinnoh

Base of Mt Coronet

The members returned soon after completing their missions. For Sapphire and Yellow, the duo hightailed back to base in the dead of the night. To the Hoenn trainer, flying through the skies with an entire horde of helicopters on her tail and a cavalcade of police vans following her from the ground presented an awe inspiring sight. The girl taunted the pilots by repeatedly twirling on her tropius' back much to Yellow's chagrin. The fruit pokemon displayed an agility not seen of its kind, it dipped and tumbled, avoiding nets and other projectiles whilst its owner held on to it and screamed with delight. The Kanto native on the other hand, did not enjoy the experience in the slightest bit and vehemently refused to go on another break in mission ever again. Whilst Sapphire busied herself with searching for information, the door to Falkner's office in Goldenrod city imploded under the force of a battering team. Grabbing her junior by the wrist, she used her golem to break the window and came face to face with an armed helicopter. The vehicle flew so close; she saw her terror stricken visage reflecting off the shiny fiberglass coating. Golem crunched rock in its steel tipped claws and with a mighty heave, threw the constructed boulder straight at the hovering copter. It smashed into the windshield, penetrated the thick layer of glass and struck the pilot square in his chest. The man hunched forward and threw up blood whilst the helicopter whizzed away in dizzying circles due to the sudden loss of control and exploded a few meters away in a shower of orange and blue sparks. Yellow shelved her prickling conscious, summoned her dodrio and flew to the skies. To her additional dismay, her comrade gleefully threw their calling cards like confetti and this served to further annoy the Johto Police as they sent each and every able force on their tails. Sirens rang, piercing the night with wails and the duo urged their pokemon to fly faster out of Johto.

"So you flew all the way here...man that was an adventure I could do with!" Gold exclaimed much to Yellow's mild annoyance and Sapphire's delight, "Whoo, a cool rush of air calming you down right after a wild chase huh? You sure they didn't tag you by any chance? 'Cause if they did...we are so doomed." His junior replied in a negative, bounced on her heels and Pearl congratulated her. In one corner of the main chamber, Green glared at the trio disdainfully and decided to give them a piece of his mind later. "As for me..." the ebony haired trainer continued, "I went searching for Lack-2," suddenly, everyone became interested in him and he saw Whi-2 shove her way to the front in order to listen. "I found him...However I couldn't catch him, he ran on seeing me." Exhaling, the Johto native shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and only Silver and Crystal picked the troubled emotions rimming his irises. "Let's see what you got Saph," he added and reached for the crumpled up papers. Diamond stood on tiptoes, craning his neck to see the documents and on reading the abstract, the two males frowned.

"You...Have the wrong information senior Saph." Diamond mumbled and pointed to the paper. The girl shrieked in surprise and snatched her papers back. Ruby ambled lazily towards her and read the reports by peering above her head.

"Can't help it," he shook his head and sniggered. "Our cave princess can't read." Instead of denying the fact and flicking Ruby on the forehead, she blushed, the red colour blooming quite beautifully on her cheeks. Depositing the papers on a desk erected in the middle of the room; she sheepishly apologized and stalked away to sit at the edge of the cavern. Green sighed, pushed himself off his leaning position and checked the papers himself. Their mission was to collect information on the whereabouts of Red, any hint on the leader's position, location or situation would be welcomed. According to the papers in his hand, Sapphire picked up a schedule, it dictated meeting times, locations and a brief profile of the members of the International Police. The spiky haired male smirked in satisfaction, to others it may be useless, however, it proved to be a good weapon. They can use this knowledge to their advantage since it tells them exactly how and where the international police will be moving for the next few weeks.

Folding the papers, he stuffed them in his coat pocket as Blue came down from the rickety stairs, she had a towel on her head and her chocolate brown hair glistened with drops of water. Combing the crowd with an inquisitive gaze, she enquired about Platina and Whi-2 spoke up.

"Senior Platina and I split in order to complete our mission." On hearing her words, Blue clenched her jaw in displeasure and slightly shook her head. "Well...There were nasty rumours about us and her family" Whi-2 timidly defended the noble, "in order to get to the bottom of this, she went to her home and is most probably doing research on her own. Let's put our trust in her for the time being." Constellate's commander eventually put on a taut smile, sunk down on a worn sofa and implored her underling to continue with her report. Perching on the arm of the couch, the teenager continued speaking, her voice reaching a crescendo, "there are undercover police everywhere...You can't have normal conversation without suspecting anybody. This good looking dude I bumped into turned out to be a member of the International Police!" She gesticulated wildly and this earned a good natured chuckle from Diamond, "and...Hugh...He is the reason why...I'm so sorry. All my friends are traitors." Her previous excitement deflated like a popped drifblim and she slid off the arm rest and plopped to the floor. "Platina and I happened to catch the news and Cynthia reported that Hugh testified against Red..."

Standing some distance from the main gathering, Silver lethargically leaned against a metal pillar and observed his team mate. Next to him, Crystal thrust her hands in her pockets and scowled. He wondered what happened to her. His indigo haired friend drowned herself in work and hardly admonished Gold on his slovenly ways. She became a bit too quiet for his liking and every time he and Gold tried to confront or urge to her to speak to them about her troubles, she shook her head and moved away. Right now, the female quivered violently in the cold and he reached for her gloveless hands. Crystal had her azure irises boring into the back of Gold's head as the man joked around and flirted with White. On holding her hand she jumped and to his utmost amusement, flushed.

Crys blushing...He mused, what Gold would kill to see that.

"Something wrong?" He whispered to his friend and heard his sibling assure Whi-2 that Hugh was not a traitor and the police threatened him into attesting. At this new piece of news, the youngest member looked up with renewed hope in her eyes. Although Blue told her an abridged form of the treatment the International police conducted against Hugh, he thought it would be better for her not to know the harsh truth. Peeking at Crystal, he saw her eyes trained to the floor and he repeated his query.

"Nothing" she mumbled and faced away after gratefully giving his bony had a squeeze.

"Crys..."

"There is nothing wrong...Please Silver, don't make a fuss or else Gold will come along and start interrogating me as well. I'm fine; I don't have a fever or anything." The capturer sent him a fleeting grin and went back to her senseless staring of Gold's head. The man had his arm around Diamond whilst the little commander tried to admonish him but failed adorably. Crystal tucked her face in her muffler and stopped shivering. Silver's hand, despite being skeletal, was quite comfortable to hold on to.

"Gather around everyone." Blue's commanding tones prompted the other members to shuffle around table and the general atmosphere in the cavern turned rigid and business like. Rubbing his baggy eyes, Silver slunk forward and pulled Crystal with him. In a blink of an eye, Gold appeared in between them and grinned childishly. Much to their chagrin, the amber eyed trainer strung them along and Crystal aimed a kick at his lower back. Silver smiled; guess Crystal felt alright after all. The duo next to him dissolved into a bout of ceaseless arguing and Dia's plaintive orders fell on deaf ears. Finally, when Blue suggested they get a room, Gold quickly shut up much to the amusement of everyone present. He flushed horribly, scratched the back of his neck and relocated next to Diamond. Crystal giggled at his sudden shy behaviour and this sent the man sputtering some excuses and imploring the commanders to get a move on with their meeting. Blue and Diamond teased him a bit more and in an effort to regain his shredded dignity, he pulled out his pool cue from the pocket of his pants and slammed it on the desk. A moment of silence ensued as it broke and Pearl started to snigger. His infectious sniggering spread to the whole group and in moments, Green found himself chuckling on seeing the cue splinter in two. Gold shrugged, fed the two splintered pieces into the fireplace and wriggled himself in between Crystal and Silver once again. The red head shifted up and vexingly emitted a sigh when his male best friend hugged him.

"Stop..." he hissed in a strained voice, "you are making me nauseous."

"Aww Silver!" Gold cooed disturbingly, "show me some lo- OOF! Crys, you getting jealous?" he moaned in pain and whirled to face Crystal who coolly adjusted her hat.

"Pay attention!" she sternly stated and pushed his hand away, "this concerns senior Red." The gold eyed individual straightened up, slicked his hair backwards and faced the commanders solemnly. On the table lay several sheets of paper and the top one had an ugly mugshot of Red. Blue loosened the stack of stapled papers and spread them individually on the table. The report on Red ended up covering the moderately large desk and the commander still had papers in her hands. Craning their necks, each one tried to read the snippets of information on the ex-commander's history and Gold's irises zoomed on his birthplace. How odd. Red never mentioned that he hailed from Cinnabar.

"First of all," Blue began her announcement and the trainers fixated their gazes on her, "This report concerns Red's personal information so we will skip the details and concern ourselves with what is relevant." Her eyes veered to Green who leisurely skimmed through a page, "Green...You don't seem surprised...did you know?"

The spiky haired individual put the document down before replying. "Did I know that Red came from Cinnabar? Yes I did. Grandpa sent me all the way to Johto for my hand to hand combat training and when Chuck's dojo closed for the holidays, I came back home to find a brat as a next door neighbour. When we first met, I saw Red collecting prize money from a couple of teens whom he beat in a street pokemon fight. At that time, I didn't pay much attention to him and later in the day, Grandpa introduced me to him. He told me he came from Cinnabar Island then, but since Grandpa handled his Trainer Identification card, his birthplace somehow changed to Pallet. From there, possibly out of gratitude, he tells everyone that he hails from Pallet." Green, shoved his hands inside his pockets and frowned, the faces of the other members gazed at him, pleading for more information or perhaps some insight to their backgrounds. "I'm not a story teller..." he seethed and exhaled in relief when the attention broke from him and re-focused on Blue.

"Right...Anyway, his life history is not important. The essential part is here..." The heads came together and pored over the last segment of the report. " _The convict is currently being held in a cell situated in Mainland Sinnoh."_ Constellate's leader read and listened as a hush of fierce whisperings poured out. People eyed each other in disbelief and some debated on the probability of him actually being held so close to them. The female Kanto native crossed her arms and anxiety bubbled in her stomach. Even if his location was clearly written in a top secret document, she did not trust the words completely. Her instincts rang alarm bells in her head, it could be a trap, it warned and she distinctly remembered falling neatly into one when trying to steal a magnificent replica of the Azure Flute. The thought mortified her till this day and it brought on a sense of frustration. "Quiet down guys..." the female, fatigued from overwork and stress, rubbed her temples in a futile effort to dissipate a headache, she had long stopped taking care of herself and simply ran a hand through a mess of tangled chocolate brown hair. "Give me your opinion one by one and we will see if we can draw up a strategy." Taking a few steps backward, she collapsed on the couch and felt the cushion sink delightfully underneath her weight.

"The information is obviously false! There is no way they're keeping senior/Red in Main land Sinnoh!" Three male tones overlapped each other and the speakers simultaneously blinked and eyed each other.

"You three should join a circus" Blue snorted, "and display your powers of telepathy in front of everyone. My my Green..." the woman taunted and grinned much to the man's annoyance, "it looks like you are taking good care of Gold." Emerald, Gold and Green huffed and looked away. The midget grabbed the last page of the report and read it once more whilst the older males fidgeted.

Snatching the paper from Emerald, Gold hid his face behind the document and got a good kick from Rald as a reward. Seriously, no way would Lack-2 detain Red anywhere near here. "Lack-2 is very cautious..." he hesitantly spoke and saw Whi-2 nod in agreement. "Since I mentored him, I have a pretty accurate idea of how he thinks...At least I thinks so...I'm not sure anymore." He trailed off and stared at the ground, desperately wrestling with the words in his head. "Although senior Blue and Silver went through a lot to secure this information, I believe it's a trap. They might be scattering false info in the different headquarters in order to lure us out in the open like this. The International Police know we are desperate to get your hands on Red and will therefore use this to their advantage. If Saph had gotten the correct papers...I'm positive they would list his location as someplace else. It's just...Just something Lack-2 will do."

"He's got a valid point." Green intoned.

They were at a stalemate. There was no concrete evidence of Red's whereabouts and once again, the feeling of helplessness crept amongst them, weighing like a black shroud over their heads. Diamond's eyes flickered from his co-leaders and he wondered what to do. White distanced herself from the group and her mind drifted to Black. Maybe if her best friend still lived, he could've found a plausible solution for this problem or at least spout a few theories which could motivate the Dex Criminals to peruse a different way of thinking. Musha floated aimlessly about, playing with some of the other pokemon at the far end of the vast cavern. Silence descended on their meeting and no one had the courage to break it. The brown haired girl brought out a pad and a pencil and jotted down all the various bits of data they exchanged since the morning. So far she understood that Sapphire procured the wrong intelligence, but according to Green, it proved to be extremely useful due to them knowing when and where the Police will be moving. Gold claimed that Lack-2, who arrested Red, would never keep the Ex-champion right under their noses and if they raided the other headquarters and found reports on Red, the former commander's location will all be different. Hence, a ploy to lure the Dex Criminals out, exhaust their energy, resources and mentally breaking them. According to the Johto native, Lack-2 must have deployed Red somewhere out of reach. And the last mystery had been the reports Blue and Silver stole from the Unova headquarters. Sure, the location might simply be a ploy, however White thought otherwise, why combine false intelligence with a canonical report? Green confirmed the validity of the document so it must be highly classified and confidential...Perhaps Red had been detained in Sinnoh for some weeks before being shipped to who knows where? And why stop there? The International Police could very well shift him around in order to make his presence untraceable.

"That's a feasible conjecture you have there." White jumped at the sudden low voice emanating from behind her and flushed when Green half smiled. "It's concrete and makes total sense. Share your thoughts with us White." Her commander's form loomed over her as he read the last of her scribbling, drew away and plopped down next to Diamond and Blue. Dia gave him a half-eaten poffin and instead of screwing up his face in disgust and declining it, he simply tossed it in the air and a red blur caught the pastry and devoured it. Scizor flashed away into the recesses of the second cave and Emerald gave her a nudge. Right...She had to present her theories.

The rest of the Organization faced her and White imagined herself as a movie director, she could do this. As she started speaking, her confidence rose and she projected her hypothesis with more vigour. Her team mates nodded and added their own opinions as well. "When Senior Red was arrested, the police detained him in Mainland Sinnoh for some weeks. According to what we know, the International Police has four superintendents and all four participated in the raid against us. Two of them, Lt. Surge and Champion Cynthia were brutally injured and thus had to recover. For the duration of their recovery, Red had been in Mainland Sinnoh and once the four came together and decided on a proper place, senior Red had been shipped off. For now, we can rule out Alola as a possible candidate because none of the International Police members come from there." After her words, a sudden 'Aha!' Moment swept around the group and they all nodded in vigorous agreement. "Kalos is also a possible area because according to the data Sapphire procured, the chief of police is a Kalosian. It is also entirely possible for the police to move him around from one place to another-" Blue, who raptly listened to White shook her head and cut her conjecture off, the older woman stated that it was extremely difficult to move around a convict so easily. A constant threat of the criminal breaking out of confinement will always be presented and this chance rises exponentially if the felon is continuously moved around. Judging with how high Red is wanted on their list, the International Police will not take the risk of juggling him around. Present the individual a slight window of opportunity and he will exploit it fully. "...I guess you are right...then how about a place where we cannot reach. One we won't...Or rather, can't get i-"

She abruptly stopped talking.

In fact, the whole cavern became deadly still. Blue, Diamond and Green jumped up from the sofa and stood with their hands clenched to their sides.

Outside, amidst the howling of the frigid winds, the unmistakable sound of rotor blades chopping the air could be heard. The occupants inside the cavern turned pale. Had the police found them already?

The helicopter landed in front of their door. White felt her arm being grabbed and dragged inwards. She felt numb with fear. A distant noise of heavy boots crunching on snow slowly grew louder and heavier. The three commanders shoved their underlings backwards and a bang on the door made the youngsters collectively jump. Whi-2 swallowed nervously and held on to Blue tighter, the girl refused to budge from her commander even after Silver pulled on her repeatedly and tried to comfort her with hushed words. Diamond and Green broke into a fierce argument; the youngster gesticulated wildly in the older one's face whilst the latter hissed at him to take cover. In the midst of the pushing and shoving, the door grinded open and in the doorway, flanked by armed guards, stood Platinum Berlitz.

The lone female and her group of panicked friends faced each other with wide befuddled gazes.

"Oh!" Constellate's commander breathed in relief, "it's just Platina, you gave us quite a scare darling. I almost thought the Police came for us." The rest of the Dex Criminals unwounded and let out relieved gasps and giggles. Platina walked in after dismissing her escorts with a hand wave and the door behind her slid shut with a nasty racket. "Whi-2 told me you split up...I do not appreciate the way you decided to take matters in your own hands Platina." The leader sternly stated but gave her underling a soft smile. "Next time, if you want to do something like this, contact me first."

Platina set down her bag and took off her fur jacket, the inside of the cavern remained warm thanks to the never ending fire burning in the fire place. Recently, all the fire types crowded around the crackling flames and made it a competition to keep it alive. So far, Green's charizard held the highest record with Pearl's infernape being a close second; despite Gold's typholsion holding top tier stats, the ponderous volcano pokemon preferred to keep to itself and only approached the fire when no other pokemon sat around it. "I'm sorry for giving all of you a fright..." the noble stated and sat down daintily with her hands folded in her lap, "my parents insisted I take armoured escorts." Her co-workers nodded in sympathy. "When I split up from Whi-2, I researched into the archives and found senior Red's location."

"Where is he?" Gold, who listlessly played with the tassels on Diamond's muffler leaned forward and demanded with a pleading gleam in his eyes. "Your info is accurate right? You are absolutely, one hundred percent sure about your intelligence right?"

"Yes...the information is without a doubt, unambiguous. Commander Red is being held in Ransei. Specifically in a province called Valora."

Once again, the chamber became deadly silent.

No one dared to breathe.

If only...If only they weren't so curious. Then perhaps they could entertain notions of rescuing their commander.

However, the moment Platina mentioned the Imperial Region, their aspirations cracked, shattered and grinded to dust.

And the fickle flame of hope.

Went out completely.

* * *

 **A/N:** And they found out where Red is kept whilst Gold is just being Gold. Much thanks for all those who read and reviewed. Virtual s'mores for everyone…I once burned my tongue on a hot marshmallow.

At Sakurafox1218: For some reason, the no killing part sounded real sad :D as for Lack-2 heh, you will have to wait and see what happens. Blue and Silver are not correct, but this chapter will clear up why. At Jack54311: Ransei is not part of Sinnoh, its more to the North of Sinnoh…at least that's how I picture it. Lack-2 and his morality crisis, stay tuned to see where he ends up. I should find that beekeeper and kick him; he told us that honeycomb is bad for digestion…Tsk, all my precious honeycombs :( At Guest: I loved the little details you put into the story. And I think you nailed Pich's character quite solidly. She sounds like a little Green and Yellow balled up together. Though, if Green had a daughter, I think he'd dote on her with Yellow. I like to think that for some reason, if he had a son, the boy would just sneer at him in a very Green-like way. Excellent work :) I really enjoyed reading these. Keep them coming (if you want to, I look forward to your stories)


	72. Image of nobility

**Chapter 72: Image of nobility**

Evening

Mt Coronet

Dex Criminal's Base

"I'm sorry...I don't think I heard you properly." Green stated with a barely perceptible whine in his voice whilst next to him, Diamond and Blue went completely rigid. "Where did you say Red was being kept?" At the back of his mind, he fully understood what Platinum said; he just refused to believe it. Did Lack-2 have the authority to send Red off to Ransei? Would the Imperial region even accept a commoner amongst their ranks? It finally dawned on him how prepared the Police had been when arresting the ex-champion.

The heiress found Whi-2 plopping down next to her, apparently the young girl forgot about their previous animosity and reverted back to her bubbly, refreshing self. "You heard me correctly senior Green. Red is being held in Ransei and the International Police pulled many strings in order to secure a place for him there, with good intention too, as it is the only place you will not be able to use your status as professor and wriggle your way in." Oak flinched at her choice of words...wriggle? He never 'wriggled' his way in anything. "The International Police planned this meticulously. The region is closed to us, there is no way we will be able to enter...Apart from myself that is."

She heard the three commanders inhale collectively. For some reason, it brought on a small smile to her face. Diamond sat in the middle with Green and Blue flanking him on the sides. At first glance, they appeared as a young family although their supposed child looked nothing like them. Constellate's leader adapted an absent minded habit of brushing Dia's cheeks free of crumbs whilst Green thoughtlessly took any food articles (half eaten or not) and depending on his mood and hunger, he'd either eat them himself or toss them in the air where scizor or charizard would snatch the titbit from the air and gobble it up themselves. Despite Execution's current supervisor lacking in skills and many other areas, the three worked in good harmony and did not divulge into huge arguments.

"Can you help us get into Ran-sei Missy?" Diamond broke the silence engulfing their gathering and enquired with uncharacteristic solemnity. "Please? We will even do our comedic routine in order to cheer you up!" He declared passionately and on the floor, Pearl nodded enthusiastically. Chuckling sardonically, Ruby pointed out that the nobles might ask for something more precious than a measly comedy routine and on hearing his words, the heiress felt cold dread sliding down her spine. Her senior's words drove home how she risked her future for this plan. Of course she would help them, the Dex Criminals meant everything to her and for a brief moment, a choking sensation overwhelmed her and she wanted to cry. Her parents were very reluctant for their only daughter to waste her fate in some imperial region but seeing how strained and desperate her friends looked, she could not turn a blind eye to this. She knew, they would do the same for her. In the very least, Diamond and Pearl will go to the ends of the world for her.

Platina got up from the sofa and gathered her things. "Of course I will help." Her voice vibrated the tiniest bit, like a tightly wound string when plucked. Diamond, Pearl and to the noble's alarm, Whi-2 glanced at her with worry in their eyes and she tried to smile reassuringly. "I am tired...If you do not mind, I'd like to retire to bed." Tossing her sheet of black hair behind her, she grabbed her backpack and briskly hiked upstairs whilst her team mates looked on with tired, anguished gazes.

* * *

Next day, Dawn

Sinnoh

Mt. Coronet

In the basement floor of the Dex Criminal's base, an individual sat close to the fire and filed his nails methodically by the warm orange light given off by the flames. Typholsion, on seeing the lone fashionista hunched on the grey carpeted floor, ambled forward and crouched close to him. Ruby leaned against the volcano pokemon and sighed blissfully on feeling its warm, glossy fur brush against his bare skin. Gold sure took care of his monsters even if the older man neglected to take care of himself. Exbo huddled closer and the crimson eyed teenager found a strange companionship with the fire type. Sleep did not grace Ruby that night and he did not want to toss and turn in his bed listening to Sapphire and Emerald's snores. Thus, he crept downstairs and crawled to the fireplace for a sweet reprieve. Without the lights, the cavern looked like some sort of a jungle hideout and whilst these types of places were against his ideal type, he knew Sapphire would feel totally at home and in her element. The teen brooded alone and thought about his father. Since the accident, his dad steadily got worse and his lower extremities atrophied and thinned to match sticks. Norman's paralysis didn't stop him from being the fierce gym leader and although crippled, the man still retained his former authoritative aura. Even though he did not belong to the International Police any longer (a fact which relieved Ruby) the public still respected him greatly.

Lying to his mother made Ruby's stomach churn and heart beat faster; now, it became second nature for him. Competing against contests became increasingly difficult and on several tournaments, he found himself inexplicably blacklisted. Obviously they knew...His consciousness offered and it brought a sense of shame to him. Image the humiliation his father will have to suffer should the International Police decide to make their identities public.

He sighed.

Life is tough when you have an over bearing father and worked as criminal whilst lying to your mother about being a Contest participant. In order to bring an element of truth to his crafted fabrication, he sent all his contest ribbons, trophies and photos to his mother.

While Ruby pondered about his life, a slight creak on the banister of the rickety and rusting staircase prompted him to sharply glance upwards; however, he could not see anything in the dismal darkness. Sensing his discomfort, typholsion ignited it's mane of flames and threw the surroundings into focus. Platina stood by the stairs, blushing horribly and trying to cover up the flimsy silk nightgown she wore. Disinterested, Ruby went back to filing his nails and in the periphery of his vision, saw her descend from the stairs and gingerly crouch down at the edge of the fire place to warm her pale hands. Next to her, rapidash curled around her and kept its master comfortable with its fiery mane.

"I thought you were tired."

Berlitz did not reply to Ruby's rhetorical question right away. "...I lied in order to escape," she finally admitted, "and I wanted some time alone to sort out my feelings. What about you senior?" she eyed him, "I think there are far better places to file nails than sitting on a cold floor in front of a fire."

"True...But it's nice and warm here...And very quiet."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence which was occasionally broken by the hiss and crackle of flames.

"Say senior Ruby..."

"Hmm?"

"Would you ever defect from this Organization to save yourself?" Platina held his gaze as he ogled at her inquisitively. The male shrugged and then replied.

"Yeah I would." His traitorous response shocked her somewhat, but she fully understood what he meant. "Although, if I ever did, the commanders would find and butcher me..."

"Why do you think they would...Butcher you?" Platina asked.

"Seriously?" Ruby raised a perfect eyebrow, "why wouldn't they? It's a reasonable course of action. Get rid of the ones who stabbed you in the back. Besides we operate in high secrecy so it's plausible to assume that in the case we do defect...For some reason or the other, the commanders have every right to hunt us down and make us silent. A traitor amongst the ranks spells death for them." The teenager shifted his position and started manicuring his other hand. "I don't have any reason to betray them though...I think what our seniors are trying to do is noble, even if their methods aren't. Che, who cares anyway? If it gets the work done why bother with the methods? The world never spins on a single person's wish anyway..." he mumbled the last sentence but the heiress heard it loud and clear.

The world never spins on a single person's wish anyway...

She could do this! No, she had to do this.

A soft rustle prompted Ruby to raise his head and he spied Platina getting up from her position on the icy floor. "Thank you for listening to me senior Ruby." She dipped her head in gratitude and let out an uncharacteristic giggle on seeing his confounded expression, "your words motivated me to do what I want to and I finally found the courage to go forward with my plan. I will not have any regrets." Recalling rapidash in a pokeball, she disappeared up the stairs and scarlet irises watched till darkness swallowed up her form. Courage? The Hoenn native thought and wondered if he'd implanted some foolish notion in Platina's head.

Several hours later:

The occupants in the base gathered in the main chamber after the morning hubbub settled down. Platina placed several flat gift boxes on the table and some of the members tried to sneak their fingers under the lid in order to see the contents. Alas, the noble glared at them fiercely and they quailed underneath her strict gaze. She waited for the last person to enter the main chamber and exhaled in relief when Diamond came ambling in whilst Blue tugged a scarf around his neck. Once the members gathered, she outlined her plan.

"As I mentioned before," her clear voice rang amidst stifled yawns and moans, "I am the only one who is able to get into Ransei. In a few weeks my family will receive a summons letter and it will be addressed to me." She neatly wrote the date and time on the fractured white board, someone had the decency to glue the remains back together and thick crack lines ran down the smooth surface of the board. In front of her, the rest of her team mates huddled. The commanders stood directly opposite her with the Johto trainers flanking them on their right side. The rest of the organization crowded on the left and a low table bearing the gift boxes widened the space between the audience and Platina. Green, who trained his gaze on the board spoke up and enquired about the compensation. Surely, the spiky haired trainer intoned, Ransei demanded a hefty remuneration? At his query, Platina became silent and Blue implored her to tell them the details. Hopefully, the female commander chirped, if they all worked hard, they will be able to share the burden as a group. "Their demands have already been met, please do not worry about it," the noble hastily declared, however her commander pressed her on the details and in a small voice, she confessed: "I am...Not actually allowed inside Ransei, in order to secure an entrance with the intention of re-configuring ties with the main family...the branch family must offer one of their offspring in marriage to a member of the main family. So that means...I will no longer be able to work with the Dex Criminals since I'll will be married off to one of the heirs of Nixtorm's main family. This...Is the last time I'll be spending time with this Organization."

Pearl, who stood next to Sapphire and busied himself with concocting training strategies in his head, blanked out after hearing Platina's confession. He gripped the table tightly in an effort not to collapse. His breathing became difficult and his chest squeezed uncomfortably. A fleeting glance at Platina told him the female already steeled herself and agreed to do this all on her own. How could she? He wanted to scream out loud. Why did his friends keep on doing the things they wanted and leave him alone in the dark? Didn't they care about his feelings? A sensation of numbness perfused his legs and he found it difficult to stand. The world spun around him and he saw everything in a smear of colours and blurs. Platina as a bride for someone else? An unknown, faceless entity who might not treat her the way he would? Gripping the smooth surface of the polished desk, he anchored himself to reality and prayed that no one would notice his sudden lapse. The thought of Platina marrying an egotistical nobleman brought on a wave of nausea. He won't accept it, his feelings rebelled and all the tender emotions he held for Platina bubbled to the surface. The Sinnoh native wanted to protest. Platina was his, his and no one else in the Poke-verse will be able to tear her away from him.

 _His..._

The blonde teenager raised his head and amongst the blurred out surroundings, he saw Diamond looking at him dejectedly. His best friend sported the same expression of disbelief and behind the glassy surface of bewilderment; he saw the ache of profound sadness. The chubby boy's mouth hung slightly open, as if he failed to decipher the announcement Platina made a few moments ago. Pearl suddenly remembered that even if he loved Platina with every fibre of his being. Even if he would fight against any other person for her, there remained one other individual where fighting and winning held no meaning. Diamond, who harboured the same intense feelings for his 'Missy', openly showed his childish affection by baking and cooking anything she liked. And Pearl could not win against someone like that.

Yes...He'd gladly hand Platina over for Dia and wish them happiness. However, things did not turn out like this.

"I'm sorry" Diamond mouthed those words and tore his gaze away. The action served to make Pearl feel more isolated. Why did he apologize? The blonde wandered and drowned in a sea of confusion and sadness. His previous sensation of weakness steadily climbed up and seized hold of his entire body. In his entire life...He had yet to experience sadness so acute and deep, it made him want to hang himself.

He wanted to die.

Diamond blinked on hearing Platina declare that she exchanged her status of a free noble in turn for entering Ransei. He did not really understand the part of merging main and branch families but he caught the gist of what his best friend said. Basically, after they managed to penetrate Ransei, which is otherwise impregnable, she will have to live there and marry another dude...meaning, Missy won't be able to hang out with them any longer. Unlike Pearl, who crashed after computing this fact, Diamond first chewed through an entire rice ball before it dawned on him. As soon as he understood, the world around him stopped. It just stopped. His stomach churned unpleasantly and he looked up to see Blue, her visage twisted into one of horror, Green appeared much more calmer and Dia veered his gaze to see his other subordinates' faces frozen with various degrees of sadness and dubiety. Whi-2 stood, her hands covering her agape mouth whilst Ruby had an ugly scowl marring his handsome face. Next to the ebony haired teen, Pearl leaned, his hands gripping the table so hard, Diamond beheld his comrade's knuckles screaming against his skin. The blonde's face kept on getting whiter; he raised his head for a brief moment and the indolent teen spied utter misery on his comrade's face. In the same split second, the chubby commander felt life drain away from him.

They would never hear the morning sound ever again if she left after this assignment.

More importantly, Pearl and himself will never find the courage, nor the time to tell her of their real feelings.

They both had the same feelings for her and they both knew it, although they shared every niggling problem and inner conflict with each other, they kept this one secret to themselves hoping the other won't notice. Diamond, despite his intense feelings for the Sinnoh noble, decided he will be happy if Pearl managed to win Missy's affections over. Of course he would also be sad but his happiness will outweigh his dejected feelings. However, the possibility of Platina having a partner some other than them...Did not enter his mind and he felt foolish. Unlike Pearl, he did not have the burning desire to crush her dreams and refute what she wanted to do. Across him, the blonde looked positively sick and would keel over if he didn't support himself. Dia held Pearl's gaze...watching the multitude of thoughts whizz in his friend's flame coloured irises. Those orange eyes suited Pearl, the commander inwardly told himself, they burned with a conviction akin to an untamed fire. An all-consuming passion. And for this, he was apologetic, because Pearl did so much for him...But all he did was watch as his best friend wrestled with one conflicted emotion after the other. "I'm sorry" he mouthed and yanked his eyes from his childhood friend's piteous form.

 _He wanted to die._

"Platinum darling...You don't have to do this alone!" Blue sputtered and approached her, "send the letter back..." her voice shook, "we will find another way to enter and this time we will do this together." The brown haired leader gently squeezed Platina's shoulders, however, the noble remained stiff faced and resolute. "Green!" The female Kanto rasped, "Say something!" Losing her composure, Blue took a deep breath to calm herself and to stop her hands from shaking.

"It's a noble sacrifice-"

Slap.

The stinging sensation on his cheek grew into a fiery pain which raced over his face and forehead. Oak blinked and a starburst of pain flared behind his eyelids. Grabbing him violently by his jacket collar, his best friend, red faced and frenzied, shook him and screamed in his face. "Noble sacrifice Green? How selfish can you be you pompous, self-serving moron! Don't you care about her? You don't do you?" Blue screeched, the penetrating tone beating against his ear drums. "If you stopped to consider that she just threw her future away in order to rescue Red!" she inhaled noisily, "you'd be much more grateful you jerk!" The professor endured her harsh words as his anger mounted to apoplectic proportions. Curling his stiff fingers over her wrist, he squeezed with all the strength he could muster and wrenched her hand off his collar. Blue stepped back and rubbed her bruised wrist whilst Strategy's commander glared at her in an enraged manner.

"You should be the one talking last you hypocritical pesky woman!" he hissed lowly and Diamond flinched on hearing his words, "What won't you do for Silver HUH? Tell me! What won't you do for that adopted sibling of yours if he was the one kidnapped? I'm pretty sure you'd defect without second thought and go ahead with trying to rescue him even if it costs your or our lives." Oak loosened his shirt collar and exhaled steam. "Don't you dare talk about selfishness to me!" Clenching his fists, he bore down on the chocolate haired woman who coolly held his acrimonious gaze. Blue didn't step back nor did she quiver underneath his venomous stare. Feeling the situation escalate out of control. Yellow stepped between them and meditated the quarrel. Spitting curse words under his breath, Green spied the terrified expression on Dia's face and decided to quiet down. On the other end, Blue folded her arms over her chest and angled her face so no one will be able to look at the tears sliding discreetly down her face.

A week later. Afternoon

Sinnoh

Mt Coronet

Following Platina's confession, the members of the Dex Criminals were very reluctant to go ahead with her plan. For a few days, the teams mulled about and Pearl, along with Diamond, failed to meet her eyes. She sensed that they were both unhappy with her lone decision and the only people who brought on a semblance of comfort to her otherwise lonely existence happened to Whi-2 and Ruby. Those two, despite their misgivings about her risky plan, sat with her and listened as she forged ahead and assembled a fool proof plan. One sunny morning, when the sun rays glinted off the snow into a blinding white light, she beheld a helicopter descending into the valley and sending glacial winds sweeping everywhere. Out jumped her butler bearing a silver tray and on seeing her sitting outside the base with Whi-2, he bowed and offered her the salver and she picked up a single pale blue envelope bearing her name and status. Neatly tearing it open, her dark blue eyes skimmed over the contents and she smiled satisfactorily. Dipping her head and dismissing her servants, Platina strode inside the base and her confidence wavered on seeing her best friends. The duo were performing some sort of slapstick comedy for the Johto trio and when she entered, the two became deadly silent. Forcing herself to hold her head high, she approached Silver and asked him to gather everyone together. From there, Platina established her strategy and coerced her team mates to follow her against their will. Upon hearing her arrangements, the overall mood of the team lifted somewhat, however her team leader was still fiercely angry with her and Blue vehemently refused to participate. Green, Gold and Diamond, who shunned his personal emotions for the benefit of his subordinates, gave her the all clear and with renewed confidence, she initialized the proposal.

Orange pigmented eyes swung over the sheet like pendulum and read the words with so much scrutiny, people joked that the page might ending up erupting in flames, he didn't care. He wanted it to burst into flames. Pearl read the outline and balked on seeing his name there. Apparently, the team infiltrating Ransei consisted of: Platina (obviously since she is the royal guest), White, Sapphire, Green, Gold (who articulated a delighted scream) and Pearl. No Diamond as Green insisted on two commanders staying at base should the Police try anything whilst they were gone. Further reading divulged minimal information, they were to land on the shores of Fontaine... (Where ever in Ransei it was) and meet up with Mitsuhide, the Warlord of Ransei and Platina's future father-in-law, Pearl's mind snarkily delivered. From there, the company will make their way to Greenleaf and therefore to Valora. The blonde didn't understand how they were supposed to do their job and on questioning his best friend, she replied that the plan is fragmentary and they will have to do some heavy adaptations according to their circumstances. He nodded his head in understanding and quickly shuffled backwards and bumped into an unsuspecting Diamond when she presented a flat box to him. On opening the gift boxes, he heard Gold whistle and the sound seemed to echo from a far off place. Inside the carton, he removed a set of Imperial and ancient styled clothing, the material felt soft and luxurious to the touch and he spied many silk tassels and silver thread making intricate designs on a pale saffron coloured kimono. He also retrieved a pair of charcoal black hakama pants and as his mind digested the pieces of ancient clothing in his hands, in the periphery of his vision, he saw Gold put them on over his regular clothing. Diamond giggled and the sound irritated Pearl for some inexplicable reason.

So...they were supposed to wear these, pose as lesser nobles and infiltrate Ransei is it? The flame eyed teen sorted, not a bad idea at all. He saw Green's jade irises light up with subtle pride. At least someone in the Organization thought like the professor. In the subsequent days, Platina gave them lessons on noble etiquette and mannerisms. Her teachings prompted the whole Organization to sit around her and gape at the idiosyncratic, noblemen tendencies...Seriously; some of them did not make any sense. Pride over a lifetime of happiness? Oh heck no. Exchange a life in order to fulfil some political feud which the person maybe not part of? Or willingly commit suicide in order to reimburse some sort of lost honour? Pearl didn't see the logic in that. The ideas shocked most of them, is this how the Imperial region operated? As the days passed and he learnt more about the antediluvian region, a sick sense of thrill overcame him and he looked forward to the plan. Although he freely started conversing with Platina, he seemed to have lost the casualness of their friendship.

* * *

"Senior Gold...You are wearing your clothes the wrong way again." Platina, who lectured the infiltration team on status' and ranks, admonished the man and he simpered disturbingly. "Tuck your shirt in and tighten your belt." Instead of doing it himself, he sauntered all the way in front of her and started fiddling with the kimono, slowly opening it and grinning perversely all the while. In order to hammer the customs in their skulls and make it second nature for them, she ordered the group to start living like nobles, a daily fuss occurred as they tried and repeatedly failed to put their kimonos on properly and to dine in a haughty manner. Several times, Sapphire had been severely scolded for shovelling food in her mouth and White, who did a far better job than the wild trainer, managed to emulate Platina's way of walking as well. Unfortunately, since the three of them started donning traditional clothes, the perverted Johto trainer saw fit to harass them daily. Each morning, Gold wore his clothes with glaring mistakes and he asked Platina to fix them for him. He got punched a few times in the face and White, flawless in her act of a demure lady, expertly cleaned him up whilst suffering from his gross pick-up lines. Gold steered clear of Sapphire as the Hoenn trainer did not have second qualms of exposing her legs and slamming them square into his face much to Platina's horror. On the male's end, Green became a perfect example of an arrogant Warlord whilst Pearl neatly delved into a brooding bratty young master.

Uttering an insufferable sigh whilst her team mates pitied her, the heiress tucked Gold's shirt in and smoothed out the creases. As she finished, the male lightly grabbed her wrists and bent over to her level. "You look beautiful today, "he whispered sensationally and Platina felt her cheeks glow hot, "and you are even cuter when you blush...the pink really compliments the pale cheeks of yours. Oh!" A perverted gleam took hold of his eyes and she absolutely knew nothing good would come out of his mouth in the next few seconds. "How about you become my bride ins-Oof! He straightened up, gripped his back and groaned in pain. "That's Crystal kicking me...She's probably jealous." In spite of his agony, he still winked and grinned. Platina shook her head in disbelief, flushed some more and returned to her teaching.

And so, the days passed by.

"Senior Gold...Please don't lean so close to me." White struggled to get herself out of Gold's embrace and helplessly eyed Silver who, after numerous attempts, stopped assisting her in escaping his best friend's clutches. Crystal long grew tired of reigning him in and disappeared to Palkia knows where. The females were practising folk dancing today and Platina stood on a crude stage and gave them a mesmerising performance. The sleeves of her snow-white kimono flowed in tandem with her fluid movements as she twirled and fluttered about with serene smile on her face. Her lopunny and pachirisu joined her and created a piece of art. The heart rendering rhythms pouring out of an old radio dictated her movements and knitted together a soulful performance. She bowed, tourmaline hair flowing like liquid and asked Sapphire and White to demonstrate a piece. From there, the chocolate haired teenager didn't know how the events proceeded and she came to find herself securely trapped in a grinning Gold's arms. "Uhm...This is a solo performance." She meekly added and turned to Green. The older man and Pearl had their eyes glued to Sapphire who performed some sort of tribal bop and she observed the spiky haired commander trying hard to supress a smile beneath a traditional fan. He eventually caved in and snorted as the Hoenn trainer on stage uttered a war cry and in a surprising feat of acrobatics, cartwheeled over Platina when the noble crouched. Pearl burst into laughter and Gold hugged her tighter.

"Gold...Hands off. Now." Strategy's commander finally noticed her predicament and without as much as a peep, the Johto native smoothly untangled himself from White and performed a ninety degree bow. The amber eyed trainer had resorted to calling the commander Warlord Green, as the man walked with the grace and air of one. Platina even went as far as to secure a sword for him and the black lacquered scabbard was tucked into his waist band, a compliment against the emerald shine of his pants. Give him an ornate headpiece and he'll be ready to rule. Gold joked and again dipped his head when the former rotated to look at him. On passing the ebony haired man, Pearl aimed a kick on his shin and ducked when the breeder aimed a swipe. "Stop messing around and take your lessons seriously. Your clothes...fix them, without the aid of Platina." Scratching the back of his head, he waited till Green went out of sight before sashaying over to the heiress and sweet talking her into helping himself. Platina's hands were forever cold and as she once again smoothed the wrinkles in the silk shirt, he saw her blush. However, the polite smile on her lips looked forced and her eyes were dulled with exhaustion and unhappiness. As she finished helping him and turned around to walk away, Gold silently watched the slight droop of her shoulders.

A happy facade is all they had to keep themselves from screaming and being torn apart. The breeder resorted to using make-up in order to cover the shadows underneath his eyes. If Crystal noticed her lack of powder, she never asked and he felt warm gratitude for that.

He didn't want to look like Silver, a man haunted by memories and washed with bad experiences. His companion handled life rather well.

One afternoon, Sapphire, Pearl and Gold sat together in order to eat and mused about Green ability to use his sword. The Hoenn native listened as a heated debate broke out next to her and she didn't bother telling Pearl that his wide sleeve took an occasional dip in the soup he slurped. According to the two males next to her, Green couldn't swing a sword to save his life. "He can use basic sword fighting techniques you know." Saph pointed out and Gold choked, "Senior Green trains me and sometimes I see him practising with a wooden sword, apparently the dojo he went to during his trainee days were relentless in their training. He said that they used to work him to the bone and sometimes he'd end up with so many bruises that he'd cry himself to sleep."

"What! He can cry?" Gold's exaggerated expression sent Pearl snorting with laughter and seconds later, the blonde swore under his breath on seeing his silk sleeve soaked beyond hope. "Are you sure he use can a sword? He trained ages ago didn't he?" The breeder dubiously queried, "I mean it takes practice to wield a real one...I know senior Red doesn't have any experience in hand to hand combat nor can he use any weapons, but he's a good brawler and he punches where it hurts." Holding up the excess fabric with one hand, Gold repeatedly tried and failed to secure a morsel of food with his ornamental chopsticks and after the fifth try, he stabbed the article of food viciously and victoriously grinded it between his teeth. "Should we ask him to show us?" he garbled and suddenly became very still.

"Shall I lop off your head for a demonstration?" Standing behind them, with a triumphant and somewhat sardonic sneer on his face, Green unsheathed his sword slowly. Pearl mutely observed the cold, tempered steel slide out of the sheath and reflect his panic-stricken visage. "Anything wrong Pearl?" His superior hoarsely questioned and the blonde shook his head furiously. "You look pretty sick."

"It's hard not to look sick when your life is flashing in front of your eyes!" The Sinnoh native informed in a timid voice, "please...put the sword away, I get it, you can use it, no need to scare the daylights outta me." The spiky haired individual noted the faint expressions on Gold and Pearl's face. Sliding the sword back in the scabbard with and audible click, he smoothly removed his weapon and placed it on the table. Grabbing a stool, he sat next to them and was about to begin eating when his clothes unravelled. Amidst supressed giggles and snorts, he exhaled tiredly and fixed himself. The darn clothes didn't want to stay put and he wondered how people wore this on a daily basis. "I don't think you have much trouble acting like a noble senior Green." The blonde piped up once again and pointed a spoon at the older male, "I mean, your personality is similar to theirs...cold, aloof, intelligent and a bit ruthless?" Pearl sheepishly laughed when Oak levelled him a glare that promised pain, mien softening, the leader explained that memorizing the customs of the Imperial regions and implementing them on a daily basis is perhaps the most difficult thing he has ever done. "True..." The subordinate agreed and licked his spoon, "this is so tiring I don't feel like taking this kimono off before I sleep. Putting this on every morning, remembering what to call your seniors and juniors, studying up and implementing the horribly formal etiquette is tiring. I ended up calling Diamond My lord the other day!"

"Warlord Green..." Gold smirked.

"Call me that one more time and I'll ram my fist down your throat!"

"That's a pretty fist you have there..." The breeder continued, seemingly oblivious to the disgusted looks his peers gave him, "where did you get the rings?" Gold jerked his head at the numerous pieces of jewellery adorning the Kanto native's hand.

"Platina said the nobles wear ornate pieces and jewellery in Ransei-"

"Oh hey!" The ebony haired man interjected with a wide grin on his face, "does that mean I'll be wearing gauntlets? Cool! I've always wanted to wear them. Heh, the next time Saph tries to kick me into oblivion, I'll be ready for her." Saph growled when her senior started making annoying punch gestures in her face. Green eyed them for a while before returning his attention to his food. For a moment, he wrestled with his conscious and sighed, picking up a pair of gilded chopsticks; he held up the bundle of fabric at his wrist and ate whilst the three youngsters opposite him delved into an all-out verbal brawl. The commander ducked as a pastry flew over his head and lurched to the side when Pearl threw his spoon in a fit of anger. He lifted his bowl when Sapphire slammed her fist down and gripped his sheathed sword on seeing Gold try to reach for it. Opposite him, the situation escalated into a war as Pearl grabbed a set of chopsticks and poked Gold with it. Sapphire summoned her pokemon and for the umpteenth time, tore the bottom of her lavish kimono into shreds. The moment typholsion and infernape made an entrance on the scene, a fiercely chilling wind blew across them and Green flinched in pain. His legs were frozen. Looking up, he beheld the three trouble makers shivering as well and from the waist down, both monsters and humans were encased in a thick layer of ice. Platina floated towards them, the bottom part of her face obscured by the sleeve of her kimono and behind her, froslass followed wearing a crown on its head. Gold whistled on seeing the noble and complimented the way a golden hair piece shone against her inky strands. She didn't flush this time and sent them all a chilling glare.

"Sit..." Platina commanded and spared a glance at her senior's torn kimono...She'd have to order a few more from home. "We only have a few weeks left before leaving for Ransei and...this is TERRIBLE!" Platina screeched in a high pitched voice and around her, her team members visibly flinched in guilt. Never did the heiress raise her voice before. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself and continued to speak: "Take your roles seriously, if the nobles suspect foul play...they will detain and most likely behead us." Sapphire and Pearl gulped at her words. "Moreover...Your pokemon also need training, please empty your pokeballs and leave them in one of the abandoned room upstairs. I do not want any excuses." Gold lethargically lowered his arm and decided that now would be a good time to stop flirting. "Your monsters should be able to function to some degree without you and like yourselves...they must be adorned. First, I will attempt to teach them basic etiquette as they will have to travel outside pokeballs...Decorating them can come later." Folding her hands in her lap, she cast a stern gaze on the trio of trouble makers and resisted the urge to sigh...When will they learn? "Senior Gold-"

"Yes my lovely lady?" The gold eyed man tilted his head seductively and flashed her a brilliant smile. "How may I be of service?"

Flushing and hiding her face behind a mauve sleeve, Berlitz blandly stated, "under no circumstances do you flirt with anyone. The moment you act out of line, you will be under tight scrutiny. And please, for Arceus' sake, loose that odd walking style of yours. The females in Johto might find it attractive but in Ransei, it shows slovenliness and a breach of manners. If you walk like that in front of a warlord, they retainers will swipe your head off." Turning to Sapphire who guiltily smoothed the remains of a splendid red kimono down, the noble continued in her criticism, "Senior Sapphire, I understand these clothes restrict movement but try and restrain yourself when you have the urge to tear them...they are very expensive." The Hoenn trainer blushed and clenched her hands into fists from embarrassment; she felt the blood rushing to her ears and mumbled an apology. "I will try to procure a shorter length for you. As for Pearl..."

"I don't have any problems right?" The blonde politely smiled and she quickly nodded.

"You are doing very well. Thank you for your co-operation."

A short silence fell over the occupants at the table as Green finished his meal, while he ate, he spied Blue and Yellow go about their daily tasks, Diamond and Emerald scurried about carrying different types of electronic equipment whilst Ruby followed them lazily. Whi-2, Crystal and Silver sat in a huddle in the corner of the room and busied themselves with a game. Platina dipped her head and got up from her stool, the soft whisper of silk barely perceptible above the general noise engulfing the cavern as she turned to leave, Gold demanded:

"And when are you going to give me lessons on cat walking? I prefer a one to one session if you don't mind." The amber eyed man simpered. "I promise to be well beha-ARHHHH!"

"Serves him right!" Sapphire hissed and gleefully dunked Gold's head in Green's bowl of soup whilst her team mate screamed murder. Green simply watched, he could feel his patience and sanity slipping away.

"You are going to be the death of me Red" he muttered to himself and gathered his things. "I swear if I die early...It's going to be your fault. Hang on tight...We're definitely bringing you home."

* * *

 **A/N:** Poor Green, first he gets smacked by Blue, then the annoying trio pushes his sanity to a point. And Pearl, hang in there buddy. Much thanks to all those who read and reviewed, virtual hot chocolate for you.

At Guest: I guess with all the problems swirling around him, he's going to change no? Another thing, anyone who knows me personally will tell you one thing: I never tolerate anyone out of politeness; so full steam ahead with your stories and head canons :) I appreciate reading them (hey, it gives me ideas too). I think Grandpa Oak spoiled Green so it makes sense if he spoils his daughter as well. As for his son, I think the boy will dote on his mother (Yellow) but he dislikes his father because Green works long hours at the office and spends little time with him. At Silver: Take all the s'mores you want, power food is good for crushing school, good luck with whatever you are doing. At Guest who: I have this crossover story idea in my phone, where Red, Green and Blue are all teachers/professors. Green teaches history, Red teaches general combat whilst Blue imparts knowledge on how to survive in the dungeons…Anyway, Red is surviving…somehow.

At AceTrainerLeaf: Hehe, you could channel that aggression into a punching bag? Or school work? I once tore a paper because I scribble so furiously on it. Look forward to how Red's coping. At Jack54311: Bee pollen is good for energy huh? I need it then. Have you eaten royal jelly? It's a bit bitter but it has a whole host of health benefits as well. Yes Platina will have to marry a noble. Poor her. At Eevee: After this chapter, there are roughly about 15 chapters left. I did plan a sequel, although I'm a bit apprehensive on posting it. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens. I'm alright, are things going well for you too? You are always welcome to drop by you know, don't be shy. I don't bite. (Unless you are made of chocolate) ;-)


	73. Daunting shores of an unseen world

**Chapter 73: Daunting shores of an unseen world**

Dawn

Mt Coronet

Dex Criminal's base. Commander's room

He slipped inside the folds of an emerald green kimono and shivered in the slight cold. Blue and Diamond woke up long before him and flew to Veilstone in order to buy last minute supplies. The spiky haired male swallowed, apprehension made him fidgety and he smoothed the silk shirt down, tied it and reached for a black kimono jacket. As he put it on, the slight creak of the door opening prompted him to tear his gaze away from the mirror and he found Yellow apologizing and backing away with a polite dip of her head. Green motioned her to come in as he pinned on his ornaments, to his pleasant surprise, he felt soft hands smooth the crinkled material on his back and his aide drew away and plopped down on a chair. She appeared strained and her hair, normally brushed into a neat high ponytail, fell loosely around her shoulders. A cold wind gusted outside the mountains and he saw a flecks of snow being carried along and hitting the tiny porthole window. Their plan to infiltrate Ransei was a risky one and he didn't know how long it will be before they came back. An awkward silence filled the space between them and the jade eyed male found himself desperately wishing for Blue to magically pop in and break the tension. The pesky woman had a knack of knowing what to say during troubling times.

"Don't worry about Red...I'll do my best in order to bring that idiot back. So, take it easy alright?" Green's voice hitched slightly, it still bothered him when Yellow became animated on mentioning Red. He knew she liked him and yet, a small part kept on hoping, praying that she might one day forget about the ebony haired moron and look at him the way she gazed at Red.

Wishful thinking, his brain sneered, the moment Red comes back, she'll forget you existed.

"Green-"

"And I won't let him get caught again." He quickly added on seeing her sorrowful face twist in a further slump of despair. "If he does something out of line...I'll kill him and bring him back from the dead." Growling to himself, he faced the mirror and fixed a crest on the outer collar of his sleeveless jacket. "So don't worry about Red okay, in a few weeks' time you will see him again." In the mirror, he noticed Yellow puff up, she blew her cheeks irritably and he wondered if he should apologize. Maybe reminding her of Red is making her angry. "Yellow..."

The girl got up and faced him. "I'm not worried about Red." She declared and flushed. Green blinked in confusion. "Red is fine...Well technically he isn't fine considering that he is in prison...What I meant was..." she inhaled deeply and looked at him square in the eye, admiring the resolve swirling in his jade irises. "I'm worried about you" crossing the space between them, she whispered and reached up to brush back a strand of his hair. Her fingers ghosted over his cheek and he felt lightheaded. "Don't do anything rash okay? Please. And stop working so much, you need to take time out for yourself Green. You can't drown your depression in work." Yellow stood on tiptoes and gently placed her petite arms around his shoulders. He caught a whiff of her perfume, a sweet scent which complimented her perfectly. Deciding to regret his actions later, he enclosed her into a tight hug and heard her gasp. She let out a small giggle and buried her face in his chest whilst he rested his chin on her messy corn silk locks. "Come back safe okay?" she uttered and he felt his heart speed up when she pressed her hands against his chest. "I will really miss you...And...and...You look really handsome in your kimono." Yellow refused to let go when Green's arms fell away from her waist. She didn't want her commander to see her face tinting crimson akin to a Cheri berry.

 _It's either do or die._

When she finally detangled from him and scooted to the other end of the cramped room, he found himself grinning childishly. If Yellow complimented him, then the last few weeks of wearing and getting accustomed to these clothing were totally worth it. Unlike Red, he wasn't dumb and on spying the zany, shy smile on her face he believed that he might just stop envying his best friend. "Yellow," he approached her and held out a hand to trace the curve her cheek. "I-"

The door flew open.

"Yo! Looking cool Emperor Green!" Gold announced at an earsplitting volume and the two seniors froze in their positions. Oak briskly straightened up and combed his fingers through his hair whilst Yellow squeaked in surprise and stood up. The ebony haired man grinned knowingly on seeing the killer stare Green aimed at him. "Oh! My bad, did I interrupt something here?" The blonde sputtered a negative whilst anxiously glancing at Green and wiped her palms on the woolen dress she wore. "I'm really sorry...So, you guys carry on whatever you two were doing. I'll warn the others to steer clear of his room." Winking, Gold retracted and Strategy's commander exhaled in irritation, way to ruin a moment student of Red; he thought and briefly entertained notions of kicking him out of the Dex Criminals. The breeder dressed properly, the commander noted, his sashes, threads and wraps were perfectly tightened and his ornaments shone silver against a satin sheet golden kimono and a pair of deep grey pants. He tucked a short sword into his ornate waist band and the red lacquered sheath contrasted oddly with the color of his clothes. Green relaxed his rigid stance and pondered on what to do next. Maybe he should organize his things and exit from the room...Although; he wanted to spend more time alone with Yellow. She didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave and simply smiled at him in her innocent way whilst combing her fingers through her messy hair. Seating himself next to her, he resigned to spend the next few moments in blissful silence when the door smacked open again. "A tip for you Warlord Green," the monkey-esque visage of Gold peeked out form the edge of the door, "be honest with your feelings...Heh!" Green grabbed whatever he could and threw it at the pervert, who slipped away and shut the door. The plastic object hit the rusting metal plated door instead, rebounded and came to a rolling stop a few feet away from him.

"I'm going to strangle him one day." Oak seethed, "I'm going to strangle him and his useless mentor one day and admire my handiwork!" Yellow's mellow laughter floated to his ears and he wondered why she found his predicament funny.

"You took good care of him Green." She softly whispered and felt the cold seep from underneath the fluffy grey carpet lining the floor.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" The man exasperatedly questioned, "How is having that monkey bother me in the dead of the night an indication that I took care of him? That pesky woman also said the same thing and I don't understand." His aide pointed out that previously, Gold regarded him with a measure of fear and defiance, the breeder blandly stated his displeasure when working with Green, whilst now, he warmed up and even resorted to annoying him at odd times. Apparently, its Gold's way of showing affection, the blonde nodded her head and announced while the spiky haired trainer deflated. "It still doesn't make sense," he intoned, "I don't see him bother Red like that...Anyway, we have to leave for Sandgem, in a few hours, the escorts from Ransei will arrive at Platina's mansion and we don't want to be late." Green got up and hefted a bag, "stay safe," he murmured tenderly, "and keep the rest of our friends safe."

And then he left and Yellow felt the characteristic ache in her heart.

One that came on each time Green left for a faraway mission.

* * *

Evening

Sandgem

Berlitz Mansion

The Organization members mulled about in a giant ballroom. At the far end, the double height wooden doors remained closed and securely locked, inside, heavy drapes and tapestries, depicting wars amongst legendary creatures, hung over French styled windows and blotted out light. In the middle of a fresco painted ceiling, an ornate chandelier hung and spilled orange light into the room. Sapphire sat on a chair as White hastily tied her short hair into a bun and wrapped gold thread around it. As Platina promised, the wild trainer had been given a shorter kimono, one that fell above her knees and her legs were clad in black leggings. To Gold's dismay, she managed to learn a few basic attack and defense moves with the metal fan she carried and it was rumored, by Ruby, that she could also wield the short sword with some degree of accuracy. The golden eyed male stood far away from his team mates and engrossed himself into a painting. It showed a milotic fondly rubbing its head against a trainer standing near the seashore, in the distance, the choppy, grey-green water appeared menacing and the ashy clouds making up the sky in the image did not look welcoming at all. The textile screens showed battles and his eyes reflected the newest addition to the ballroom; a picture of Zekrom and Reshiram roaring at each other in mid-flight, both their tail-turbos were ignited, one belted out a plume of brilliant blue flames whilst the other threw out sparks. Black and N...He wondered and forcibly piloted his attention somewhere else.

"If Black were here, he'd fall head over heels with you." Sapphire watched White blush through the hand mirror she held. "I'm pretty sure N would've felt the hots for you as well." The organizer draped herself in a pale pink kimono with snowflake patterns and her voluminous shock of hair had been fashioned into a thick braid. On both sides of her head, she wore ivory and gold flower ornaments and they shone lustrously under the mellow light.

Finished with fixing a ruby encrusted gemstone pin in Saph's hair, White came to the front and admired her senior. Due to the constant exposure in the sun, Saph had a permanent tan and it suited the blood red kimono she wore. The junior spied the dull grey metal of a fan peeking out from between the folds of her senior's clothes and at her waistband; she had a short sword similar to Gold. "Ahahaha, you really look pretty as well senior. Black and N...Aren't here any longer so that is why, I'm doing this." Their tones turned soft as the two girls refined each other's disguises. Near the window and slouching in an ignoble way, Green's emerald gaze lingered on them for a moment longer and shifted to Pearl. The youngster wore a heavily decorated hat on his head and each time he walked, the short tassel bopped in all directions. Out of all of them, Pearl managed to pull off the nobleman visage the easiest, possibly because he spent time with Platina the longest. A tiny seed of worry gnawed in his chest, this will be the most clandestine assignment they ever embarked on. Posing as nobles, breaking in a fortress swarming with Imperial guards and rescuing his best friend from the clutches of a militarist province...

 _Nice_.

A feral grin lifted the corner of his mouth. Nothing gets the blood pumping faster than the prospect of an impossible challenge. Pearl lethargically sat himself on a chair and twirled his hat about on one ringed finger. Apart from them, no one else had been allowed in the ballroom and the members were inwardly thankful for that. A heap of pokeballs sat in an intricately woven bamboo basket and the creatures mirrored their masters' anxieties; charizard curled up in the minuscule space, its webbed wings covering its entire body whilst infernape sat still, exhibiting a rare moment of meekness. Empoleon looked up pompously; the beast suspected that it had a crucial role to play. The double doors at the entrance creaked open and Platina sailed in, the end of her amaranthine kimono gliding across the polished floor. On seeing her, Gold whistled and one of her guards frowned at him deplorably. She dismissed her escorts and they left with great reluctance. As soon as the Organization regained their privacy, Gold swaggered next to Platina and shamelessly draped his arms around her shoulders; Pearl jumped up and pulled his ears whilst Sapphire extracted her metal fan. The heiress emitted a suffering sigh and adjusted the jeweled comb nestled into the mass of her hair. Smoothly extracting herself from Gold's rapidly closing embrace, she wedged herself between her two female friends and ignored the childish pout on his face.

"You're one cold bride..." he piteously moaned and adjusted his hair piece.

She let the comment slide, nothing good will come out if she replied to it, instead, she unfurled an ancient map on a small table and the crowd gathered around her. The faded scroll showed a landmass in the likeness of Arceus, she pointed a manicured finger at a city situated at the end of the continent and informed, "this is Fontaine, it is where we shall land" her finger shifted a bit to the east, "and this is Greenleaf, our target location and from there, we will ask Warlord Motonari to help us get to Valora. If we have a Warlord accompanying us, then the military region will be more willing to open their doors." Green ruminated on her words for a moment and asked her how she was sure that this Motonari would help them and Platina simply smiled enigmatically. "Please don't worry, just focus on your roles and I'll handle the rest, when we arrive at Fontaine, we will also be greeted by members of the Nixtorm Royal family, I shall remain with you until Greenleaf and from there, I will have to depart for Nixtorm in order to settle some business." Her comrades remained eerily quiet; they all knew what her business was. "After we gain entrance to Valora, it will be entirely up to you people in order to extract Red. I do not have a layout of the Castle so you will have to pose as guards or servants. Once you secure senior Red, you have to get out of there at all costs. Do what you can to stay alive even if you have to resort to begging for your life." A few grimaces followed the noble's advice and they fully understood the gravity of their situation. "Their pokemon are monsters endowed with power and intellect far beyond our domesticated ones. A single one of them, during a period of mega evolution, can take a team of six pokemon down effortlessly. Also, as the customs dictate, you are only allowed two pokemon at most, and they should remain out of their pokeballs. Please choose your partners wisely, we don't have much time, the escorts from Ransei have already arrived.

A sense of desperation seeped into their actions and even Gold stopped joking around as he scrutinized his team. Choosing two pokemon proved to be an extremely tough decision to make and he tried to weigh the options in his head, as much as he loved Aibo, the monkey, with its bad habits and malicious grin, would blow his cover in an instant. Peering at Sapphire, he saw her jaw tighten as she picked up two pokeballs and released their contents. Gallade and blaziken solidified into existence and crouched down to the floor as their owner forced priceless ornaments on them. The fire bird snorted an ember as Saph squeezed a stone encrusted collar around its thin neck, gallade sported numerous arm and thigh bands; and when the Hoenn trainer tried to clasp a silver anklet around the creature's lower extremity, the psychic kicked violently and growled. Making up his mind, Gold chose typholsion and politoed, he watched as charizard lowered its head so Green could slip a gold neck brace around it. A gigantic ruby set in the middle oozed finesse and to the vermillion dragon's dismay, its master strapped a saddle its back. White fixed four anklets on her deerling and serperior smoothly slid into a few gemstone encrusted bands. The pokemon glared heatedly at their owners and fussed with their newfound ornaments, some of them gnawing on precious metal or jade. Once again, the oak doors opened and this time they collectively stiffened on spying men wearing tall, elaborate hats. Pale blue kimonos bore wave patterns and a dark blue crest. Wordlessly, they assumed a formation around the Dex holders and it took White all her strength not to quiver at the sight of their bland, mask like faces. She felt like they were escorting her to prison, nonetheless, at Platina's gesture, the troupe drifted out with dignity and Platina caught her parents dulled irises as they waved her off. Her father smiled sadly but her mother's lips were pressed into a thin, firm line indicating her utmost displeasure. A quick glance at her team mates told her that the managed to pull off their facade rather wonderfully.

Outside, two helicopters deposited the posse of 'nobles' into a private area of Jubilife Airport. During the aerial ride, Sapphire had to violently quash her desire to leap up and plaster her face against the window. She hated the metallic confines of the vehicle and longed to soar on her own pokemon instead. At the back, charizard growled and opposite him, deerling's spindly legs shook in fright. The short flight ended quickly and the men ushered them to a private airplane. White remembered to act haughty as she lifted her head up and glided into the plane, Amanda slithered in with her and turned around to give their escorts an arrogant glare. One of the men lowered their eyes and briefly muttered a muted apology.

Things proceeded too smoothly.

The interior of the aircraft sported individual cabins as well as an open hangar for pokemon to rest in. Dismissing each other, the members broke away from their friends and strode into their individual rooms. Inside the compartments, Pearl allowed himself to gawk. A couch upholstered in cream leather snared his attention and he scrutinized the room to find a bed tucked behind a screen of gold silk, a large flat screen television, a little glass table and even a mini fridge. Peeking behind him, he grinned wildly and attacked the mini fridge, opening it to find it stocked with his favorite drinks. Extracting a bottle, he sighed in bliss and unceremoniously plopped on the couch. At the same moment, the door hissed open and he almost yelped in surprise. The blank faced man bowed, approached him and comfortably harnessed Pearl to the settee. He placed a menu and a slim communications device on the table. "If you need anything my lord," the man intoned, his tone flat and unyielding, "please call me and I will present myself immediately." He bowed once again and Pearl eyed his unopened drink...he should've gotten the escort to pop the seal for him.

Lord Pearl...the Sinnoh native sighed and put his feet up on the table.

He could get used to this.

Sapphire closed the door behind her and locked it, in case those creepy guards barge in unnoticed. She disliked her opulent surroundings and the atmosphere reeked of money and choked her. Pulling out her weapons, the girl smoothed her clothes and tried not to fiddle with the heavy ornament weighing her head down. How did Platina do this on a daily basis now again? She contemplated and felt very sorry for the poor girl. A knock on the door made her jump and after schooling her facial expressions, she opened it and came face to face with a guard. The man smoothly expressed his regret for breathing the same air as her and threw himself into a ninety degree bow. He handed her a menu and a sort of black device. On spying the vacant mien on her face, he politely explained that the gadget functioned as a remote for her flat screen television and as a communications device in case she needed to call someone. The flight to Ransei, he further informed, will take at least a day and he excused himself as Saph shut the door in his face. Tossing the remote somewhere into the room, she kicked off her shoes and slumped into bed.

They had a long journey ahead of them and it was best to get some rest.

Midnight

Airplane Cabin

An hour or two after boarding the plane, the Ransei escorts knocked on their doors and delivered them their meals. White, after forcing down a dinner she definitely won't be able to digest, inwardly argued with herself before resignedly slipping out of her kimono and retiring to bed. The mattress depressed underneath her weight, cocooning her into a mass of white fluff. Against her bare skin, the satin sheets felt sinfully pleasant and she rolled around to her delight. Exhausted by her abnormally surreal experiences, she eventually delved into a restless sleep. Around midnight, her Xtransciever rang a ditty and the chocolate haired female, her mass of hair fanned out against her pillow, tried to blot out the sound and buried her head underneath the covers. The gadget beeped relentlessly and after growling at the unfairness of her situation, she pulled herself out of her cloud-esque bed and shivered when the chill of the cabin whispered past her skin. Moaning and blinking against the bright burst of light emitted by the screen, she opened the message folder and skimmed over the contents. A summon by Platinum. The members of the Dex Criminals should adjourn in the hangar area in fifteen minutes time in order to discuss last minute plans and they should sneak out without alerting the guards. The girl exhaled in mild anger, leave her heavenly bed and go prowling around in the middle of the night? Nothing new. Half asleep, her muscle memory kicked in and her hands expertly smoothed her kimono down and tied the several sashes and threads. Carefully, she pulled her hair into a ponytail and slapped an ornament on.

And tiptoed out of the cabin whilst injecting the drowsy guard crouching outside her cabin with a syringe full of sleeping chemicals which Diamond masterfully synthesized.

The hangar area looked as luxurious as their private cabins. A metallic roost and a large nest were erected for flying types and as she entered the area, she saw charizard swoop silently down from its perch. A few totem poles served as resting places for serperior, typholsion (who curled around the base), luxray and gallade. Off to the corner, a large bath full of murky water and aquatic plants sloshed against marble confines. Politoed swam lazily whilst deerling crouched to the edge and nibbled on some plants, golduck could also be seen, bobbing underwater and it vaulted out of the pool after hearing a curt call from its trainer. Toro and Chimhiko curled up together with the ape pokemon throwing itself over its fire bird partner. The hangar door whined shut behind her and someone switched on the lights. On spying her, Gold snickered and White felt herself blush. All her friends sported casual clothing, even Green, who suppressed a yawn, wore a t-shirt and jeans. She had been the only one who arrived dressed in formal clothing.

"It's the middle of the night..." Pearl unnecessarily added, "I'm surprised you had the time to dress like that." The boy yawned and wiped tears from his eyes. "Can we get this done already? I'm tired and I want to sleep on that feathery bed because I'm sure I won't ever get to experience such a chance again." Sapphire and Gold nodded vehemently at his words and grumbled, their complaints set a tiny smile on Platina's lips.

The members congregated around the noble and focused on her words. "Senior White is well prepared for any occasion, the fact that she thought of dressing up properly in the middle of the night shows her conviction." Green agreed with her words and slapped Gold's hand away when the latter pulled teasingly on his striped shirt. "We will be landing in Fontaine at dawn...As I have mentioned numerous times before, do not gape at the surroundings, no matter how much they impress you. And please don't be shocked at whatever I say, nod and act like this is all normal to you. Senior Sapphire...I implore you to bring about a measure of grace in your movements...Do not run like you are chasing a wild animal and please don't whip out your fan if a guard happens to appreciate your beauty. Imagine him as senior Ruby if he compliments you." The azure eyed girl stuttered heatedly and swore that she had absolutely no feelings for the flamboyant fashionista, Platina leveled her a look and she quieted down, smoothed her shorts and her face folded into a blank expression. "That is much better, when some lower ranked noble is speaking to you, ignore them, they do not have the right to converse with us." The monster and human group shifted around on the slightly warm floor and made themselves comfortable. "As for your pokemon...Charizard and surprisingly typholsion-"

"Oi! What do you mean surprisingly?" Gold interjected, "I'm telling you, Exbo is a perfect gentlemon...right buddy?" The fire type briefly ignited its mane and crouched over its trainer, engulfing its human in an affectionate swath of fur.

"...Are excellent examples of how pokemon should behave outside their balls. Serperior as well. Although, most snake-esque creatures drape themselves over their master. On hearing this, Amanda slunk towards White and climbed on her, much to the trainer's chagrin. It meticulously coiled itself around the Unovian and rested its crowned head near her neck. White tottered to the side and complained of the regal pokemon's weight and in response, it curled tighter around her. "Please bear with it, senior White; it adds credit to your cover. Also, another important fact you should remember...Do not attempt to battle anyone, a small scale skirmish might attract the attention of the retainers and eventually the Warlord of particular province. If things escalate out of control, they might force you into a public duel and no matter how skilled you are, you will lose. Our pokemon are not adapted to this region's fighting standards. Killing pokemon is perfectly honorable and they will do so in order to assert their supremacy."

The muted roar of the plane's engines filled the silence and members of Dex Criminals felt an invisible noose tightening around their neck. "If...we do succeed in rescuing Red, why can't we do the same for you?" Green quietly questioned and Platina felt touched by the normally stoic commander's words. "Blue will keep on scolding me, is there a way we can smuggle you out of this region as well? I'm truly grateful for what you have sacrificed for us...but both Red and that pesky woman won't appreciate it." Next to him, Pearl curled his fists and uttered a grunt.

"I am very thankful for your concern, but it is a contract I cannot breach." Platina replied and brushed her hair backwards. "If you do manage to extract me from Ransei, the Nixtorm family will cry foul. The nobles do not let such things slide, especially if it pricks their pride. Nixtorm is in an alliance with Valora, Spectra and Dragnor. These four provinces are considered to be the most powerful amongst all of Ransei and the Warlords are rumored to bear artifacts which allows them to summon and command legendary pokemon for a brief amount of time. A small rift will create war. Please thank Seniors Red and Blue for me, tell them I enjoyed my time with the Dex Criminals and tell her not to worry. I promise to visit when time permits me to."

After how long? Pearl wondered and tried to stop the tremble in his hands. A month? Two months? A year? A decade?

Perhaps never?

The blonde swallowed bitterly. It's all that ex-champions fault. If Red was sensible enough not to get himself caught, then Platina wouldn't have to sacrifice himself, Diamond would still be the chubby little stooge instead of an acting commander and to Pearl, life would make some sort of sense. However, Red is confined in some sort of hyper-security, Diamond's personality shifted drastically in order to accommodate the stress befitting a leader of Execution and Platina is getting married to Giratina knows who.

And Pearl's life will never be the same again.

"Let's go back to sleep." Gold declared and lightly thumped Pearl's back. "It's almost sunrise and we have to get ready. By the way, will the guards ask questions when they wake up? 'Cause I sorta jammed my syringe in a place it shouldn't be jammed..." The ebony haired ruefully admitted and fidgeted with his hair whilst Pearl emitted a short bark of laughter. "I was in a hurry, my jeans weren't properly on and the dude saw me. So without thinking, I stabbed him where it hurts the most."

"When do you ever think?" Green spat under his breath and scowled at him lividly. Platina, sensing the wound up commander's stress, hastily cut in their brewing argument and assured that the guards will not utter about their weakness. They have utmost loyalty to the people they are assigned to escort and any lapse will be a fault on their part. "Be grateful" the spiky haired commander growled and eased himself up from the floor, charizard heaved its wings, sent a gust of air ricocheting around the metallic cavern and took to his roost, "and next time...Be more careful or I'll wring your neck! And that goes for Pearl as well." With Gold's salute mocking him, he departed from the group and the rest of the members wearily stumbled back to their rooms.

* * *

Dawn

Ransei

Shores of Fontaine

The private jet landed on the water and Green, who was generally fazed by nothing, found his eyebrow arching upwards in wonder. Despite the region's traditionalist standards, the technology offered by it surpassed anything he saw in other continents. For example, this plane landed on water and sailed its way to the harbor where he gaped at the phenomenal amalgamation of an airport, ship port and a military base. True to what Platina told them, he spied pokemon toiling alongside their human partners as two swanna guided the aircraft swiftly up a metallic ramp and on to dry land. The vehicle juddered to a stop and after making sure he appeared his best, Green exited the lavish cabin with a jaded guard trailing a few feet behind him. He stepped out into Fontaine and eyed Gold from the corner of his eye. The latter slowly inclined his head and ogled at the street instead, he found art hiding in the most conspicuous of places. The path was tiled in bricks of jade, slate and shimmering blue colored stone and he spied red glazed wooden bridges spanning over canals of water. Fontaine reminded him of a luxurious version of Cerulean City. Sparse woodland provided a beautiful backdrop and against a perfectly cyan tinted sky, he saw the spires of a gold and an aquamarine castle rise up from an expansive moat of water. Stone fountains, carved into the likeness of water pokemon such as oshawott and swanna, lined the sidewalks and washed the air with the pleasant melody of gushing water. At the port, the blue clothed men assumed their formation around the Dex Criminals and escorted them to a waiting area.

"Lady Berlitz..." Barely had they entered into an air conditioned foyer when a masked man bowed deeply to Platina. He also donned blue but his clothes had a metallic sheen to it and on closer inspection, he had an array of weapons tucked into the sash around his waist. Even his hand guard and shoulder pads looked like they concealed some kind of deadly weapon. "It is my utmost honor to meet you, please let me-"

"Oh!" A childish voice piped up and grabbed on Platina's pristine robes much to the Sinnoh native's confusion. The guard stuttered something incomprehensible and fell into another deep bow whilst apologizing profusely. Next to her, Green shifted uncomfortably and behind them, the rest of the Dex Criminals furiously covered up their attempts of laughter. "She is so pretty!" The young female grabbing her kimono passionately declared and hung on tighter. "I bet big brother will be really happy won't he father?" Letting go of her robes, the fuchsia haired noble skipped to her father and on spying the pale, long haired man, they all bowed. Mitsuhide gave her an impassive once over, his stare as chilling as the lapras standing in his shadow. He and his escorts moved fluidly forward and the Dex Criminals remained bowing. Pearl resisted the urge to straighten up, rub his aching back and land a punch in Lord Mitsuhide's emotionlessly handsome visage. Infernape's flames shimmered next to him and to his utmost relief; the monkey remained docile and humbly crouched to the floor.

Mitsuhide walked closer, his shoulder armor plates creaking ever so slightly. "You did not inform me about your other escorts," he stated and his eyes veered to Green. "Who are these people?" The man demanded blatantly.

"We have some business in Greenleaf my lord." Platina demurely trained her eyes to the floor and hid the lower part of her face behind her sleeve. "Forgive us for being impudent, but we need to get to Greenleaf as soon as possible. The person standing next to me has controversial ties with Warlord Motonari." If the Nixtorm Warlord was surprised, he didn't show it and Green admired the composure in her voice. The Berlitz heir dipped her head once again and Mitsuhide, with his daughter Gracia meekly clinging to him, moved to the side.

"Yes, you mentioned that you have business in Greenleaf...Unfortunately I have to attend to some matters here in Fontaine and shall be staying here for the time being. My retainer will accompany you till Greenleaf and once you have settled your affairs, I will come and personally escort you to Nixtorm." He drew away and Gold snuck a look at him from the corner of his eye. The resemblance between him and Platina were remarkable, both had the same pale, almost bloodless skin, the man's inky hair was gathered in a low pony tail and he walked with his head held high. From head to toe, he was clothed in an assortment of blue silk robes, pleats of silver, black and light blue armor and his family crest gleamed brightly on the collar of his jacket. Following him, the lapras glided into view and Gold inhaled sharply; the rocky hump on the water pokemon's back sported a cover of gold. "Enjoy your stay in Greenleaf; we at Nixtorm are anticipating you greatly." The Warlord smiled tightly before being swallowed up by more retainers and guards. Platina bowed to his retreating form and stood up, she muttered a few words to her newest escort and without further ado, the posse set off again. Gold's heart hammered in his chest and his palms sweated.

At long last...He murmured to himself as they stepped out into the weak sunlight and made their way across a courtyard. Sapphire jabbed him in the side when his mouth opened at the sight of a giant airship anchored to the ground. Were they going to travel in that thing? He wondered and saw many water birds flying around the blimp. He calmed himself and with a wave of his hand, dismissed an approaching servant. The man bowed dutifully and kept his head trained to the floor. Gold boarded the blimp and for a brief moment, his spirit soared at the prospect of seeing his mentor after so many months.

Hopefully he will have a dreamless sleep tonight.

* * *

 **A/N:** Poor Platina, Pearl and Gold (in the future); well, considering how crazy he drives everyone, it's expected. Heartfelt gratitude to all those who read and reviewed. Virtual cookies/cake and chocolate to all! Please keep on supporting the story and offering constructive criticism.

At Jack54311: In a way, the strict mannerisms shaped who I am but Platina has it worse. Some Asian cultures…make little to no sense. At HeyYouYaYou: Trouble at school? You own that trouble like a boss. If anyone is troubling you, print this fic out, make it into a book and bash it over their heads. I found it very satisfying. Jokes aside, I'm happy this fic made your day. Happy reading. At Guest: I wanted to do a cross over story with Pokemon and LOZ (Skyward Sword) but I never finished the game and I forgot some of the finer details and I can't spoil the ending for myself. So I decided to occupy my mind with something else for the moment. Heh, Gold is foolish, yes, but in case of some serious butt-kicking, no other person is more reliable. As for what is going to happen to the Dexters heh, read to find out. Okay, just to clear things up, I am done writing this fic and this chapter was written way before I read these reviews, but hey, at least we think alike :D. Focusing on one character is quite limiting to be honest, but it was a nice challenge of sorts. As for details, I found that staring at pictures helps, basically, I picture a scene and try to find a picture resembling the scene, then I keep it in front of me whilst writing. Siblings without parents generally turn out to be real close, Green loves his sister. Lol with the no food eating part, I think Dia would be the one leaning towards stuffing himself if stressed.

At Guest: I find it difficult to describe clothes…and spend way too much time on the net trying to find out what the different dresses and what not are called, sometimes I find pictures of the Dexters in different clothing and I just tweak their descriptions into this story. How shall the band fare in Ransei…hehehe. Oh right…they are Japanese…you know what? Let's pretend that they are ultra-modern, and thus don't use chopsticks. *Pretends* And voices huh, I suppose Red is going to sound like the typical shounen hero, normally a pleasing voice but it grates on your ears when he screams. Blue has an airy voice, it sounds like she is always up to something. Green has a low voice and he can't sing to save his life, Silver's is lower, and a bit hoarse since he seldom talks. Crystal has a mom voice (think Aqua from KH) and Gold is like Red but a more annoying and sultry. (The voice needs to woo the gals). I hate hot weather because the heat disrupts my sleep. Mildly cold is the best. Nobunaga is actually credited for unifying Japan. Kudos to the dude but later on, he turned into this tyrannical dictator and he is widely known for being a cruel, selfish old coot who will stop at nothing to fulfill his goals. Amarillo huh, sounds nice but I tend to skip names I can't pronounce. I have horrible pronunciation really. As for her name, in the manga I read it as: Amarillo lsdkfj laskdfj (I'm serious). I apologize in advance for her full name not making it into the story since I'm done with both writing and editing the remaining chapters.


	74. Prelude to pandemonium

**Chapter 74: Prelude to pandemonium**

Mid-afternoon

Greenleaf

Gardens of the Imperial Palace

The soothing sounds of a bamboo tube filling up with water and hitting against a flat, round stone competed against the buzz of insects writhing in the shadows of trees. Inside a hammock of cream silk, a man shifted, trying to wake the serperior curled up on his chest. He moaned, scratched the hedge of forest green hair atop his head and extracted a book from the mess of clothes, papers and an ornate mug. Feeling the sharp prick of a pin skewering through his clothes and pricking against his upper arm, the individual wriggled and tore the offending brooch off. Tossing it into his hammock, he lay back, pushed the creamy belly of his serperior away from his face and flipped the book open. A breeze whistled past, bearing the aromatic fragrance of cherrim and flowers and the hammock swung gently in the wind.

"You have guests coming in around late afternoon and this is where I find you." A young male admonished him lazily. "Wake up Warlord Motonari...One of the guests is Lord Mitsuhide's future daughter-in-law, you have time to score some points and apparently, there is another brown haired half-noble who is somehow related to you." The male paused for a moment and glanced at the man in the hammock. Motonari, deaf to the sounds around him, blissfully ignored the retainer's advice and kept on reading the book in his hands. "Raichu...wake him up" The youth drawled and watched as his beast charged up and sent a bolt of thunder soaring at the unsuspecting individual. In a split second, the serperior coiled on the reading man's chest awaked and hissed. It directed the entire bolt to itself and absorbed it with an ear splitting growl. Instead of getting up and listening to the demands of his visitor, the green haired Warlord absent mindedly petted it's monster and serperior settled back on his stomach. "...Che. My lord sent me here to investigate and all I get is an unwilling participant. I should have spent my time in bed today."

At his words, Motonari shifted and got up, one boot clad leg dangling out of the hammock in an ungainly angle. The insects buzzed louder and he fumbled around for his hat. On spying his guest's thunderous expression, he smiled amiably. "It's rude to sneak into a neighboring province's Castle young lord...even if we are alliances. I warned you a few times." He found his cap crumpled underneath a stack of fallen books and after tugging it out, he smoothed it and fastened the felt hat on his head. "The next time you attempt to jump over my gates by using the tail of your Raichu...simply because you were too lazy to go through proper procedures...I will slice you into ribbons." The man quietly threatened. "My serperior will see to that. As for you, stop smoking Hanbei, I do not want you coughing up blood in my face." Hanbei nonchalantly twirled the ornate pipe in his fingers before clamping the wooden rod between his lips. He inhaled deeply and tossed it to his raichu. The electric rodent charred the slim piece of wood into charcoal dust and another gust of wind whisked the blackened remains away. "I know I have visitors, my retainers are getting the castle foyer ready. So one of the guests has controversial ties with me?" Motonari chuckled good naturedly, "you should stop suspecting everything around you Hanbei, I do not think we can recruit these half nobles who are coming to visit us...they lived in the commoner lands for quite some time and unless they go through rigorous training, they will never be able to conduct themselves in battle." The Warlord hefted his sleeping serpent on his shoulders and hopped off his silk bed. "Come inside, let us enjoy some tea."

Folding his arms behind his head, Hanbei followed the older Warlord out of the garden; they climbed a set of stone steps and stepped into his mansion. "Don't you think the timing is unnatural?" He worded his suspicions and the Warlord ignored him. "Please at least listen to me my Lord, think for a while, a few months ago, Warlord Ieyasu accepts a convict from commoner lands...this never happened before. Several months later, we have a branch family of Nixtorm re-opening their relations with the main family and although I am absolutely elated that Warlord Mitsuhide is finally getting the daughter in law of his dreams...I cannot help but suspect, she is bringing a company of half-nobles as her retainers and one of them happens to have ties with Greenleaf...I suspect foul play."

"Leave your strategizing for later and enjoy some tea with me." Motonari removed his boots before entering a sparsely decorated room. Hanbei seethed under his breath and waited till raichu untied his shoes. "I understand you are a genius strategist and you have my utmost respect...but please unwind for a while and have something to drink. Do you want some entertainment?"

"I would like to sleep if you do not mind." The boy coughed and gulped his tea down. "And I am not interested in dancing girls. To be honest, my Lord is considering cutting you off from the alliance. You are the weakest in our formation and you failed to send my Lord some tea leaves."

"Monkey is mad because I failed to send him some tea leaves?" Motonari's lips twisted into a mocking smile.

"Do not...address my lord by that derogatory nickname you green haired imp!" Hanbei hoarsely spat and clutched his chest. "The next time I hear you calling Lord Hideyoshi a monkey, I will ask Raichu to slit your throat!" Instead of feeling apologetic for his actions, Motonari poured him some more tea into a ceramic cup and the two delved into silence. "I shall stay here to assess these new comers..." the retainer yawned and huffed. "Ask your servants to prepare a bed for me right here...And wake me up when your guests come." Finishing his cup of tea, the strategist yawned again and his head hit the low table with a particularly loud thud. Raichu wriggled its bulk on his lap and the beast and master duo snored after a few seconds.

"..." Motonari watched them and exchanged a knowing glance with his serperior. "I still can't believe Warlord Hideyoshi is mad at me for not sending him tea leaves." He muttered to himself and peacefully drowned the contents of his cup.

* * *

Mid-morning

Valora

Palace prison

Red sat on the floor, his legs splayed over the cold metal and his head thrown back against his bunk bed. The nape of his neck hurt due to his bad posture but he didn't care, the pain made him feel alive. Since dawn, he practiced his speech exercises, wincing every time his pronunciation distorted. After his interrogation with Warlord Kotaru, an event he did not want to recall in the slightest, he suffered from terrible nightmares in which he remembered things from the past. He saw hallucinations as well and one particular time, when the guards arrived to find him gnawing on his hand, they forced him to go on medication. Occasionally, he blanked out and woke up with bruises on his head. Due to his corrupted speech, further interrogation was deemed impossible and he feigned his condition each time the guards suspected he could talk. Right now, he spat a few nonsense words and saw a helmeted warden glance at him disinterestedly. A strict exercise regimen had been drawn up for him and if he neglected it, he received harsh punishment. The ebony haired male stared listlessly at the ceiling, the past few weeks; he lived in the hellish nightmare of his war-torn past.

A bank of memories he'd gladly ask anyone to wipe. Maybe he should request Kotaru to clean up his memory the next time they meet. The harrowing process of having his suppressed recollections brought out to the forefront of his mind muddled him and it blurred the lines between dreams and reality. More often than not, the ex-champion found himself tortured with reminiscences he no longer wished to remember.

He did not notice the guards leaving. The two warriors posted outside his cell cast another quick peek and saw the prisoner sitting inertly. Nodding to each other, they checked their watches and discretely slipped away. If the Kanto native had been in his former state, a pair of crimson irises would scrutinize them. The scarlet depths swirled with a conundrum that made it difficult to decipher his thoughts. The man, pale due to the lack of sunlight, always had his thin lips stretched into a subtle smile which could mean anything, either he actually enjoyed his predicament, or he occupied his mind and tried to think of a way to escape this place. Nonetheless, the unnerving smile and stare vanished and the convict lolled about aimlessly, his vacuous expression a far cry from the confident visage he sported in his former days of glory. Along the corridors, the dull clank of shoes bounced around the metal confines and came to a stop before his cell. Perhaps he failed to hear the sound because he continued to lay in that painful position. Hands to the front, legs wide apart and his head tilted back in a ninety degree angle. His fingers twitched occasionally and apart from the rise and fall of his chest, one may mistake him for a corpse. Misty shuffled to closer to bars of his cage and waited a moment before calling out his name. It seemed an age before the individual finally stirred and with an audible pop, oscillated his head and faced the front.

"Must be hallucinating..." he slurred and attempted to slump back into his apathetic stance. When she spoke again, he frowned and looked up. She spied his hair, greasy with dirt and his cheeks sunk in giving him a cachectic look. A prickle of grey outlined his cheeks and the lines on his forehead appeared as if they might stay there permanently. "Good to see you again." He mumbled but made no attempt to get up from the cold floor.

"Red...When I said that we should meet under better circumstances, I didn't mean to see you in prison." Misty quipped and observed as he blinked and pushed himself off the floor. A tiny smile split his face as he came closer. "...The guards must be giving you a very difficult time...You look terrible Red." Instead of stepping back, she moved closer and gripped the bars to get a better look at his face.

"Whoops" his voice cracked, "looks like I've been busted." He joked and snickered.

"This isn't funny!" The Cerulean gym leader snapped, "Are you happy to spend the rest of your life in this dump? Do these four metal lined walls give you inspiration or something? Red...Just give these people the information they want and they will deploy you out of Ransei, from there you will be forced to go into civil service and make some sort of compensation out of the messed up life you are living. Please Red...It hurts seeing someone I respect being broken down like this."

The ex-champion took a moment to slick his hair back and scratch at the slow growing stubble on his cheek. "Well...I'm happy to see you at least," he grinned "and you look fine wearing that cheongsam." He indicated her one piece, leaf printed dress. "Turquoise and silver really suits you."

"...Are you flirting?" Misty gawked and stepped back.

"Yeah. Been a long time since I complimented someone I like...Blue doesn't count by the way." He quickly added on spying the confused visage on the red head's face. "Anyway, what's up? While I'm really excited that they finally sent someone I know as an interrogator...I will tell you absolutely nothing." His previously dulled irises hardened with resolve and she picked out a snarl lacing his words. "I don't mind if they flay me, roast me alive and feast on me or something...I'm not selling anyone out simply to save my own skin. My friends will find me and they will bust me out of here. All I have to do is wait for them." As he spoke, his speech regained a measure of raw confidence and he smiled toothily. Misty sighed; her work was already over before she even started. Red accurately guessed why she came here and truth to be told, she refused to do this. A special threat made by a certain Warlord coerced her to get on the next available flight to Ransei. "Is your gym doing well? How is Lance as a champion?" The raven haired man resumed his prattling, oblivious to her inner conflict.

Misty fiddled with her hair, the standards of Ransei were ridiculous, they frowned on her short hair and pulled the orange strands together and styled them into an elaborate bun. "I'm not here to interrogate you Red...I'm trying to make you see the error of you ways. Okay..." she exhaled and moved closer, her cheeks reddening with shame. Some junior Warlord took the task of giving her a crash course on interrogation and the methods made her curl up with a mixture of anger, mortification and pure disgust. "Let's forget about revealing the location of your friends. From the International Police reports, I read that the Dex Criminals capture legendary pokemon and are trying to create another, much friendlier world right?" Red nodded, his fingers curled around the thick bars, a few centimeters above her own fists. "I understand you want a better life for yourselves and your friends...However, you tell me Red, is this the correct way to do this? Evacuating a legendary pokemon, even temporarily, will have adverse effects on this world...And it is suspected that your friends sent them to another dimension. She spied the brief, proud upturn of his lips. "Don't you care about what happens to this world and all its inhabitants Red?" Almost absentmindedly, she brushed her fingers across his taut knuckles and waited with bated breath for his answer.

Red blanked out.

He listened to Misty, her words made a lot of sense and he understood what he did was very wrong. From the very beginning, his hands, sweat slicked, steadily inched downwards in an effort to brush against her fingers. As she spoke, her fingers briefly touched over his aching knuckles, caressing the ghastly bite marks over his joints and drawing circles around his sandpaper skin. Her slim fingers were cold and it reminded him of water. Soothing and refreshing. She kept on speaking, he dumbly watched her pale pink lips move but he ignored everything else and focused on the blissful sensation. The reprieve felt too short and when she pulled her hands away, the strength in his body drained and he wanted to curl up and dwell on her touch forever.

"I don't care about anyone but myself..." Red heard himself speak and saw her mouth fall open with shock. "When people see me up on stage; they laugh, cheer and smile widely and each time, the noise kills me a little inside." Misty's eyes darkened sorrowfully. "I know what I'm doing is abhorred and I have long stopped caring about other people. Did they care?" he rasped and roughly clasped her hands through the bars, "when they gunned my parents down? Did they care? When I lay there, screaming my lungs out as my mom's blood splattered all across my face?" Red squeezed her hands tightly, instead of shaking her hands free, she held on him tighter as he continued to rave. "I tasted metal and dirt...I saw bullets hit the ground, clods of earth blasted up and rained over my body and in my mouth. When Green's parents were forcibly conscripted for war, they both died and what did he get? A cold metal instead of two loving parents. I'm done caring..." his tone petered into a hoarse whisper and Arceus forgive me if I give a crap about anyone else anymore." Done with venting, he looked down and flushed on seeing how she still brushed her thumb over his hands. "Um...I have a request," he added and Misty nodded slightly, the sad tilt of her lips burning a hole in his stomach. "Can I get a hug? You smell really nice..."

Her mood did a revolution.

Letting go of his hands, an act he instantly regretted, she moved a few paces backwards and folded her arms over her chest. "You are still the cheekiest person I know...What sort of person _flirts_ in this situation?" Misty vexingly asked and shook her head in disbelief.

"I know one other person who'd probably flirt with his executioner." Red drawled..."my student, Gold, he-"

"Picked his slovenly manners from you." The gym leader cut him off. "No need to tell me anything else." Silence descended on them and she knew any further questioning would amount to nothing. The red head had another hour before her interrogation time lapsed and she wondered whether to leave her ebony haired subject alone or stay with him. Red cracked another smooth line and commented on her shapely figure and her cheeks heated up for an entirely different reason. A tingle of fear raced along her spine when Red stared intently at her. She met his blood red irises and the man smiled gently at her. It took her back to the time he stumbled inside her gym and absolutely refused to believe that a kid like him could be the leader of Cerulean's prestigious water gym. Infuriated by his snide comments, she blindly dished out her most furious assaults and sent him whimpering away. The idiot came back the very next day, chest puffed proudly as he proceeded to barely scrape a respectable victory. When she handed the Cascade Badge to him, instead of humbly apologizing and vowing to better himself, he arrogantly flashed his measly badges at the cameras and posed right next to her. Fuming and shoving her lady like manners down the drain because this brat needed a wake-up call of his life; she grasped him by the lapels of his faded red and white jacked and proceeded to shake him so thoroughly, she swore his brains rattled. As he picked himself up, he gave her the same stare and timid smile and promised that he'd become the best champion there ever was.

"Say...Would you help me escape from here?"

"...No. I have my duty and the next time the police suspect me of being lenient towards you...I'll be fired." Misty coldly declared and leaned on the opposite end of the corridor.

"True...I don't want to make trouble for you." Red declared and she laughed at the absurdity of his words. "You know...I've already picked out an escape route in this castle, the only thing standing in my way is these bars." He indicated the thick rods of metal cutting him off from the rest of the world, "and the blast doors at the bottom of this palace. When the guards first escorted me here, they used a shortcut that goes underneath the escarpment the castle is built on. There are a few corridors and they look exactly the same so I strained my eyes in order to remember them. One corridor has a bonsai tree...Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that they are unfrequented places, they guided me through them because the nobles were too ashamed to have a commoner in their cells." The man inhaled and kept on speaking in a rapid fire manner. "Like I mentioned, a bonsai, tucked into an alcove...and there is another corridor decorated with silk screens showing swanna in flight-"

"Why are you telling me this?" Misty interjected for the second time and he blinked. "What if relay this information to the guards and they move you to a more secure area?"

"You won't." Red breathed, "You have a soft spot for me..." She flushed at his words and denied it furiously. "You had the chance to report me to the International Police a long time ago and you didn't, for that, I'm extremely grateful. I'm just refreshing my memory...After the manas dunking experience, I have difficulty telling reality and my dreams apart. In the event that Green and the others do bust me outta here, I should be ready to guide them out. Heh...he's gonna be proud to know that I'm using my brains for once." The convict chuckled darkly to himself and Misty checked the watch encircled around her wrist, almost time to go. "I suppose you will leave after a few more minutes...Thank you for staying and listening to me. I appreciate it greatly but I won't change my mind whatever you or anyone says. I've scarified..." Red's voice hitched on remembering Black and N, "I've been double crossed and broken...And I will not let anyone sway my goals. We don't share the same vision for the future...But you are the only person apart from my circle of friends who listens and understands me. It'd be nice if we...Could...Share our future together don't you think?" He refused to meet her eyes and trained them to the floor. The Kanto male bit his bottom lip and retreated to the safety of his dimly lit cell. Misty couldn't see him anymore but his words reverberated in her mind for a long time.

 _It would be nice if we could share our future together don't you think?_

Wordlessly, she pushed herself off the metal lined corridor and schooled her facial expression to reveal nothing. On the other end, two guards slinked inside, their metal plated armor clinking softly together. They gave her a slight bow and one of them assumed his position behind her.

"Time to leave my lady." He droned, "Warlord Kotaru and Ieyasu are looking forward to your report."

* * *

Late afternoon

Greenleaf

Palace interior

Do not be impressed.

White chanted as the war blimp descended on the lush valley of Greenleaf. Surrounded by green woodland, a carpet of emerald spread around as far as the eye could see. Rows of tea, rice and other plantations waved about on the outskirts of the city as the dirigible floated to a stop. The chains were anchored to the ground, the ramp fell out with a thud and hastily, their escorts ushered them out. A fresh breeze, imbued with the scent of fragrant leaves tickled her nose and she inhaled heartily. Unlike Fontaine, with its carved stone statues, canals, bridges and crafting industries, Greenleaf appeared much more simple and homely. The houses were traditional wooden buildings, intertwined harmoniously against trees and other flora. Everywhere she turned, she saw brightly colorful flowers and shrubs. Despite the village atmosphere of Greenleaf, she beheld wonders of modern technology, giant wind turbines rotated lazily over a farm. Arch gates had flat screen televisions hammered into them and one displayed figures too complicated for her to comprehend. In the center of Greenleaf, isolated from the villages by a giant maze of leaves and dwarfing all other buildings around it, lay the palace. There seemed to be a sort of a glass dome over the domicile with trees and vines climbing around it. The castle and its adjacent buildings sat on top of a base of gnarled tree roots and a stone foundation, crawling with an array of vividly pink and mauve flowers, supported the entire structure off the ground. Crossing the maze had been simple and as they came closer, the gold leaf double doors sailed open and she found herself being hurried into the foyer of the palace.

Polished wood, incense, silk banners and paper lanterns jumped up to her as she sailed to a stop behind Platina. Keeping her face low, she strained her eyes upwards and peeked at the commanding Warlord. The man, all friendly smiles underneath a mop of olive tinted hair, spoke with a pleasing voice and she relaxed. An army of people stood behind the commanding Lord, each one still as a statue and proudly displaying the crest, stamped on the right side of their lord's sleeve, on their chests. Behind the regiment of soldiers, their pokemon stood as a line, docile to the point of being human. None of the creatures shifted and their eyes poised on the new comers.

"Welcome to Greenleaf Lady Berlitz." Motonari snapped his fan shut and smiled, "it is an honor that you graced us with your presence before leaving for Nixtorm." The musky scent of burning incense perfused the entire foyer and the silk banners, depicting scenes from the outskirts of Greenleaf, swayed in an imaginary breeze. "I understand that you did not come here simply out of your good will." Standing next to the Warlord, another raven haired youth uncouthly suppressed a yawn and adjusted a saffron silk scarf around his neck. He wore a hat similar to Pearl and had a raichu flicking its tail near his feet. "I heard you have some business with me?" The Warlord further enquired with an amiable tilt of his lips. "Your retainers are rather sophisticated for ones living outside of Ransei." White twitched...How rude, her first impression of the man being slightly better than her average image of a noble, blew apart. They were all the same.

Bowing once again to show her thanks, Platina straightened up and clasped her hands neatly in front of her. "The honor is all ours Warlord Motonari," she chimed and froslass mimicked her behavior as it floated a few inches above the ground. Next to her, empoleon drew to his full height, the trident on its face gleaming gold in the mellow light casted by the lanterns; coiled around Motonari's shoulders, a serperior rested its face on its master shoulder pad and eyed the water type maliciously. "It is true that we have some business with you. The Berlitz family as well as some of the nobles from Illusio, are keepers of History. Between the two of us, we, hold more information as my parents have a formidable information network spanning multiple regions." The more she spoke, the more Hanbei shifted, his gaze calculative and hanging on each of Platina's words. "I would like to introduce you to someone." Angling her body towards Green, who maintained his fathomless facade, she gestured at him with a highly decorated fan and continued, "Please welcome your illegitimate half-brother, since we do not use honorifics, he goes simply by the name of Green."

A shocking silence followed her outrageous remark. The crisp atmosphere shifted and shattered. Muted whisperings broke behind Warlord Motonari and the two accused males mirrored each other's distress. Green beheld disbelief stamped on the young Warlords face. Illegitimate half-brother...Dear Arceus, his parents were good people and they did not deserve such slander. Gold, who meekly stood behind the spiky haired commander, coughed violently in order to cover up his giggles. Platina remained stone faced and it took every ounce of his will power to remain impassive. To his credit, the olive haired Warlor's expression twisted into utter befuddlement.

"My...father...was not that sort of person." Motonari sluggishly regained his composure and scrutinized the half-noble standing next to Platina. Serperior hissed and opened its mouth, displaying two gleaming fangs to anyone who ridiculed its master. "I am the only child; the records say it as such. If...I did have a half-brother..." his tone dripped venomously, "I am sure my father would at least leave some sort of measly heirloom for him." His eyes snapped back to Green and the brunette felt the need to defend his honor as well. Of all the prospects...Why be an unwanted addition to Greenleaf's royal family? Platina's hands trembled, with conviction or anger he could not tell, however, if they needed to rescue Red, then he'd have to swallow any form of self-dignity and play along. They had to worm their way and secure a place in Greenleaf.

"Mistakes are best left buried and forgotten about." Green hissed and charizard snorted an ember, compelling the grass snake to dive back into the safety of its owner's back. "What our parent did is not for us to shoulder and you can deny my existence if it makes you feel better about your father. Being a half-noble, I do not have a right to claim this place...It is all yours. I simply wanted to learn and see the place where...father came from." His words sounded horribly emotional and sappy, although the junior Warlord next to Motonari pressed his lips into a firm line of mistrust, the reigning Warlord had second thoughts. His eyes flickered everywhere, across Green's face, his eyes, nose, hair and down to the clothes he wore. Deep down, the noble knew...often times Warlords had affairs with other women and conveniently denied their children born out of wedlock. Motonari felt the slightest twinge of regret blossoming in his chest...All the respect he garnered his late father burned away and replaced by a slice of sheer hate. The brunette opposite him looked desperate.

Desperate...And the poor man won't even be able to inherit even a small part of the kingdom.

"We do not look alike." Greenleaf's Warlord droned as a final measure to preserve an ounce of sanity. He should have listened more closely to Hanbei in the morning; it might have prepared him for this. Out of the blue...He gains a half-brother. A glance behind his supposed half-brother revealed retainers. A man with eyes of burnished gold and a youth around Hanbei's age. All of them sported fire pokemon and the prickly heat given off by the monsters made his skin crawl. "There is nothing in our appearances indicating that we are in some way, related-"

"Forgive my impudence my lord but he has the same pale skin of yours and your eye colors are matching shades." To Green's never ending dread, he saw that Platina was correct and once again, the Warlord's face crumpled into an expression he'd rather not describe. "Please accept him" Platina hammered relentlessly. "And let us inside the castle. I have been standing since the morning." Serperior shrunk; it slithered across Motonari's chest as the human stood and wondered what to do, and dropped elegantly to the wooden floor. This time, it coiled around its master legs, afraid the man might suddenly topple over.

"Introduce yourselves..." The olive haired man intoned, his voice barely perceptible behind the silk fan obscuring the lower part of his face.

The Dex Criminals collectively bowed and Green presented himself first. "My name is Green...It's my utmost honor to finally set foot in the land of my father." He flatly announced and pointed to the two individuals behind him. "The black haired one is called Gold...He is...My slave." He forced a twisted smile down on hearing the latter gasp involuntarily. Serves the brat right for ruining his moment with Yellow...And for all the times the Johto native drove him crazy. From now on, Gold must treat his spiky haired senior as royalty and even if Green told the ebony haired retainer to drown himself, the breeder had to stifle his mumbles and throw himself off a cliff. "And the light haired one is my advisor, his name is Pearl." Pearl smiled a vicious grin at the crushed Gold and behind Green's back, flashed him a victory sign. On the other end, Sapphire simpered, her fangs poking out beneath her upper lip. Only White had the decency to actually look apologetic. "Please take care of us." Green and his posse bowed once again and Motonari looked ready to keel over and faint. Platina introduced herself next, Sapphire had been promoted to private guard whilst White bowed delicately on being presented as a hand maid. After they finished, the Warlord stiffly faced Green and to the astonishment of everyone in the foyer, performed a stiff bow.

"Welcome home brother..." Motonari greeted gravelly, "I hope you enjoy your stay in Greenleaf. Please make yourself comfortable." He signaled to his retainers and the kimono and armor clad men swarmed over the visiting group. Most of them knelt at Green's feet and politely asked him to remove his weapons and other implements. Sliding out the several armaments hiding on them, the Dex Criminals hefted their swords, knives and fans on metal trays and the servants respectfully ushered the visitors to the interior of the castle. Motonari fell in step with Green and gave the latter a curt nod before excusing himself to attend to matters pertaining to his kingdom. As for Hanbei, the watched the processions of outsiders glide into the heart of the palace and his eyes snapped to Platina and her faithful froslass.

A witch...his mind agreed.

A beautiful, intelligent witch.

* * *

 **A/N:** Seems like Red's grip on reality is loosening and Platina wove circles around Green and Motonari. Much thanks to those who read and reviewed; and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Virtual pizza to everyone.

At Silver: Cookies, cake and chocolate…heh, what else is better for midnight snacking whilst you are reading this fic? Lol. Grades are worth crap, trust me…Actually, don't listen to me, I'm giving really bad advice. In any case, hopefully you aced that test and essay of yours. Yellow Green likes Green…I laughed way too much at this. At Guest: Apologize? For what? Of course you don't have to apologize, I like curious individuals. Go ahead and ask me more if you like (I mean, some of the stuff I read is quite fascinating) you take care of yourself as well :) At Jack54311: Asian cuisine is nice, eating rice for breakfast, lunch and supper is not. The crossover idea huh…actually it was the other way around, the pokemon characters are part of Skyloft and I really like the mythos of the whole Link Origin story. Sigh, thank you for your ideas but for now, I'm distracting myself with cooking up something involving Wind waker and Twilight Princess. At AceTrainerLeaf: Stay tuned for Platina's fate (and the rest of the Ransei gang). Don't you think her lying was ingenious?


	75. Overt deception

**Chapter 75: Overt deception**

Dawn

Ransei

Greenleaf

A mere hour ago, the blackness of the night sky seemed absolute. Now the golden disk of a sun rose, light filtered through the gnarled branches of Greenleaf's numerous forests and clung to the invisible drops of moisture hanging in the air. The mist surrounding the royal gardens sparkled silver and the world held its breath in anticipation of a new day. Standing on a wooden bridge and peering at her distorted reflection in the pond, Platina beheld several magikarp splashing about in the clear water and pondered on her actions. Sleep did not come to her easily, she constantly fretted, wringing her hands under the bell shaped sleeves of her kimono and waited for the nobles of Ransei to figure out their poorly crafted excuse. Thankfully, the night passed without incident and leaving the heavy breathing forms of White and Sapphire buried between ornate swathes of silk and a thick futon, she slipped past the guards and whiled the latter part of the night in quiet solitude. A few days later, Lord Mitsuhide will arrive at Greenleaf and escort her to Nixtorm...then her life as she knew it...Would be over. On the rippled surface of the pond, she saw her reflection's expression twist into one of sorrow, however, no tears slid down her pale face. Lips turned into a frown and her eyes weighed down with what she could only describe as sadness. Around her, the world remained eerily silent and the subdued chill gave way to warmth as the sun rose higher and higher. Flower pokemon opened up, diffusing a heady, floral scent over the gardens and somewhere, an insect buzzed. The undergrowth rustled and in the distance, she heard the feeble chirp of a bird as it woke up and demanded for food.

A half moon, washed white by the light of the sun, struggled to be seen against a half dark sky. She shivered. Steadily the noise grew louder and the tiny hairs at the back of her neck stood up. Platina resisted the urge to rub the back of her neck, all this pent up tension unnerved her and she decided to go back to the palace and try to catch some sleep. A steady stream of smoke rose from one of the chimneys; the servants were up making preparations for the day ahead. Letting out a deep breath, she watched as a cloud of steam wisp away from her mouth. Folding her hands back into the proper position, she fixed her posture, whipped around and blinked. Instead of seeing trees and the stone fortification of Greenleaf's castle peeking through a dense growth of leaves and branches, she came face to face with a saffron tinted silk scarf, the blue lining of an under kimono and a string of jade, comma shaped beads dangling from a pale individual's neck. Aromatic smoke wafted in the air and the person, after inhaling heartily, flung the pipe behind him and a bolt of brilliant blue electricity fried it. Mutely, she observed the black dust fall to the ground and create an ugly patch on the otherwise immaculate garden. Platina shuffled backwards, whoever this person happened to be, he was a little too close for comfort. Instead of giving her space, the male noble extracted a fan, thrust the tip of it underneath her chin and forcibly angled her face up. Blinking rapidly against the brightening light of dawn, her eyes finally adjusted to see an adolescent with raven hair smirking unpleasantly at her. This person, a junior warlord by the way he held himself, had no manners and she entertained notions of reporting his behavior to Motonari. As she opened her mouth to fire something, he drew back, folded his arms behind his head and introduced himself.

"Hanbei..." Hanbei suppressed a yawn, "junior warlord to Lord Hideyoshi who reigns over Ignis. I'm here to discipline Warlord Motonari and check on the conditions of our alliance. And in doing so...I discovered something very interesting." The male yawned once more and slouched over the decorative railing of the wooden bridge, he tapped on the surface of the wood and raichu flashed into existence next to him. "First of all, I am surprised at how Nixtorm's future empress lied in order to gain access to Ransei." Platina fought to keep her shocked expression under control as Hanbei lazily ticked off his theories one by one. "While I am convinced of your status as a member of Nixtorm's branch family, I doubt the validity of your so called retainers." The adolescent spared a moment to cough and hack, covering this mouth with a handkerchief. Pulling the cloth away, he grimaced at the spots of blood decorating the cloth and stuffed it back in the pockets of his pale blue pants. "...Anyway. Warlord Motonari does not have any half-brothers; his father took care of any unfinished business before dying. I do not know the identities of these strangers, however, I suspect that they either bribed you to bring them here...Or threatened you. Most likely, they have ties with the commoner who is currently held in Valora's jail cells." Hanbei smiled satisfactorily, leaned closer and Platina flinched at his brilliant deductions. "That look on your face tells me everything. Although you trained them well, both the humans and their beast partners look a little uncomfortable to be amongst elite nobles, unlike you, they lack natural grace. Oh...the spiky haired one? Green is it? He seems to be the only one who experienced this sort of thing." Hanbei propped one hand underneath his chin and grinned.

Instead of panicking, Platina unfolded her arms and clapped.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

The sound echoed crisply amongst the hushed noises of the garden.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Platina asked, her voice masked. "...We are already in Ransei junior Warlord Hanbei...And I doubt you have the authority to kick us out. You mentioned before that you are a retainer of the neighboring region; you cannot order Warlord Motonari around. Since he welcomed us in Greenleaf, it would be a terrible violation of manners to simply throw us out again." For once, he didn't have a snappy comeback and on ruminating over her words, he agreed that she had a point. He did not have any authority over Motonari, the best he could do was offer him suggestions.

And for some reason, the tone of her voice, soft and full of muted assurance despite her blatant lies, made his heart race against his will.

The sun continued to rise and the light brushed the rooftops and the canopy of trees with gold. Around them, the noise increased in volume and soon, they heard the chirp and buzz of insects intermingling with cheeps and tweets of birds. "You did not refute my theories so I assume they are all correct." The female standing next to Hanbei offered no response. "Your confidence is admirable...In any case, you are right; I cannot deploy you from Ransei." Another minute of silence lapsed between them and he spoke up, "There seems to be some similarities between our thinking processes." He fished a box from between the folds of his clothing, extracted a few berries and tossed them over to raichu. The electric rodent cooked them in midair, frying the raw fruits till their skin popped. Snatching them, it squeaked at its owner and thereafter delved into its meal with obvious relish. "Apart from Warlord Hideyoshi, no one else listens to me. I am his strategist and it is my goal to make him the supreme overlord of Ransei. I have utmost respect for my Lord and will do my best to fulfill his dream as long as I am alive." Platina found it strange that someone so young would talk about death, but the more he spoke, the more his complexion paled and he dissolved into another bout of coughing, pressing the handkerchief into his mouth as his body shook violently. "Excuse me..." Raichu curled its thin tail around his hand and dragged him back to the safety of the castle. "I need to get some rest." Inky blue eyes watched him stagger all the way to the castle and she narrowed her eyes in worry and disbelief.

If this Hanbei decides to blow their cover, then all her work was for naught. Even though she displayed much confidence, it failed to belie the anxiety she felt. Platina's palms were drenched in a cold sweat and after signaling at her froslass, she too, made her way back to the palace.

Mid-morning

Greenleaf

Castle veranda

A serperior lay coiled on an elevated dais, the wooden veranda sported two ornamented cushions and an array of old scrolls, papers and a laptop. Two steaming ceramic mugs sat on coasters and the aroma of freshly brewed green tea wafted amidst sweet smelling blossoms. Leaning against a post, Pearl lazily fanned himself, the early morning heat stuck to his clothes and he waved the traditional fan about in an effort to cool himself. Sitting some meters away from him, Green and Warlord Motonari delved into an excited argument, their voices swelling and dipping spontaneously. The two older males sat on cushions and talked animatedly amongst themselves and this brought a small smile on the Sinnoh native's face. Seems like the warlord fully believed Platina's outrageous claims and the following morning, sent one of his servants to coax them to join him for morning tea. At first, the spiky haired brunette refused, he wanted to sleep in and after some prompting, he roused himself up and lethargically ambled across identically fashioned corridors and stumbled in the terrace with golduck waddling after him. Green's exhaustion dissipated on seeing several, stained with age, scrolls littering the balcony. Jade irises lit up with genuine mirth and from there, the two 'brothers' discussed and shared their knowledge. Gold, incensed at having himself demoted to a slave, clenched his jaw as he brought the morning tea. Pearl smiled devilishly at the older male and ordered him to bring him a new cup of tea. Throwing the latter a venomous look which promised the utmost pain, the ebony haired male displayed some rude signs behind Green's back, grinded his teeth furiously and shuffled off with politoed.

Green watched zealously as Motonari traced his finger along an ancient map. In the beginning, Ransei only comprised of a few small dwellings, the notable ones were Dragnor, situated in the north east: the first humans, crafted by Mew, congregated here. The area, sheltered by mountain ranges on all three sides, proved to be a natural fortress against the wild, draconic pokemon prowling around the areas. A large river separated Dragnor from the next big city. Situated in an elevated, mountainous region, Avia was rumored to be a city floating amongst the clouds. The citizens took great pride in their lofty palaces and walled cities built atop mountain peaks. They constructed lavish castles and were the first people to tame the local pokemon life. Bird pokemon, some as huge as dragons, protected them in return for food and companionship. The last village lay in the valleys and craters of a ring of active volcanoes. A tiny settlement which went by the name of Ignis, struggled to keep their hamlet afloat over slabs of rocks swimming atop lava. Local fire pokemon periodically killed and half destroyed the houses when people veered to close to their habitats. The worst of the pokemon happened to by an elder charizard. Eyes milky white with age, the dragonoid crawled out of its den once every few months and proceed to rain fire over the entire village, other notable nuisances were infernape, tepig, magmar and larvesta. When the larvae evolved to a volcarona, the natives tried to catch the matured moths for their vivid vermillion wings and the downy fur on its body, unfortunately, the moths could send spores of fire with a flap of its wings and frequently did so when their nests were disturbed, the fiery spores caught on the parched, minimal grass growing around Ignis and if not doused out properly, engulfed the village into an inferno. Despite all the difficulties, Ignis, its palace constructed out diamond hard ebony glass and slate, managed to be one of the most feared provinces in modern day Ransei.

"And the reigning Warlord, Hideyoshi, is currently in an alliance with Fontaine, Aurora and Greenleaf." Motonari rolled the scroll up and set it aside. "So now you now a bit more about Ransei." The olive haired man declared and observed Green calmly sipping his tea. If the spiky haired brunette tried to disguise his delight, it wasn't working, an animated sparkle danced in his jade irises. "Greenleaf came to existence much later. Some people, who were unable to survive Ignis' harsh environmental conditions, fled from the valleys and spread out, thus Greenleaf, Fontaine and Aurora sprung up. My province specializes in food production; we export rice, tea and edible plants to almost all of Ransei. Customs dictate that we burn part of our productions to Shaymin and Celebi as they are our guardian deities. I have a relic in the shape of Celebi which allows me to summon him, unfortunately it stopped working a few years back." Motonari muttered to himself and got up to rummage through a few books whilst Green grew rigid and stared into his cup. "I do not understand why that happened, for the past three years, Celebi failed to make an appearance and without him, time will take its toll on the crops and they will wither and die. As for Shaymin, he frequently appeared during harvest time and blessed us with a good harvest...And just like Celebi, the gratitude pokemon stopped showing up altogether." Motonari rubbed his chin, "Hmm...I think Shaymin stopped appearing three years ago." Oak stiffened some more and his legs benumbed. "I wonder if the legendary pokemon are having an interspecies war?" Hearing such an uncanny theory coming from the Warlord's mouth almost made Strategy's team leader snort, mythical pokemon will not fight unless one crossed the boundaries of the other.

Emitting a suffering sigh, the Ransei native turned his attention to one of his retainers and gathered several sheets of parchment off a silver salver. The retainer, a green cloth mask obscuring his face, bowed low to Green, Motonari and Pearl, he then got up and motioned for Gold to get to work. Swearing under his breath, the raven haired man grabbed a wooden pail and a rag; and dragged himself down the corridors. Dipping a brush in an inkwell, Green tried not to gawk when Motonari elegantly weaved words on the piece of paper. Greenleaf had a digital irrigation system, manned both by pokemon and humans and they used stained paper and brushes when they write.

"Do you have a lot of work?" Oak queried on seeing his falsely related half-brother's fingers flying over an abacus. The beads, made out of precious gems, flashed in the late morning sunlight.

"Hmm...I have a lot of work, but I prefer to spend my time reading." Motonari smiled at him and Green nodded in understanding. "Usually, I have to keep an account of my productions and get them ready for shipping. My retainers do most of the work for me but the final reviews must be done by me." The man penned a few figures down. "I also have to keep a percentage aside for Shaymin...This year, I shall increase the sacrifice, I hope it comes back in time for the next harvest." Motonari hunched over his parchment and wrote more numbers. "I have a library...Motoharu," one of the paper sliding doors slid open next to Pearl and another retainer spilled out of the shadows. "Take our guests to the library and make them comfortable." Motonari gestured at Green and Pearl to leave, the former dipped his head gratefully and after elegantly gulping the remains of a lukewarm tea down, the duo followed the retainer through winding passages, decorated with flowering vines, and came to a brick faced library situated some distance away from the main part of the castle. Large glass windows offered a peek of oak shelves groaning under the weight of several thousand tomes. The trio passed under a cracking stone arch, overrun with ivy and Motoharu pushed open a heavy wooden door. The library smelt like any other, of old books, decaying tomes and aged wood. Platina, who had been frowning and trying to reach a particularly thick book on the higher shelves, whipped around and bowed in greeting. Leaving the guests to their devices, Motoharu quietly excused himself, posted a snivy inside the room and assured them that he will come whenever they called. The heavy door shut with a thud and snivy curled up on a window sill and peered at them with distrusting eyes.

For a while, the three of them did not speak to each other, wary of the little grass type staring at them. Pearl took down a book, read the first few pages and promptly fell asleep whilst Green, his movements calculative, amassed a tower of thick books and skimmed their contents one by one. Platina aimlessly wandered about, her froslass trailing her all the way and the two males failed to see the distress etched on her pale face.

Late evening

Greenleaf Castle

Gardens

Motonari receded into his private study after his retainers dropped a mountain load of work on him. The young Warlord wolfed down his dinner and attempted to escape to the libraries with Green. The more Oak got to know him, the more easy he felt. Due to their similar natures, the olive haired man forgot any bad blood between them and despite numerous admonitions, constantly talked about Greenleaf and its archives. He knew a lot about agriculture and farming; the man memorized both ancient and modern techniques and used them to increase crop production. Having pokemon harvest some types of crops will eventually allow them to pass some of their attributes to the said harvest. For example: If lilligant harvests tea leaves, the pokemon will eventually imbue it with a special aroma. Motonari related his tips and as he talked, his modulated accent slipped into a lazy drawl. After dinner, when the Warlord shunned his duties and invited Green and Pearl to stroll the plantations with him, his retainers swarmed over with angry faces and heaped him with work, not to mention Hanbei, with dark shadows underneath his eyes, strode into the mellow lighted dining room and wordlessly pulled the older man away by the ear. Once dinner finished, the Dex criminals were politely escorted to the outer gardens and Green suspected that the nobles still regarded them with caution.

Sitting on a raised stone platform near the pond, the members, with the exception of Gold; silently beheld the dying rays of the sun struggle through the branches of the trees. A slight breeze ruffled their clothes and brought about the perfumed scent of flowers. Sapphire, happy for the private reprieve, gleefully splashed her bare legs in the water whilst next to her White fretted and pleaded her to act more lady like. Platina, her head full of thoughts, absentmindedly petted her empoleon while staring at a patch of blackened grass. Meanwhile, Pearl leaned against his irritated commander and counted the evening stars as they emerged against an electric blue sky, his leader brooded and gazed at the dancing insects as the bugs emerged from their lairs and rendered the air with a soothing buzz.

A bamboo tube filled with water and hit against a stone.

Magikarp swam undeterred in the pond.

The moon on the dark water's surface rippled unceasingly.

Night closed in. In the distance, workers and pokemon hurried around to light lanterns and candles. Several snorts from fire pokemon lit the stone lanterns dotting the compound and one of them erupted with a ball of flame, casting a circle of orange light in the garden.

The buzzing of insects grew louder.

Volbeat flitted about.

A thousand orbs of golden light flashed in the undergrowth.

"Where is Gold?" Unable to bear the silence, Sapphire sat cross-legged next to Platina and asked. "I haven't seen him anywhere."

She did not receive a reply, instead Green inquired as to what the next step of their plan was. Roused out of her deep thinking, Platina responded: "...Since you and Warlord Motonari developed a good relationship in such a short amount of time, you can suggest him to take you Valora. Tell him you want to see the cities in person..." The female abruptly stopped and nodded.

"He will be suspicious...And I feel bad to ask him for a tour when he is so busy. More importantly-"

"You feel bad?" Pearl interjected and straightened up from his crooked position "Whoa! Remember we're here for senior Re-"

"Shut up Pearl!" Green hissed poisonously and the team around him stiffened collectively. "I...Know why I am here. If we don't proceed with caution, it will lead to our detriment. Motonari gave me a history lesson today. Instead of asking him to take us directly to Valora, we could do a detour...It'll seem less suspicious." Oak exhaled and tapped the edge of a fan against his thigh. "Although we will waste a lot of time, it might work in our favor." Platina nodded furiously at his suggestion. "Another thing I wanted to mention...Shaymin blesses Greenleaf's crops and Warlord Motonari says the pokemon stopped coming. This is quite concerning to me because if the other nations notice their missing deities, they might instigate a war...Platinum, what do you think?" To his astonishment, the girl replied that Blue knew all the details and there is an algorithm (derived by the ancients of Nixtorm) to determine how long a legendary pokemon will stay and contribute their element into a new world. Blue, Silver and Platina got together and calculated the estimated time and according to their assessments, the legendary pokemon should fly out by the middle of this year, before any long term degradation takes place in the Poke-world. Strategy's leader froze at her words...How dare the pesky woman steal his thunder and even neglect to inform him of such a critical piece of information. He grinded his teeth angrily and wondered what to do with her when he got back.

 _When he got back..._

"I think we should all go to sleep." White chimed in delicately and helped Sapphire up from her cramped position. "Senior Green, please get some rest, your face was stuck in that weird expression for the past half an hour." The congregation promptly broke up and with charizard's bulk stomping after them, Green and Pearl navigated to the interior of the castle and all the way to their bedrooms. Bidding his pretentious advisor a goodnight, the spiky haired commander slid open the rice paper door and an amused smile seized his lips. His sheets and futon were lain out...no doubt by Gold. The ebony haired man staggered in the chamber during the latter part of the night and due to their rule of silence, he only groaned before collapsing into a heap in one corner of Green's room. For a minute, the Kanto native felt regret blooming in his chest and it vanished on seeing a little piece of parchment sticking out from underneath the futon. The commander extracted the paper, ignored the heavy curses penned on to it and held it to charizard's tail flame.

Way past midnight, Gold, miserable due to the various aches and bruises his body accumulated over the past two days, gently slid open a door and slunk inside. A tuft of brown hair poked out from the futon in front of him and he sneered at the way charizard's tail formed a natural barrier near its master's bed. One of the lamps burned brightly and his emotions boiled furiously. Was he supposed to put that out as well? Couldn't Green do _anything_ by himself anymore? The only things Oak did these days is spend time in the company of the Warlord and read without a care in the world. He garnered stares from the maids and some of the beautiful court ladies who blinked demurely on seeing him pass. Charizard snored and Gold jumped, the dragon curled next to its human and gave off a feeling that it protected some treasure. Licking his forefinger and thumb, the black haired man pinched the candle flame and the room bathed in the muted glow of charizard's tail fire. Carefully hopping over the wrym's leathery tail, he stood over Green's blissfully slumbering form and crouched. The breeder forcefully grasped the former's neck with all the force he could muster. In spite of being half-asleep, the professor accurately curled his sinewy fingers around Gold's throat and the latter squeezed his senior's neck and attempted to twist it.

"What are you doing Gold?"

"Trying to kill you?" The Johto native ambiguously answered and Green's fingers fell away. "I'm sick and tired of running around and tailing after you and Pearl!" He hollered and retracted his hands from his superior's neck. "Seriously, I have bruises all over my body, I haven't slept properly for the last two nights and all you and that blonde brat do is heap more work on me!"

"Gold...Quiet down." Oak commanded desperately.

"Huh?! Quiet down? Oh heck no mister! Let me say this once: I...Am NOT YOUR SLAVE!"

Amidst their shouting, the door flung open. Gold barely registered the appearance of several masked men as a flurry of razor sharp leaves tore into his clothes and hair; he got up and charizard stirred. Sluggishly, Gold tried to defend himself but in an instant, a punch knocked the breath out of him, he fell backwards and clutched his stomach in pain. Politoed attempted to jump in front of its master's writhing form, alas, a snivy, sitting pompously on one of the guard's shoulder pads, lashed out two vines and twisted one of them around the toad pokemon's throat, a thick tendril lifted the frog up and threw him across the sparsely decorated room. It crashed into a silk screen and out through another flimsy paper door. Meanwhile, the vermillion dragon woke up and roared a plume of flame. Green threw aside his blankets and sprung up, another masked person went for him and the Johto native watched, with sadistic satisfaction, as one of Greenleaf's armed guards slapped Oak hard across his face. Despite the battle going on inside the room, the men did not make a single sound. Their fists connected soundlessly, their pokemon attacked relentlessly and they moved fluidly, without wasting a single movement. Someone grabbed Gold by the back of his neck and to his horror; they forced a collar on him and tied a chain to his bruised wrists. Green, due to his closeness with Motonari, was treated with a bit more respect. Charizard's mouth filled up with flames, some of them escaping through ivory jaws; however, a curt command from his owner had it swallowing down the ball of fire.

"Imposters..." an emotionless voice droned in the dark. The guards did not bother lighting any lanterns and Gold tasted the coppery tint of blood on his lips. A veiled man hauled him violently across the carpet and his senior's mouth was gagged with a piece of silk. "No slave will dare take such an informal tone with their master." The escort rasped, tourmaline eyes glinting cruelly in the faint silver light crawling in from the windows. "My lord tasked me to guard this room and I will be happy to inform him that his prized guests are charlatans." Turning to his underling, he further ordered, "check the females' room...I believe, they need to be apprehended as well."

In the dead of the night, Sapphire watched a trail of dust sparkling silver under a moonbeam. The trickle of light came from one of the slats set into the wooden walls of the room. Platina, Sapphire and White shared a room together as the noble insisted that she could not sleep without having her lady in waiting right next to her. The chamber was quite big and like most of the rooms inside the castle, minimally decorated. Paper lanterns, with leafy patterns etched on the outside, provided a decorative light fixture and a luxurious velvet carpet covered the bare wooden flooring of the room. Several intricately woven silk screens showed pictures of pokemon, an elegantly posing serperior basking in a field full of flowers whilst another showed the famous plantations of Greenleaf, stretching out infinitely against a blue, cloudless sky. The Hoenn native sighed and wriggled underneath her covers, she understood that protocols must be followed; however, it infuriated her when she spied masked servants shadowing them from a distance. Apparently the nobles felt gratified if they possessed a personal slave. Azure eyes peered at the door, right now, she saw the shadowy outline of a man crouched against the white, rice paper doors; she held her breath and her sense of danger prickled. Slumbering one meter away from her, gallade woke up and instantaneously fixed its eyes at the door. The events happened in slow motion, Sapphire watched the door slide open.

She witnessed the door slowly slide open.

And the figure of one shadowy person, multiplied to a dozen behind the opaque screen.

Gallade crossed its arms, ready for combat and the other pokemon woke, Toro's ungainly shrieks rend the still air apart. Through the miniscule crack generated by the still opening door, a rodent darted inside. And the alarm bells in her head rung up a cacophony. Platina and White shifted, the brown haired girl gritted her teeth in annoyance and leapt over her bed coverings in a desperate attempt to get close to Platina.

Suddenly her view changed.

Instead of seeing a green carpet, a mass of inky black curls and a pale face buried in between fluffy lavender sheets, Sapphire only saw black. An excruciating pain radiated from the bottom of her sternum and she wanted to empty her half-digested dinner on the carpet. Her dismally lit environment buckled on each other and with a thud, she collapsed to the floor. White and Platina, surrounded by strange, hostile escorts, stood close together. The noble quivered violently, her froslass lay unconscious at her feet and empoleon was nowhere to be seen, Sapphire remained sprawled on the floor, her shredded nightgown barely covering her properly. Opposite them, a group of Greenleaf's soldiers lithely stepped closer, Platina spasmed when she caught a glint of a short sword as the attacker slid it out of his sheath. "Imposters..." he hissed, his voice dry and serpentine…"Lord Motonari was kind enough to allow you inside Greenleaf and this is how you repay his kindness. You should know young lady; we do not take kindly to pretenders." He spat the last word out and for a brief, terrifying moment, the moon light illuminated a ragged scar slashing his face into half. The guard would have been a handsome individual without his disfigurement and in the nebulous surrounds, White observed the mad spark of fury swirling in deep ebony irises. "You shall be beheaded for trespassing." The man rasped and brought a fist down.

Blinding electric yellow light seized hold of the previously dark room. Raichu, tail held high, stood in front of the shivering females and Platina gasped in recognition. The rodent, body cloaked in electricity, smashed into every able guard and sent them toppling into each other. Most of the opposition's pokemon banded together and hissed at it, however the mouse, its sharp edged tail cutting the air and discharging bright sparks, barreled towards them and crashed its skull against several grass type pokemon. The barely conscious ones retreated whilst dragging their humans with them. Articulating another guttural squeak, raichu turned towards Platina and eyed her with a vindictive gaze, raising its bolt-esque tail once more, it smacked it down and maliciously buried it in the ground, mere inches away from her feet.

"Tsk..." Hanbei emerged from the shadows and brought up a fan to obscure the lower part of his face. "I am not getting any sleep, thanks to you Lady Berlitz..." he suppressed a yawn and raichu faithfully curled its tail around his wrist. "Did you hear what the guard said? You shall be beheaded for trespassing." On hearing this, White clutched Platina tighter and her face paled. "This is a disaster; apparently one of the guards over heard the ebony haired slave talking informally to Lord Green...thus the entire assault started. Since I was suspicious of you, I commanded raichu to keep an eye out for you. He saved your life." The strategist dully informed her and Platina acknowledged the creature with a grateful tilt of her head. "Warlord Motonari will wake up soon and pass judgment, he is quite lenient as opposed to other emperors but by no means will he take this farce lightly." Hanbei's previously airy tone changed into a strict one, he straightened up and stood right in front of the two females. "I suggest you beg for your life..." he trailed off and spun around, "we can only hope that the Lord will be willing to listen to your pleas."

His chest hurt and his breathing became ragged. Raichu spared him a worried glance and he assured it with a smile.

"Why are you doing this?" Platina's query caught him off guard and he spent a good minute coughing into his sleeve. Icy cold sweat rolled down his back and half bared chest. "It is normal procedure for visiting lords not to meddle in other region's affairs. I thank you for saving my life; however you will be severely admonished for your actions Lord Hanbei." Her dulcet tones floated to his ears and he wondered why he did this.

"My Lord believes in justice." He flatly replied and held on to the doorway. "I am simply trying to follow his example and do what is right. Move into the reception area. Warlord Motonari will be there soon." He frigidly ordered, "And take your unconscious female friend with you, I hardly have the strength to walk...Much less carry someone." Saying this, he vanished into the cold, dark night and White, tension easing from her rigid body, bolted over to Sapphire and roused her by calling her name. Outside, Hanbei sluggishly pulled himself towards Motonari's room and crumpled underneath a shade of a tree. Raichu bounded into his lap and squeaked in a panicked voice. "I am alright; I just need some more rest. After this is all over, I shall go back to Ignis and ask Kanbei to take over my job." He petted the electric type and whispered. "Mm? Why did I do that? I suppose...I-" Hanbei broke off and stared into the distance. One by one, the palace's lanterns ignited with balls of orange light. "...Let's go Raichu...we have a problem to record." Amongst his monster's squeaks of protest, he pushed himself off the slightly damp grass and set off in the direction of Motonari's chamber.

* * *

A bit past midnight

Ransei

Greenleaf castle

Groggy from sleep, the Warlord hardly registered the group of people in front of him, he saw his guards, some of them disheveled, take up stiff positions around his guests. Platina threw herself at his feet and apologized profusely, alas, her words went through one ear and out by the other. His guards did not help and caused further confusion by constantly interjecting the female noble's pleas by snarls of their own. Motonari understood that Platina lied in order to get her so called retainers inside Ransei, soon, she will be leaving for Nixtorm and the rest of her friends will try to make their way to Valora and rescue the commoner convict currently holed up in the region's impregnable castle. She hoped Motonari would help them and as the girl raised her face, the man saw tear drops sliding down her cheeks. Sitting next to him, Hanbei shifted constantly, the small movements an indication to his agitation, the young noble trained his eyes to the polished wooden floors and clenched his jaw tightly.

"Hmm...Let me just summarize..." The olive haired lord inhaled deeply and adjusted his position, he fought off vestiges of sleep and serperior, slumbering across his lap, unconsciously diffused a sweet scent that further hampered his efforts at staying awake. "I know of this commoner...Although I am obscure on the details, I heard he committed heinous crimes and thus the International Police force deployed him here, for the sake of humanity. He is your friend?" The Dex criminals nodded solemnly. "...This is a terrible breach of trust and honor Lady Berlitz...I could behead the whole lot of you for deceiving me like this." Both Hanbei and Platina stiffened and Motonari spied absolute terror on the rest of the commoners' faces. "However...I am happy to know that I do not have an illegitimate half-brother." Sitting with his head bowed, Green made no motion and the Lord lazily waved his fan. "Frankly, this situation is rather amusing..."

Amusing? Hanbei gritted his teeth and quickly glanced at Motonari who hid a small smile behind his intricately designed silk fan. Perhaps he found it laughable but for the rest of the castle, this was no joke. The palace guards and retainers adjusted their armor, trying to hide their discomfort whilst the commors, sitting in a huddled group and clutching desperately to each other, searched the Warlord's face for any signs of mercy. Platina begged for forgiveness, asking him to save their lives and Hanbei turned away. He could not watch...After all, what if her begging amounted to nothing. What if Motonari decided to publicly execute them all?

His chest squeezed painfully.

Serperior woke up and at once, silence descended on the occupants of the castle. The beast, both majestic and impossibly cruel, regarded the petrified Platinum with a mixture of apathy and disgust before slithering off Motonari's lap and curling up next to its master. Raichu, who normally disregarded other creatures and asserted itself, meekly dove into its owner's lap. The grass snake, selectively bred and reared up to be a partner for Greenleaf's emperors, radiated aura and power on par with pseudo legendary creatures. Only after it went back to sleep did the quiet hubbub restart and Motonari spoke, his voice a decibel quieter than before: "Well...I am rather fond of Green." The man smiled amiable and Oak clenched his sweaty hands in embarrassment, "so I will be lenient. Unfortunately, I detest those who deceive me and thus I will only allow Green and his slave to stay. Lady Berlitz, you will be leaving for Nixtorm...I do not wish to see you step inside Greenleaf's territory ever again...Serperior will kill you." The emperor let the quivering female process his threat before continuing to speak, "as for the others, my retainers made arrangements for their deployment back to Sinnoh..."

"My greatest apologies for taking advantage of your kindness my Lord." Platina did not dare raise her head. "And you have our utmost gratitude for letting us go so lightly."

The Warlord, tired of her profuse expressions of regret, waved his fan dismissively and locked eyes with Green. "You can stay here along with your slave if you wan-"

"I am NOT his slave!" Gold growled, in the next instant, he howled in agony and pressed his palms against numerous gashes on his face and neck. The slits oozed blood and Sapphire tore her gaze away to see Serperior awake and hissing in dissatisfaction. The ebony haired man whimpered in pain and soon, the wounds assumed a nasty, purplish hue.

"Serperior does not take kindly to anyone who raises their voices against me." Greenleaf's Warlord blandly intoned and petted the regal pokemon on its head. "You best watch your tongue if you want to survive here." A maid wove herself between White and Pearl and crouched down to a miserable Gold, she gave him a gentle smile as she worked on his injuries. "Hmm...I will assist you in your quest to rescue your friend." Motonari further added and one of his advisors, and elder man sporting wizened eyes and a grey beard, sputtered heatedly at him. "Please calm down...And listen to me. First of all, Valora is in an alliance with Dragnor...Nobunaga, the fool, thinks he can unite Ransei if he manages to get his hand on Zekrom. My region is in an alliance with Ignis and although Monkey - pardon me Hanbei - can be somewhat overwhelming and irresponsible, his courage and noble ambition is admirable. If I do help Green and his friends create havoc for Ieyasu...we shall topple one of Dragnor's corner stones. Hideyoshi will be able to take advantage of the commotion and proceed to attack." Jade irises slid towards Ignis' strategist and the Warlord saw a spark of agreement in the youth's eyes. "What do you think Hanbei? Decent strategy no?" The male nodded respectfully. "See? Kill two birds with one stone...Birds can be pests and they sometimes kill crops. What do you say Green?" Motonari directed his attention to the spiky haired brunette, "I will assist you to the best of my abilities but only you and that raven haired young man may stay in Greenleaf."

Casting a peek at his team mates, Oak snapped his attention back to the waiting noble and humbly replied: "Yes my lord. Thank you for assistance."

"Excellent..." The green haired man grinned, "All I ask in return is your constant company." Getting up from his cushion, he dragged himself out with serperior hot on his heels. Some of his retainers hurried after him whilst the rest eyed Green with envy. Strategy's team leader quailed under their strident gazes.

He didn't ask for this either.

* * *

 **A/N:** Much thanks to all those who read and reviewed. Virtual chocolate to all! Happy (belated) Single Awareness Day people. Don't be SAD alone, be SAD with chocolate! Never mind what I just wrote, anyway, the gang split. Read and review, tell me what you think.

At Sakurafox1218: Hello to you too :) Blue needs to stay behind to keep the base safe (since Diamond is a neophyte commander) Gold and Saph wants to be there when they bust out their commander, and nothing will stop them from not going. Gold deserves it, just a shame Silver wasn't around to record his moments of humiliation. Spelling mistakes, thanks for pointing them out. I'll keep my eyes peeled for them. At HeyYouYaYou: It's AAAAAAAHH with Caps, remember Black? We are doing this for him :P At Eevee: Boo! I do that to Mindy all the time and it always gets her. Mindy says Hi as well and it's getting real warm here. I usually update around 2 – 3 in the afternoon here. Sometimes earlier and sometimes around 11 at night. Around this time of the day, I waste myself on the internet or, write like I'm possessed (no kidding). Regret that I'm encouraged you to review? No! I like to read up on what people think and on my bad days, it really lifts me up, so reviews are always appreciated. I really feel sorry for ancient people, stuff like that happens quite frequently (here) till this day. It's a shame really. And it's snowing there by you? Wow, here, winter is over, now I'll have to sizzle in this tropical heat :( I don't like muggy heat, gives me asthma and a whole host of problems.

At Guest: Gold will actually rock his baldness like he owns it. He'll probably make it shiny so he can pester Crystal/Silver to see the light shine off his chrome dome. Okay, I laughed way too hard after reading that scenario. Heh, I should make fun of my brother. At I prefer: Thank you for your tip, I'll remember that the next time I write. So no dives to the future… At Jack54311: Green, harsh? Heh, he'll survive. As for more Green milking Gold moments, the tide has turned. Misty and Red, you'll just have to read to find out.


	76. Invisible chains give rise to freedom

**Chapter 76: Invisible chains give rise to the freedom of illusion**

Few weeks later

Ransei

Valora

"...So these are the famous Valora Castle gates." Gold craned his neck in awe at the decorative blast doors. "Wow, it's as thick as you said Warlord Motonari." Standing next to him, Green tried to keep his jaw from dropping to the ground. A set of stone steps led to an immensely fortified gate and beyond the securely shut entrance, thick pipes and metal elements snaked up an escarpment and underneath a castle situated on top of a hill. Valora castle rose majestically, dwarfing its steel lined walls and metallic fortifications. Turrets, painted in camouflaging colors dotted the militarist province and added to the strict atmosphere choking the region. Behind the impenetrable doors, Motonari and his procession of retainers, Green, Gold and some of Greenleaf's respected advisors, stood under umbrellas held up by servants. Whilst they waited for the blast doors to open, Gold chatted amiably with the olive haired Warlord much to everyone's chagrin. Oak wished for the monkey to be quiet as he could not hear himself think. "I wonder how much metal and stone they used in order to make this?" the breeder queried and a young advisor informed him that the bluish metal lining the top part of the gate had been hammered from cast off aggron shells and the steel coated fins of long dead empoleon. The Johto native pulled a disgusted face and resumed staring at the doors, any moment they will open up and then they will finally have access to the fortress. "Seriously..." Gold prattled on, "you'd need a bazooka to dent this thing."

"Bazooka?"

"It is the informal term for a rocket launcher my Lord." Green droned a reply, "I don't suppose Ransei uses manufactured weaponry? Most of the things around here are made from pokemon cast offs, in the other regions, the owners usually bury the molted fragments and scientists use them for research, but we do not make any mass weaponry with it." Motonari nonchalantly shrugged at his words and corrected his position. The servants behind him snapped to attention and shielded their Warlord from the heat of the sun.

Somewhere, a cannon resounded and the blast doors vibrated. Gold muffled a yelp as a mini-earthquake seized the entrance. The heavy doors grinded open and two guards, their steelix shifting away from the entrance, welcomed the procession. Greenleaf's Warlord ignored the warm welcomes and spared a listless glance at Valora's retainers as they hailed him and his guests. Obscuring the lower part of his face, he strode forward, the end of his shimmering green cloak floating an inch above the metal plated ground. The olive haired man came to a stop before a beautiful woman clad in armor. She bowed to him and once again, welcomed him to Valora.

"I find it offensive that Warlord Ieyasu himself did not appear to greet me." Motonari arrogantly stated, the woman flushed at his statement and apologized. "I understand he has his hands full with attending to his commoner prisoner, however, it will be greatly appreciated if he maintained good ties with Greenleaf. Food does not fall out from the sky after all." Brushing past the female retainer, he pompously followed another escort down a winding path. Green marched after him and Gold purposely lagged behind, his eyes lingering on the shapely form of the armor clad lady. She offered him a fleeting smile and gestured to an elevator situated at the end of the pathway. The ebony haired man snapped his head back before entering the metallic box and in a blatant disregard of Platina's teachings, winked at her. Instead of whipping her sword out and charging after him whilst uttering a war cry, the female, inky hair held up in a high ponytail, blushed coquettishly and waved him away. Giddy with pleasure, Gold walked inside the lavish elevator and came face to face with a frowning retainer. Throwing the disgruntled young man a haughty look, he reclined in a couch and waited for the lift to take them up. The doors hissed shut and surprisingly, they were made of transparent glass. As the cube ascended, the breeder saw Valora unfold before him like a map. Clusters of houses and buildings crowded together some distance from the palace and all around, the environment seemed devoid of plant life. Cogs and wheels, metal cranes and platforms made up the province known as Valora. Impressive towers of chrome and glass dotted the skyline, some of them spewed pale smoke. The lift stopped, the doors opened, Gold stepped out and inhaled sharply on seeing Valora castle.

Standing in front of the gilded gate of the palace, a man mountain, along with his bejeweled aggron, boomed a hearty greeting and Motonari shut the fan in the palm of his hand. Gold gawked at Ieyasu and received a jab for his slovenly manners. Next to the muscular man, another female hid in his shadow and bit by bit, the Johto trainer shifted from his original position in an effort to peek at her. Green and Motonari can handle that hulking mass of muscle. An adolescent, clothed in pale pink, glowered at him before disappearing altogether. The golden eyed man blinked in confusion and looked around before receiving another blow to his gut. Motoharu hissed at him to behave and he fixed his attention back to the long, royal spat the two Warlord's conducted. Motonari dwarfed in comparison to Ieyasu and the latter, like all of his retainers, wore pleats of armor that enhanced his muscular figure. Aggron lazily shuffled away from the quibbling duo and Gold wanted to follow him. At long last, Valora's Warlord stepped to the side and after articulating a booming, polite laugh, he clapped Motonari on his back and ushered him in. The green haired man almost tripped over due to the force of the blow, but nonetheless, he gracefully straightened up and strode into the interior of the metallic castle. Gold stopped slouching and saw Green's jade irises briefly flicker around. Their mission starts now.

* * *

Some weeks back, mid-morning

Greenleaf

Palace interior

Gold, battered, bruised and poisoned; lay in a metal bunk bed and opened his eyes to see Sapphire perched at the end of his mattress. The girl swung her legs back and forth in the air and her cheeks puffed up with indignation. On seeing her senior stir, her azure eyes widened, she jumped down from the bed and thrust her face close to his. The breeder grimaced on seeing her fangs poke out from her top lip and after pinching his cheek, she settled back on a chair. Saph, dressed in a formal kimono, neglected to comb her hair and instead, arranged an ornate hair piece atop her messy brown locks. He sensed her agitation, today, all of the Dex Criminals, save for himself and Green, would be escorted back to Sinnoh. Platina's chaperons are due to arrive in the evening and by night, they will be scattered. The ache of loneliness clenched Gold's heart, since the vanishings of Black and N, Red and Lack-2, he felt hollow and useless. Thinking of his traitorous student either made his blood boil or it sent him tethering to the edge of despair. Right now, he fuelled his emotions and directed them to the mission at hand, namely, to retrieve his former commander from the bowels of a military fortress. Motonari, who proved to be far more useful than any other person Gold came across, conducted strategy meetings in the infirmary much to the nurse's annoyance. Every evening, the Warlord and Green showed up, the servants set up a projector and Motonari and his strategist laid out plans for infiltrating Valora Castle. The breeder suspected that the olive haired Lord secretly enjoyed doing this, over the course of several days, Gold, despite his injuries, hammered the blueprints of Valora Castle into his head. Apparently, the guards of Valora detained Red in a distinctive jail cell reserved only for the elite; and his pokemon were confiscated from him and stored in a special container in a safe room. A considerable distance separated the safe room and jail cell and Green agreed that they must first secure the ex-champion's prized pokemon before attempting to break him out.

An irritated huff brought him out of his musings and he smiled at Sapphire who angrily brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face. "What's up?" he asked in an effort to lighten her mood.

"...This is unfair!" Sapphire heatedly declared and sprung up from her chair. "I want to see senior Red too! How dare that olive haired creep throw us out like this...After all Platina did in order to get us in." Calmly, Gold pointed out that Motonari did them a huge favor by offering to take them to Valora and even going as far as to supplying them with insider information, thus it is best not to encroach on his grace. "I know! I just! Ugh, I feel so frustrated. Why can't I help you guys? I don't want to go back to Sinnoh and leave you two alone." Uttering a terse sigh, she collapsed on her chair and smoothed out her kimono. "I want to stay here and help." The Hoenn native dismally muttered and hung her head in defeat.

Her actions brought a small chuckle to his lips and she frowned at him. "And how are you going to stay here?" The gold eyed trainer questioned, "Do you want me to hide you in my room?" he joked, "oh hey! That's a great idea...no it's not, I'm just joking. Joking Saph!" Gold furiously backpedaled when he spied the dark look on her face. Sapphire brought her fist down, angled her face the other way and crossed her arms over her chest. Meanwhile, the older male wiped droplets of cold sweat off his forehead and settled back on his bed. "Don't worry, in a few days I'll be back to full health and soon, we will come home with senior Red in a tow. Gimme a smile will you? Pretty gals like you shouldn't scowl so much." For a moment, her scowl deepened before she smoothed her expression and grinned sadly. "Much better, now get outta here, if the nurse comes back and sees you, she's gonna give me an injection as a punishment." Silently, his co-worker got up and neatly placed the chair near the foot of his bed. At times like these, Saph lost all her wild edge and she meekly straightened the crumpled sheets on Gold's bed. The room, heavy with the stench of disinfectant mingling with the sharp tint of medicines, unnerved her. It reminded her of the hospital she went to when her mother fell sick and more recently, when she visited a paralyzed Norman along with Ruby. "Tell the rest back at base not to worry; we'll be home before you know it!" Her senior's words grew fainter as he hollered after her retreating form. "And give Crys a hug for meeee!" Gold screeched as she shut the sliding door softly behind her.

"Please come back safe." The female trainer paused before the closed doors and mumbled. She waited a bit more and after seeing the nurse approach, quietly slipped away.

Elsewhere, Platina stared into a body length mirror as a few servants, along with White, adjusted a heavily decorated kimono around her body. Every time she caught a glimpse of herself, the pale noble noticed her lips tremble. Thus, she kept her eyes downcast and let the maids fuss over her. They combed her hair, argued amongst themselves on what do with it and eventually settled for arranging it into a bun. An hour later, the maids left and Platina sat motionlessly on the carpeted floor. She raised her face to the mirror and blinked, this couldn't be her. A sapphire encrusted hair piece nestled in her hair whilst a pale blue kimono, patterned with falling snowflakes, wrapped elegantly around her body. The metallic blue sash around her waist bore the seal of Nixtorm's royal family, the very same one stamped on the collar of Mitsuhide's sleeveless jackets. The servants done her make-up, her cheeks gained a natural flush and her eyes were lined to make them look bigger. The noble hardly recognized herself anymore and she stood up and gravitated towards the door in an effort to escape from the image reflected on the looking glass. Her reflection terrified her and it brought on a wave of nausea. Taking a deep breath, Berlitz slid open the paper screen door and folded her arms back into her bell shaped sleeves. When she turned around, she came face to face with a grinning Hanbei. The adolescent, his scarf loosely wrapped around his neck, gestured at the gardens. Having nothing better to do, she followed him down a cobblestoned path and they ended up at the little wooden bridge spanning over the magikarp pond.

The mid-afternoon sun shone mercilessly and Platina tried not to blush when the advisor openly gazed at her. Perverse it may seem, however this type of behavior was typical of male nobles...Gold actually had something in common with them after all, the noble inwardly snorted and the contemplation brought a small smile to her face. Hanbei moved closer to her and quite suddenly, he was so close, she felt warmth emanate from him. Shrinking away from him, she covered the lower part of her face her kimono sleeve and added: "My Lord, it will be in your best interest to return back to the Castle...I am sure Warlord Motonari is looking for y-"

"Stay with me." Hanbei cut in her words and demanded. "Come with me to Ignis. I promise I will be good to you. Do not leave for Nixtorm Platina...Please come with me." He reached out his hand and gently pushed her sleeve aside. Slowly, he traced his fingers along her cheek and closed his other arm around her in an embrace. "I have never felt so strongly for someone before...I suffer from an incurable disease and I know I will not live for long...But I promise, I will be good to you. It is my dream to see my Warlord unite all of Ransei underneath a single banner." He spoke tenderly, devoid of the frigid edge most nobles used when communicating with each other. Platina heard his heart hammer crazily in his chest and the more he talked, the faster it beat. "When Lord Hideyoshi becomes the supreme overlord, I shall retire and spend the rest of my days alone with you..." He grasped her tighter. "You have your duties...But if you come with me, I will keep you safe. Although you won't be a region's reigning empress...The very least, I want to make you happy. You do not seem very elated to be leaving for Nixtorm and I want to be the source of your happiness. So please, forget about re-instating your ties with Mitsuhide and flee to Ignis with me." The young strategist pulled the jeweled comb set into her hair and watched the bun unravel, Platina's luxurious, ink-black hair hung till her waist and he reverently tangled his fingers in her locks.

 _Happiness..._

Right now, Platina would trade anything for happiness.

She remained deadly quiet in his desperate embrace and amidst the thumping of his heart, she heard him wheeze. Some minutes later, his grip slackened and she delicately stepped out of his arms. "...I cannot go with you." An imperceptible flinch marred his face and he moved a few paces backwards. "Please understand that I have a duty to uphold, and Lord Mitsuhide will not appreciate it if I run away to another province. Your offer is very tempting Lord Hanbei..." she whispered and watched as he turned his face away from her. "And you out of all people should now that duty and honor comes before anything else. Once again, you have my deepest gratitude for helping me and my friends during our stay in Greenleaf. I will never forget your kindness."

Hanbei focused his gaze on the wrinkling surface of the water. The magikarp splashed without a care in the world and the cries grated on his ears, the sweet aroma infused in the gardens tickled the back of his throat and he breathed shallowly in order to dissipate his cough. Sunbeams danced on the water, sending ripples of multicolored light scattering across its shimmering surface. He was alone with Platina and by all means, he wanted to feel happy, however, every time he tried to grasp the feeling, it slipped by through his fingers. Like fine grains of sand. He observed his life draining away from him. Instead of spending his time in depression, he opted for doing his best for his Warlord and trying to find someone he could spend his idle time with. Most female companions interested themselves in gossip and the ones who remotely sparked his interest, did not want to give their time to a man who'd only live for a few years longer. Platinum Berlitz, a strange half noble who dropped into his life carrying a baggage full of lies, did not seem to mind his short lifespan...Unfortunately, she was on her way to get married to an elite noble in Nixtorm and the only thing he could do was watch and feel miserable about himself. "Mitsuhide is a traitor..." He finally divulged, "On the surface, the alliance between Nixtorm and Dragnor seems unbreakable, but their relationship is shaky at best. Nixtorm's Warlord is not satisfied with the way Lord Nobunaga is attempting to conquer Ransei and in the near future, Mitsuhide shall betray him. Nixtorm and the entirety of Ransei will be plunged into a war and Ignis will initiate the massacre. Knowing this...You still want to leave?" Out of the corner of his eye, he beheld her standing stiffly next to him. She looked like a doll; a porcelain, precious doll.

"No. It is not my choice to go. If I had a choice...I would have returned back to Sinnoh, in the comfort of my mansion and in the warmth and care of my family and friends." Platina let a giggle escape when Hanbei asked if he was an option. "...Maybe...If Diamond and Pearl approved of you." On the water, she spied the reflection scrunch up his face in confusion and disbelief. "I signed a contract and I have to uphold it at all costs. And if Nixtorm and Ransei erupt into a war...There is nothing I can do but accept it."

There is nothing we can do but go along the flow of fate.

In the distance, a bell tolled, signaling lunch time. A flock of birds, startled by the noise, exploded from the gardens and blotted the sky with their wings. After they left, the junior warlord kept on staring at the sky. Arms folded behind his head, he lazily observed huge white puffs drifting across the vast blue canopy. Sadness did not have a time and place, grey clouds and pouring rain did not signify misery and pain. A perfectly wonderful day and he drowned in the intensity of his own emotions. Platina excused herself, she picked up the sapphire encrusted comb he threw aside and with dainty steps, made her way back to the palace, no doubt to fix her hair. He told himself that a snowflake like her will not be able to survive in the harsh conditions of Ignis, a place of fire and heat. She would melt. The strange, shifting customs of Ignis might startle her, the people of Ignis were ignoble and walked around with a head and heart full of passion, in contrast, she would suit Nixtorm better. The mountainous region of frost and cold; the inhabitants' possessed natural grace and an unrelenting resolve.

Raichu flashed into existence next to him. The rodent hopped off its tail, tugged on his clothes and squeaked. "Let us leave for Ignis Raichu..." Hanbei droned emotionlessly and looked around the garden hedge for a spot he could easily jump over. "I shall send Warlord Motonari an apology letter for my untimely disappearance...Help me jump over the gates." And saying that, the junior warlord sprung over the tall gates and vanished into the villages lining the outskirts of Greenleaf castle.

* * *

Few weeks later, afternoon

Ransei

Valora

Following their entry to Valora Castle, Gold gawped at the juxtaposition of traditional and futuristic styles of the palace vestibule. Pillars of metal, inlaid with beams of polished wood, held up a ceiling decorated with huge chandeliers. Paper lanterns and metal brackets stood side by side. And he spied silken tapestries standing next to sculptures of metal. The palace baffled him and he briefly turned his attention at Ieyasu. The man sported a war helmet with a sword spanning upwards in the middle, the golden eyed trainer wondered how much the head gear weighed? Surely Valora's Warlord had difficulty wearing it? Motonari wore a simple, charcoal felt hat with a crest etched in the middle. The two warlords sat on a raised platform and conducted pleasantries whilst sharing drinks. Gold and Green sat right at the end, when the procession got up, the duo would slip and fumble their way to the third floor of the castle. From there, they had to locate the storage room and retrieve Red's pokemon. The ex-champion rested in a difficult to reach area since the dungeons were hidden in a secret corridor running adjacent to the top floor of the castle and the the cells could only be reached via a series of unfrequented corridors arising from the basement of the castle...Or by somehow gaining access to the hidden door which led directly to the prison. On the dais, Motonari said something and pointed to them and Gold lowered his head out of respect. One of Valora's armor wearing escorts walked forward and the ebony haired man heard the distinct clash of metal. The guard crouched down respectfully next to him and offered both him and Green a tour of the palace.

Gold wanted to fly over and plant a kiss on Motonari's cheek.

Seriously, he had yet to meet a man as resourceful as Greenleaf's Warlord.

The duo unfolded themselves from their cushions on the floor and bowed to the Lords sitting in the heart of the foyer. Both Ieyasu and Motonari dismissed them with a wave and the two criminals fell in step behind their guide. The Valora native summoned a partner and the other male assumed his place behind Gold. One marching in front and one at the back, the breeder eyed them, the entire region operated with mechanical precision and accuracy and deep within the domicile, his ears picked up the whine of machinery. Servants hurried about and they plastered their heads to the floor upon seeing them. When they walked down a few corridors and the babble of hushed human voices faded away altogether, Green raised his hand and brought it down viciously at the back of an escort's neck. The guard walking in front of them crumpled soundlessly to the ground whilst the one behind them opened his mouth in wordless shock. Before he could run away and alert the rest of the castle guards, Green brought out a sword hidden in the folds of his kimono and smashed the pommel of it into the individual's solar plexus. Like the previous one, he too fainted noiselessly and lay as a heap of metal in the middle of the wooden tiled passage.

"Strip them, strip yourself and wear their clothes." Green commanded and got to work without sparing Gold a glance. "We have to disguise ourselves. Warlord Motonari is leaving when night falls and if we are unlucky, Ieyasu might find out that we are still inside here. They will search for two outsiders wearing emerald robes. It is best to knock out the people around us and wear their uniforms.

Reluctantly, the Johto native squatted next to the unconscious guardsman and removed his helmet. "...So we have to make our way like this to the top huh? Apparently, all the workers inside the castle are assigned to ranks based on superiority and service...And they have different threads to distinguish them. How will we know who is who?" The golden eyed man untied the metallic blue sash wrapped around his victim's waist and pulled off his clothes. "More importantly...Are we gonna change right here? In the corridor? I need some privacy dude; I can't just change in front of a guy!"

"Relax Gold; you are nothing to look at." Green smirked and slipped inside the still warm uniform. The subordinate glowered at him and gaped akin to a feebas.

"I'm everything to look at!" The ebony haired male asserted. "Ask Crys..." he mumbled underneath his breath and watched as Oak effortlessly dressed himself. The commander picked up the discarded helmet and strapped it on his head. "Can't believe a straight-laced guy like you outta all people is the first one who's gonna see me naked." Gold moaned and Strategy's leader regretted his jibe. "I have a question." The Johto trainer finished up his disguise and tried not to look at his superior.

"What is it? And if you are going to ask something stupid, save it, I'm in no mood to talk."

Making sure his black bangs poked out from underneath the simple headgear, Gold saluted and stood to attention. "I assure you it is very important." Hearing this, Green's hard countenance softened and he nodded at the younger male to continue. "Does Crystal have a crush on you or something? 'Cause all she talks about is you and Silver! It's always commander Green this and Green that! You two have some…thing...I'm sorry. I'M SORRY!" Gold screeched and without further ado, dived for Green's boot clad legs and hung on them for dear life. "Arceus please spare me!" He pleaded. "I'm never gonna do anything bad for the rest of my life."

"...The next time such drivel comes out of your mouth...I'll end you and Red won't be able to stop me." Gold clung tighter to Green's legs and chanted several prayers under his breath. The older male sported a visage so hostile; the breeder swore it might kill anything in the professor's line of sight. Death glare...It might make a critical pokemon move. An attack guaranteeing an instant death to the opposition. "And one other warning Gold..." Green hissed lowly under his breath. "When we find Red, we will most likely pose as his guards. Do not. And I repeat: do not, under any circumstances, look at him or give any indication that we came to rescue him. Red is placed under heavy surveillance; he has cameras installed inside his jail cell. He should not know it's us, if he gets a hint of our identities, then all of this is for naught. Do. You. Understand?" The man nodded vigorously. "Good...Now peel yourself off the floor and follow me. And no talking whatsoever! You have your pokemon in apricorn balls right? Keep them hidden in the pockets, if anyone sees them, it will alert them to imposters."

They must be blessed with Victini's luck, Gold pondered. The duo discarded their old clothes in one of the several inconspicuous metal cabinets lining some corridors and marched off purposefully to the top floors of the castle. Posing as high ranking guards, they sailed their way to the third floor with minimal difficulty. No one questioned them and very few servants had the authority to boss them around. The only problem happened to be the weight of their garb. Within a few minutes of pompous marching, Gold began to sweat behind the heavy breastplate he wore. He kept his expression neutral, even when beautiful females coyly lowered their eyes on seeing them pass. And with each step, the plates of armor clinked together and the felt like a walking piece of machinery. Similarly to Greenleaf castle, pokemon scurried about freely inside the palace. Young aron, bodies embedded with semi-precious stones, hurried after their masters whilst balancing trays of metal atop their flat heads. In a restricted part of the castle, he spied several lairon gnawing through a giant cog wheel. Steelix helped construction workers reach high areas whilst a two jawed mawile (...Did those exist?) crunched concrete and other wastes beneath finger sized teeth. A foreman stood next to a metagross and magnezone and conducted the entire process. Electricity flowed from the magnet area pokemon whilst the psychic elevated platforms and telepathically assembled together pipes and boards to build a scaffolding where needed. Green hiked up to the band of builders and they directed him to an alternative path to the private area of the third floor. Stiffly thanking them, he strode up to the elevators at the end of the area and rode it upwards.

The duo spilled in a passageway heavy with the scent of sandalwood incense. Gold breathed it in; the scent reminded him of home...back when his mother was still alive. Marching down another set of unfamiliar corridors, he came face to face with a female servant so gorgeous; it was a sin for her to be a servant. The amber eyed trainer could not resist staring at her and whilst doing so, ran into an alcove and toppled over a bonsai tree. Reflexes kicking in, he quickly rescued the potted tree before it crashed to the ground, placed it back on the plinth it rested on and stood rigid when Green whirled around to face him. The girl giggled and approached them.

"My lords..." she bowed and Gold sighed in delight, "you are not allowed in here." she timidly stated and Green flatly reported that they had business with the commoner convict's pokemon. Lord Ieyasu's orders. "Oh! Please forgive me," she beseeched and the amber eyed trainer almost nodded before Green's death glare stopped him in his tracks. "It is also Warlord Ieyasu's orders that no guards come up here. If you absolutely need something, please assign one of the servants to get it for you. I have to run an errand for my lady or else I would have assisted you. Please forgive me." She dipped her head once more before fluidly moving away with a bisharp at her heels. Oak growled under his breath and back tracked. Posting Gold near the elevators, he lured two male servants to come with him and together, the impersonators knocked the unsuspecting servants out and like before, stole their garb. This time, Green frowned at his hair which stood up in stiff, fashionable spikes. What a waste of gel if he had to wash it all off now. Grabbing the comatose slave's pail of dirty water, he grimaced at the brownish slop and located a balcony. To Gold's utter astonishment, the man dumped the water on his head and irritably shook his hair free of stray droplets. Till date, the breeder had yet to see Green without his hair immaculately set into trademark spikes and when he reappeared, he let loose a guffaw on seeing his superior. Grabbing a cleaning towel, Oak turned it over to the less grubby side and wiped himself with it.

"Pfft...Ahahahahaha! Mew, I can't believe you just did that!" The breeder spent precious moments laughing at his acting commander whilst the latter smoldered and dried his hair. "...Hahahaha, you look absolutely ridiculous in your cleaning uniform. Come on, a frilly apron? Wait till senior Blue sees this...Ahahaha!" Banging on the floor, Gold curled up and clutched his stomach. Mortified, Green picked up his broom, grimy cloth, metal bucket and leaned on the opposite end of the spacious corridor. Gold's snorts reverberated around the hall and he waited for the man to stop wheezing and regain his breath. Half an hour later, a still snickering man slouched next to Green and the trainer smoothed his apron out and frowned. Strategy's commander looked even better with his hair in a soppy mess. Most of the gelled spikes sagged over his forehead and he parted them to frame his eyes. Some stubborn ones still stuck up at the back and refused to lie down. "Tsk...You make a pretty handsome servant." the amber eyed trainer pouted and swept his own hair back. Wordlessly, Green pushed himself off the wall and slinked back to the third, private floor. This time, the sparse servants posted on the eerily quiet corridor merely acknowledged them with a tiny nod before resuming their task of polishing and cleaning the unfrequented passageway. The criminals confidently strode in the storage room and once the doors slid apart, the walked into the artificially chilled chamber and a transparent casket ensnared their attention instantaneously. In it laid six pokeballs and Gold, devoid of word or warning, scampered up a step ladder and retrieved it.

The box did not open up easily, in a desperate attempt they smashed it open and examined the pokeballs. Each of Red's pokemon was lulled into a comatose sleep. The premier balls barely gave the two men a glimpse of the slumbering pokemon, the dome of the ball, an opaque white, served to hinder their vision and they only saw the inert, breathing forms of the monsters. Pocketing them, they retraced their steps, knocked out two guards manning the entrance to the top most floor and took their places. A siren rang in the castle and the two stiffened. All the guards rushed to them and moved past them to the elevator. "It is an emergency sir!" One of the warriors kindly informed them. "Warlord Motonari is leaving and we have to escort him outside of the castle. All the lower ranking members are summoned and we will return shortly. Please continue doing your duty." Saying this, he sped away and Oak blinked...Nobles kicked up such a fuss...Just because Motonari left, the whole security system is being amassed to send him off." Other higher ranking guards patrolled the area and he spied a man wearing an electric blue sash prowling around the rice paper doors. Those must be hiding the secret entrance, the Kanto native though and grinned savagely, the moment he did so, the warden briskly marched towards them.

Green felt the blood drain from his face.

"Greetings my good lord." Gold bowed, his body performing a perfect ninety degree angle. "I must say your wife is looking splendid today." Green's eye twitched, nonetheless, he too, threw himself in a perfect bow.

"Neophyte..." The senior officer bumped Gold's helmet lightly. "Firstly, you will not score any points by flattering my wife...She is beautiful, I am glad you noticed. Secondly, the only way you will get a promotion, is by doing your duty honorably understand?" The Johto native replied in affirmative. "Good, now raise your head up so I can memorize your face. Depending on your work, you will either be heavily rewarded...Or punished." Green paled again but next to him, his co-worker straightened up unhesitatingly and pushed his face eagerly into the commander's personal space. Instead of smacking Gold's head off his shoulders, the man laughed heartily and affectionately clapped the golden eyed trainer on his shoulder. "Promising young man...I hope you rise to glory." The warden briefly checked his watch and announced. "Time for a guard change...You two," he pointed at his new favorite pupil and Green, "get inside the secret corridor and guard the convict till midnight. We are short of man power at the moment so I have no choice but to use you. Be warned, the convict is mentally unstable due to his manas dunking experience. He will spout a lot of nonsense so do not pay him any heed." The duo bowed and made their way to the end of the passage. Gold's heart beat rapidly. At long last...

He could see Red again.

Did the ex-champion change? He pondered, maybe he lost weight...According to the warden, Red was mentally unstable...Heh, might be a ploy to keep the guards at bay. Gold silently sneered to himself. His mentor could be cunning sometimes. The paper doors slid open.

"One mareep...Two mareep...Three mareep...Four mareep..." The Kanto and Johto natives stopped dead in their tracks. Opposite them, two weary guards made their way down the steel lined passage and the doors clicked shut. "Ten mareep, thirteen mareep...Ah no...My bad. Ten mareep, eleven mareep...Twelve mareep...Thirteen mareep." A disembodied voice issued forth from one of the cells. It sounded akin to the whisper of the dead. A tone so hoarse and cracked, the owner surely had no water to drink for the last several days. Gold blindly stepped forward and Green glared at him furiously. Cowering at the stringent stare, the amber eyed trainer straightened his shoulders and marched forward, his head hanging low. "Twenty mareep...Twenty one...Twenty two mareep." The voice, so devoid of life and passion could not belong to his mentor. It couldn't! Something hot pricked his eyes and he positioned himself directly in front of the thick bars separating him and the crimson eyed man. His back faced the cell and he stared at a featureless wall. "I can't fall asleep..." Red complained from deep within the gloomy prison. "And I've been counting mareep since the evening."

Gold rubbed his eyes and clenched his jaw.

In the depths of his cell, Red listlessly observed two guards take up their posts. These two people were stiff...And he watched their taut shoulders and inflexible postures. Must be fresh guards...the former commander concluded and got off his bunk bed. In the process, he pulled a muscle and bit down a pained growl. Limping to bars, he tapped the shorter one on the shoulder and simpered on seeing the individual jump. "One mareep...Two mareep...Three- let's count together and help me sleep officer...Be nice." He snidely voiced, "I can't see the sky you know...In these four walls, night and day means nothing to me and this is messing up my circa...sirca? My circadian cycle? Damn...where's Green when I need him?" Gold stiffened on hearing his mentor mention them and on the opposite side, said male petrified into a statue. "Whatever...when's my next interrogation?" Red rasped, "do me a favor and inject me with something please...I really need to sleep!" In the span of five minutes, the ex-champion articulated more nonsense than Gold ever heard in his life. The raven haired man babbled about mareep and miltank, he spoke briefly about wars and then went on a rant about circadian rhythms. Red clamped a hand down on his shoulder and Gold felt how fragile his former mentor's fingers became.

He eased the tension from his body.

And turned around.

"Go...Gold?" Red gasped and his face split into a full smile. "Ho-oh...is that really you?" Pale hands snapped through the spaces of the bars and touched on his face. "I'm not dreaming or hallucinating am I?" The breeder, too choked up with emotion, simply nodded and dolorously gazed at his mentor. Red's hair grew into long matted strands and stuck together on his head, his cheeks sunk and an ugly stubble outlined his once shapely jaw. The man's long, cracked fingernails scratched at Gold's cheeks but he didn't care. And he reeked.

Execution's previous commander and the pride of the Kanto Indigo League, now resembled a terminally ill patient. His ribs poked out beneath a pale white robe, a sash barely held the filthy article of clothing to his emaciated body.

"Hey commander..." Gold sniffed, a small, genuine smile wound up on his lips and heard Green swallow audibly. "Hope you don't have anyone monitoring you...Because we came here to take you back home."

* * *

 **A/N:** And the duo finally meet Red, who is understandably not okay. As for Gold, what would Green do without him? Heh. Much thanks to Sagerlaf for following and favoriting, hope this fic keeps you entertained. Virtual chocolate milkshake to all and don't forget to leave a review and tell me what you think.

At Eevee: I didn't know SAD existed either, till Mindy wished me on Valentine's morning. Little sisters these days. As you can see, having Gold around is a bonus, he can flirt his way out of danger. I…am actually nothing like Yellow, but Thank you very much for your kind compliments :D (Now if Mindy would do the same…) But you gotta feel sorry for Gold, poor guy has to do back breaking work whilst his friends are treated like royalty. Check the next chapter out to see how the gang back at the base are doing, and your little scenario nailed the characters *thumbs up* I liked it. Yes, Hanbei suffers from tuberculosis and he is based on a real life strategist who died young. At HeyYouYaYou: Sadly, the bromance between Motonari and Green ended, but here is some more with Green and Gold :D At Silver: You know, sometimes I impress myself, and I only realize it after I read the reviews. But honestly, the Pokemon Conquest plots were interesting. At Guest: Poor Motonari, you bet he won't be half as willing if he actually found out who Green and the others really are. Misty…heh, better if you find out. And you are amazing as well :)

At Jack54311: Why not budding romance? Lol. About Nobunaga, you got everything right except the country, Nobunaga united Japan and he was hailed as a hero before he turned into a dictator. Nobunaga is the big baddie of Pokemon Conquest. At AceTrainerLeaf: You know sometimes when a person favors you and the close friends of said person may grow jealous? I was trying to invoke the same thing. Basically, Motonari is okay with Green, but the advisors are not. They are suspicious of the new comer who pretended to be a noble. And who knows what this 'Green' may be up to?


	77. Pandemonium

**Chapter 77: Pandemonium**

A tumultuous clanging resounded in the fortified castle and pierced through the quiet night. On the top floor of Valora's pagoda, Misty, startled out of her restless sleep, grunted and threw the heavy covers off. She grabbed a kimono, hastily put it on, slid open the paper doors facing the balcony and whistled. A moment later, Suicune bounded out of the moonlight night and alighted next to her, its twin tails rippling unceasingly. The rooms adjacent to hers erupted in a flurry of activity and she knew somehow...Red escaped. Tying the silk sash firmly around her waist, she briefly contemplated on letting things slide and in a split moment, she remembered Warlord Kotaru's words:

"Your report..." he barked, "is not satisfactory." The man pushed his ashen face right next to hers and she spied the tribal tattoos on his face. Under the bright arc lamps, the markings glistened akin to fresh blood. "This will greatly affect you social position once you return to the International Police so I suggest you divulge everything the convict told you. I did not bring you here simply for his entertainment. Now tell me...Where is the location of their base?" Misty told him over and over again that Red kept tight lipped about the location of his co-workers and even if the interrogators threatened him with death, he would smile slyly and refuse to reveal the base. Angrily, Kotaru straightened up and ordered one of his retainers to detain Misty on the top floor of Valora Castle. One week later, they will use her and employ a new method in order to draw more information out of him. This morning, she listlessly stood on the wooden balcony connected to her chamber and watched a procession of visiting nobles enter the castle. Overhearing the whispered conversation between two maids who came to clean her room, she gleaned that a Warlord, all the way from the south, unexpectedly dropped by to visit. From there, her senses tingled. Red declared his friends would rescue him with unshakable conviction and against all odds, the situation actually happened. Misty wondered if he had Victini's luck on his side...No, not Victini's luck, more like Giratina's odds. The renegade legendary managed to slip away from custom made bonds with the help of his off shoot and from there; it claimed a place in the underworld.

A repose for the damned.

She could no longer overlook this. Throwing the doors open, she weaved herself between throngs of soldiers as they scurried around like durant. Due to their utmost reverence for all legendary creatures, the armor clad soldiers meekly made a path for her as she dashed with Suicune following behind her. The head warden managed to utter a warning before his words were swallowed up the siren and other noises. Skidding to a halt, Misty tried to recall what Red told her. A secret passage wound all the way from the basement of the castle right up to the secluded dungeons. A corridor with a bonsai...Something about screens and staraptor in flight? After being holed up in Valora Castle, she asked her personal attendant (who doubly functioned as a spy and a bodyguard) to procure a map of the castle. In her free time, the water gym leader studied and memorized the map. The guardswoman pointed to the chart and showed her series of unfrequented passages and only the servants were allowed to use them since the corridors had to be cleaned periodically, either than that, no guards, advisors or even the retainers could set foot in there. However, the empress consort is permitted to tread those hallways. Signaling to Suicune, the female rushed off, breaking through the portioned space much to the shock of everyone who saw her. Ieyasu was nowhere to be seen and after erecting a barrier over the unsightly wormhole she created, Misty ran forward again.

Late night

Valora

Palace cells

Two males squatted facing each other and traded stories. A third one leaned on the opposite end of the corridor and smiled at them. Even though Green repeatedly warned Gold not to initiate contact with Red, the latter went ahead and shunned his commands yet again. Red, crouched behind bars, listened attentively as Gold animatedly related their experiences since coming to Ransei. Since the younger male started talking, he did not stop once and at one point, subtly wiped the silent tears sluggishly cascading down his cheek. If the crimson eyed man noticed, he failed to say anything and simply smiled and reached out a skeletal hand to ruffle through Gold's hair. No cameras were placed in Red's cell because he repeatedly kept on finding and breaking the devices. Once, the officials placed a camera opposite his cell, the prisoner managed to swipe a short knife from an unsuspecting guard and miraculously flicked the weapon right in the lens, the Kanto native surprised himself; graciously, the authorities opted for not wasting any expensive cameras and other devices on him and agreed to monitor him personally. Every four hours, the guards were rotated in a fixed schedule and each one of them was more or less harassed by the man who steadily grew weaker and deranged as the days slipped by. The ex-champion listened and nodded in all the right places and Green's viricent eyes fixated on his best friend, the black haired male needed medical attention. A few giggles and laughter pulled him out of his ponderation and he jolted to see scarlet irises boring into him.

"What?"

"You dumped dirty water on your head just so you could rescue me?" Red quizzed and shifted on the warm, metallic floor.

Oak deliberately took a moment to answer; he could not see his companion's expression...Perhaps the man felt amused, the things that generally mortified Green, tickled the hell out of Red. "Yeah. So? My hair is a dead giveaway, no one in this castle has gelled, stiff spikes."

Gold kept up his inane snickering.

"...Thanks so much Green." The Johto native's snicker sputtered and died, Green pushed himself off the wall and stood up straight, he savored the heartfelt gratitude in his friend's voice. "I know you like to keep yourself neat and clean...So hearing you did that for me was..." Red scratched the back of his head and gave his friend a toothy grin. "I am really touched. Whoa...I think I'm crying!" And sure enough, the ebony haired man's expression twisted and a volley of tears streamed down his face. His nose started running and Gold frantically cut a piece of his sash and offered the cloth to his senior who accepted it. "Ahahaha...I'm so happy! I'm so happy I could die!" Red laughed and retreated back into the gloomy depths of his cage. He sat with his legs outstretched, head tilted back on the bunk bed at a painful ninety degree angle and the tears streamed away from the corners of his eyes, soaked his temples and vanished into his stringy hair. Green and Gold merely watched, the latter frantically snapping his head between the two commanders whilst the former simply closed his eyes. He did not know how to deal with a sentimental Red. To him, the ideal image of Red is one who is laughing dumbly and possibly burbling about battles and war tactics.

Not the broken down man currently weeping in the depths of a dungeon.

"Right. So does anyone of you have a plan of how you're gonna bust me out? I'm fine Gold, thanks for asking...No I don't need some sleep. I've been alone for so long, I don't think I'll be able to sleep with you two around." Half an hour later, Red recovered from his overly emotional state and the three of them converged on the floor. Green studied the bars, he concluded that they were made from the same, if not similar, material as the ones used for the entrance blast doors, hearing this, the ex-commander shuddered. "Please don't remind me of them...Those things can probably survive Arceus' Judgment and I'm not joking." His tone dropped into a breathless whisper, "the first day...My mons attempted to rescue me and...A single aggron, possibly the Lord's partner, almost killed them." Gold inhaled sharply. "It almost killed, Pika, Saur, Poli and the others. I just watched, unable to believe my eyes; I still don't believe it...Is that thing so powerful?" Red ruminated and Green told him to snap out of his morbid contemplations.

"By the way...we have your poke-"

"What?! Give them to me!" Gold recoiled at Red's enthusiasm and the ex-champion eagerly opened his palms.

"Not now. You pokemon are safe, they are sleeping inside premier balls. Stop getting distracted and focus at the task at hand." Oak exhaled noisily, "we guard you until midnight Red, for Lugia's sake, please participate instead of going on a tangent. And Gold..." The mentioned man whelped, "when we get back to base...the two of us will have a nice...Long...Discussion together. One more wrong move and I'll punt your head off! Understand?"

"Yes sir!" Gold mock saluted.

The corridors reflected the muted tones of three whispering individuals as they talked amongst themselves. To the rescuers' delight, Red mapped out a route they could use to escape, he explained about the unfrequented passages and Green nodded in agreement. No one but the servants could use it. Through these quiet corridors, two masked retainers guided the ebony haired man through passages containing black iron brackets set into wooden panels and beams. Another one had metallic lace lining the decorative trim on the wooden floor. The second last corridor boasted silk screens depicting a staraptor in flight whilst and the last detail he remembered, was a tiny tree in an ornamental flower pot hidden in an alcove. Beyond this point, the passageways were bland and similar looking and they led back to the basement of the castle. The basement contained a huge iron works where they mass produced metallic items. A door lead to an outside shaft concealed within the escarpment and a rickety elevator could carry all of them down where they would stand and stare at Valora's blast gates. Gold whistled softly and Oak nodded, appreciative of how his best friend actually used his brains. Using the tip of his sword, Strategy's team leader scored a crude map of Red's shortcut on the metal plated floor and the end result surprised him. The route mentioned by his best friend proved to be accurate. Grinning triumphantly, the scratched on the tiles to make his diagram unreadable and stood up. Reaching in the crevices of his armor, he retrieved an apricorn ball, released golduck on the floor and commanded his best friend to move back deep in the cell. The creature psyched itself and bent the bars sideways to make a space large enough for the prisoner to squeeze through, cutting the thick bars were out of the question. Red climbed out of the widened space and gleefully guffawed. His throaty laughs bounced against the steel lined corridors and echoed back. Instead of admonishing him, Green clapped him on the back and suggested they hightail from the dungeons.

Three steps later.

The siren sounded.

Exploding out of the closed rice paper doors, Green and Gold flanked Red as they raced across the polished tiles. Golduck scampered in front of them and cleared the way, cutting a swathe through astonished soldiers by firing hyper beams and jets of pressurized water. The Johto native released typholsion and the volcano pokemon brought up the rear, slashing the surroundings with flame cloaked paws in order to make their pursuit difficult. The water pokemon took no detours, using calm mind, it barreled straight through partitions and eventually stumbled upon the route mentioned by Red. Here, it slowed down a bit and the former commander exhaustedly crouched against a wall and wheezed for breath. They heard the sound of metals clanging against each other as soldiers and guards-people approached and ran right past them. Pulling the wheezing male to his legs, the trio resumed their senseless careering down the quiet passages. Behind them, the dead lanterns and brass brackets alighted automatically with a bright orange flame and shadows danced across opaque rice paper doors as the three convicts escaped. Red moaned and gasped for air, his muscles screamed at him to stop but momentum pulled him along and he blindly ran forward. The sound of his bare feet pounding the wooden floor rang loudly in his ears and bit by bit, he slowed down and came to a stumbling stop. The sound of feet still banged his ears and he abruptly turned around to see Exbo hissing and spitting fire at Misty and Suicune. Seeing Red stop, she came to a halt with some distance between them, warily; the fire pokemon crouched low and pressed itself closer to the Kanto native.

The noise of running disappeared altogether; Gold and Green paused and rotated to look at Red. Alarms insistently fired in Oak's brain when he spied Suicune and Misty.

 _Not good._

 _Not good at all._

Umbrae flickered on the walls and the orange flames cast a deep shadow on all of their faces. Red could not see her visage but he expected Misty to be very angry with him. Yet, the woman refused to attack and simply studied him with a cerulean gaze. In the darkness surrounding them, her eyes remained clear and limpid, shining like azure gems in the cloying blackness swirling around his life. He wanted those gems, they were so clear and flawless. Taking a deep breath, he reached out a hand and did one of the many insensible things a normal man would certainly not do in this type of situation. "Do you want to come with me?" he asked and let quietness convey his question. Suicune snorted and he repeated his words, "do you want to come with me? Well...You might not be appreciative with how we do things...When all of this is over, I'd like to show you what we've created. Maybe, staying with us won't prove to be such a bad experience. If anything...It'll just teach you that we are all selfish in our own ways. So..." he smiled softly, and she caught a glimpse of his grin, "Mind sharing a bit of your life with m-...Us? We're all crazy but I assure you, there is a certain loyalty and happiness you won't find any-"

"ARE you out of your MIND?" Behind the emotionally prattling Red, Green's clutched his hair exasperatedly and his voice assumed a nasty high pitched tone as he glowered at his best friend. "Mew's sake Red... GET MO-hmmmpfh!" Gold jumped and clamped a hand down over the smoldering individual's mouth whilst Oak grappled with the breeder and tried to shove him off.

"Stop interfering with Red's love life!" Gold screeched, "It's thanks to you he never gets to experience the joys of wooing ladies. Stay outta this, straight laced guy!" Red turned around and cocked an eyebrow on seeing Gold bodily shove his best friend to the floor and clamp a hand over Green's mouth, with his free hand, younger male gave his mentor a thumbs up. "Go ahead, I got this under control."

Crazy...Misty pondered, Red was right about that. Her heart drummed faster in her chest; did he seriously propose that she join them? Despite her mind rebelling against the idea, deep down, the offer brought on a warm flush of happiness and content. Perhaps she might be able to understand why the ex-champion spiraled into crime and did what he did. No...the ginger head admonished herself furiously.

 _She was not in love with him._

Misty raised her hand and saw a renewed spark in the raven haired man's formerly dulled irises. Eagerly Red stumbled forward to desperately grasp at the hand she offered.

* * *

Mid-afternoon

Sinnoh

Base of Mount Coronet

The base was being completely remodeled.

Partitions sliced the previously gigantic main chamber into three smaller spaces. A moderately sized meeting room stood right in the center and connected to three separate chambers via corridors. Three rooms for three departments. Inside the center room, Diamond, Pearl and Blue pored over blue prints. Dia had a constructor's hard hat sitting atop his cropped hair and the highlight yellow clashed with the muted blue of his clothes. He watched Constellate's leader scribble something on the complicated diagram and Pearl pulled away, the blonde punched a few numbers on a digital calculator and frowned at the figures. Looking up, he informed Dia that they were soon going to run out of funds. The indolent leader pushed his hat up and stared at his friend. In the meantime, Crystal came in, deposited a sheaf of papers on the plastic table and collected the scrunched up paper balls littering the floor. No one paid the indigo haired aide any attention as she swept up the litter and left shortly thereafter. Dust, pieces of tiles and waste littered the floors. Bare rock faces were cut apart to make more space and a series of corridors lead from the front entrance and zigzagged across the perimeter of the three rooms. The interiors could only be accessed by the marginally smaller chamber and the main corridor, instead of leading to the center meeting room, lead to the smaller chamber and from there, a keycard was needed to gain access to the tunnels, which ran to the center meeting room. The center chamber had three covered passageways branching off to the individual department rooms. Execution, Strategy and Constellate finally had their own, private chambers, to cook up schemes in. Behind Crystal, the corridor doors shut with a hiss and in the circular second chamber; she observed Silver crouching against a newly painted wall. The silver eyed man fixated his gaze on his phone screen and the noise issuing from the device suggested that he watched his favorite animation. Dumping her waste in the nearest bin, she sat next to him and enquired:

"Did you have lunch?" The man distractedly nodded, mumbled a reply and she frowned disdainfully. "Silver...Cup noodles does not equate to lunch. Just because commander Diamond can't cook your personal favorites because he is so busy, it doesn't mean you can gorge on cup noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner." The red head ignored her and stared rivetedly at the screen. Crystal sat with him and watched, after a few seconds, he shifted the phone in the middle. "Want me to make you lunch?" He nodded and brushed his hair backwards. Tentatively, the capturer reached up and moved all the loose strands away from his face, his eyes briefly snapped upwards and she flushed. What was she doing? "...Do you think Gold is faring okay?" she asked and Silver put his phone away, he hummed a replay and rested his head against the wall. "Well...I suppose it's Gold we are talking about, obviously he will be okay...I just hope he doesn't give senior Green a hard time." Her companion snorted and said that is exactly what their best friend would be doing. His comment enticed a small giggle from Crystal and he shrugged. "True, I sincerely wish my commander doesn't lose his sanity and outright kill him. Gold...Is possibly the most irritating human being under the sun."

"I respect him." Silver intoned and Crystal studied his face. He did not smile playfully and his eyes conveyed his seriousness. "He...Helped me through a lot of things. I will not hesitate to do anything for him...As long as he doesn't command me to get him a date or something." The phantom thief added. "He can be quite an irritant...However; we won't find someone like him." This time, Crystal nodded and sighed. Lately, every time they brought up Gold, she would clamp up and the conversation petered into a different direction. Before, Crystal admonished the ebony haired pervert profusely, now, she simply told him off a few times and slunk off to talk with Yellow or pursue other interests. He wished they could sort out the tension between them; however, she simply refused to talk about her worries. If she did not want to confide in him, she could do so with Gold and he wouldn't mind in the least. Yet, sometimes Silver found the golden eyed man sitting alone at the entrance of their base and conveying that Crystal did not want to join him for a date. Deciding to quell the growing unease between them, he spoke up: "Crys...I've been meaning to ask you, do you have a problem with Gold? Or me? Are we doing something to upset you? Or is Gold doing something that grates on your nerves? Tell me, I'll screw his head on properly for you."

For a moment, a look flitted across her face; it vanished before he could decipher its meaning. She merely laughed and it sounded completely fake. Getting up and dusting her shorts, she answered. "Of course there is nothing wrong between us; you two are my best friends. I…wish Gold could tone down his perverse tendencies a bit, before he left, White told me that she is afraid to go anywhere near him." Grabbing the broom and dust pan she smiled at him and made for the staircase, climbing a few steps, she turned around to see her red headed companion already lost in the world of animation. "Hey Silver..." Crystal called and he looked up, "I think… you'd look handsome if you cut your hair short." Imparting the enigmatic piece of advice, she strode past a confused Ruby and disappeared to the second floor. Ruby came down and the two co-workers shared a bemused look. Suddenly, the fashionista retrieved a pair of scissors from his jeans pocket and held it up in the air. Silver paled, glared at him and bolted out of the room at top speed.

Back in the meeting room, Dia hefted a duffle bag on the table and zipped it open. "Senior Gold left me a hefty sum of money before he dep-arted from Ransei," he informed, "and he told me to use it wisely. It's been almost two months since the Red rescue team first left and in the mean-time, I decided to re-construct the base. I didn't know construction work would be this expensive." Both Pearl and Blue sighed at his anticlimactic speech, however, they both agreed that remodeling the base, hit a huge dent in their otherwise sparse budget. "Pearl...Told me we are out of funds. Tell me Pearl, what should I do?"

The trio stared at the architect plans once more, the construction workers were paid overtime to work on a twenty four hour basis and Pearl secretly felt proud on learning that Diamond proposed the renovation. The blonde arrived from Ransei to see a swarm of strange men laying bricks, hammering and plastering away in the interior and over the course of the next few weeks, the constructors simultaneously worked on the two floors. The Dex Criminals hired them via Platina's connections and the men did not ask any questions. For the few weeks, they slept anywhere, ate anything and fumbled around to get the interior functional. Pearl remembered hashing out piles of money to the foremen and quite suddenly, when the revamping neared its last stages, they ran out of funds. The first floor functioned as the workspace and the second floor contained individual rooms for all the members, a huge bath house separated by gender and a kitchen. The entire base reeked of paint, it also contained central heating and the only thing they had to do was install electronic locks on the doors and the base would be complete. Sparse...But complete. However, the issue of more money could not be solved easily; after all, none of them went on any missions.

"You could siphon money off some rich dude's account and use it for ourselves." Blue advised and Dia faced her. "It is just a suggestion. Yesterday, I looked up on prospective missions and found one. A rich couple living in Sunnyshore is auctioning off a rare sableye jewel. I'm planning to send Crystal and Silver to steal it. But, the auction will take place some weeks later and we need the money now." Constellate's commander tossed her hair backwards and pointed to the plan, "we also need to install backup generators, in case the main ones fail and thus we need even more money. The amount Gold left you...How did you make it last so long? We are paying triple the amount..."

Diamond briefly glanced at Pearl, siphon money off some unsuspecting person's account for their own use? Why didn't he think of that earlier? "Go fetch senior Emerald please," Dia requested his best friend and the latter zoomed off, "well...When I visited the company, they dema-nded a hefty sum as down payment because of the obscure… working conditions. I almost emptied all my savings. A week later they asked for another amount, it was ridic-ulous so I went back in person, with senior Sapphire and Pearl and ordered Lax to use amnesia and recycle on the branch manager. He coughed up a huge amount money from the company's account and I simply re-paid him again...Oh...I made some profit as well." Blue gaped at him in astonishment, despite his devious deeds, the indolent boy lazily munched on a berry and smiled like he'd just done humanity a favor. "They replaced the branch manager with another person; fortunately, I didn't have to mind wipe this one because Pearl had a talk with him and he agreed to our conditions." Blue grinned and sat in a chair whilst waiting for Pearl and Emerald, she asked the young commander if he perhaps wanted to join Constellate, his deceiving skills were on a different level altogether. Hearing this, Diamond gasped indignantly. "I'm not a deceiver!" he slurred and frowned, "I'm a proud member of team Execution and we excel in attacking and defending.

"Of course Commander Diamond." Blue teased and he flushed. "You know...For the past several months, you've done more work than Red ever did. The Kanto native rolled her eyes, "when he comes back and we have to vote for either of you...I'll definitely pick you. Red either sleeps, eats, doodles battle strategies on important documents or hogs the training rooms with his members while they destroy it. If Black and he fought...They left the chamber in tatters."

The two commanders delved in silence and shuffled papers around, some minutes later; Emerald wheeled in a trolley full of sophisticated gadgets, balancing precariously on the pile of machinery, his laptop emitted a beep. Putting the portable computer on the table, he lifted the lid up, grabbed a stool and stood on it.

"What do you want me to do?" Rald queried, his fingers poised over the keyboard like he wanted to play a masterpiece, when Diamond failed to reply, he rotated his head to the Sinnoh native who gazed intently at his high ponytail. "Don't gawk. While I made my way here, Ruby caught me and did this." He pointed to the streaks in his hair. "Stupid idiot ruined my hair and he plucked off my forehead jewel." Diamond and Blue both apologized while vainly stifling their laughter. The midget glared at them and harshly commanded: "Get a move on, I still have to maintain the network, there are places in the base where we don't get any connection and if Green comes back, he'll work me to the bone. You two are lucky you don't work for that slave driver." The Hoenn native vehemently complained and stabbed his keyboard. "Pearl said that you needed to hack into an account?" the two leaders nodded in affirmative, "something about illegally transferring money...I don't recommend that. It will be in your best interest to steal the money ourselves, convert it into cash and then pay the constructors, if I directly wire the money to their account; the bills will end up by the victim's house...Senior Blue, seriously? You are losing your touch." Biting her lower lip, she deflated, nodded meekly and accepted the criticism the junior dished out to her. Diamond noted the defeated look in her eyes and understood that the older female might be battling with internal conflict. After all, her two best friends vanished from the scene, one of her members will not be making a return and she had no idea of the conditions her comrades might be in. He let his senior stew in her thoughts and turned his attention to Emerald, instructing him to do what is best. The blonde nodded and immediately set to work, his fingers typed so fast, they became a hovering blur on top of the black keyboard.

Blue excused herself; she got up and exited the room. In the second chamber, she found Silver sitting on the carpeted floor and wolfing down a steaming lunch. Passing her brother who articulated a grunt, she ascended the stairs and walked past a corridor full of white, electronic sliding doors. At the very end, she stopped before her room and turned around. Most of the rooms contained sparse furniture and personal possessions, the two empty spaces staring at her reflected bare walls and only the color coding on the doors indicated that they waited for inhabitants to move in. Silver and Crystal maintained Gold's room, his pokemon scurried around the small chamber and brought in a sense of warmth. These two bedrooms however, felt cold and devoid of life. Touching the red and green tags respectively, she muttered a small prayer and retreated into the safety of her room

* * *

Around mid-night

Ransei

Valora

"Stop!"

Her grating command froze him in his tracks. Gold and Green's background quibbling gave way to silence and the world held its breath. The momentary scintilla of Red's eyes faded only to be replaced by confusion and an emotion she did not want to describe. Elsewhere, the siren blared and the distant screaming of soldiers and retainers reflected from a different dimension altogether.

"I am giving you ten seconds to get out of this place before I command Suicune to blast you all to Giratina's realm." Misty's voice quivered. "Don't make this any more difficult it is Red, so just...leave. Leave and stop getting yourself into trouble." Suicune shifted next to her and gently rubbed its face against hers. Instead of whipping around and getting out of the castle, Red laced his hands behind his head and stared at the flames dancing in their colored rice paper coverings.

"...Hmm, I suppose, if you'd just leave everything behind and come with us...You wouldn't be the person I know." The blood eyed man stated, "Thanks for letting us go...can I come visit your gym when things settle down?"

"NO!" Green viciously growled from the back, he twisted Gold's arms and forced the younger man into a headlock.

Misty laughed when Red jumped. "Professor Green Oak, also known as your best friend, says no. You might want to sort out your issues before trying to visit me. As for me...My records are riddled with so many mishaps when it comes to the Dex Criminals that I hardly care anymore, just...Don't let anyone recognize you and I'd appreciate seeing Gyara again." The gym leader turned to Suicune and ran her fingers through her legendary partners turquoise fur. For some reason, the mention of gyarados brought on a wave of irritation, Misty didn't want to see him, she wanted to see her majestic pseudo water dragon.

Giving Gold a well-deserved kick in the behind, Oak let the breeder crumple to the floor and focused his attention to Red, little by little, the prisoner slithered closer to the female police officer with his hands childishly laced behind his head. Red dropped the topic of asking Misty to join him and instead, struck up a mundane conversation with the ginger haired female. Green's anger spiked, the woman generously offered to let them go, she had a legendary pokemon standing proudly next to her and if that idiot comrade of his did not exploit this opportunity, they will have more trouble on their hands. Stealthily treading in Red's shadow, he wrapped an arm around Red's throat, gave a gratified salute to Misty and violently jerked his friend backwards. The ebony haired male exhaled air as Green yanked him and proceeded to run for their lives. Misty counted down and Green released his murderous grip. Together, the trio careered to the end of the passageway before one of them picked up the imperceptible tones of Misty's voice as she thundered out a command. The dim passage kindled with a bright, hot light and their backs burned. A gurgle of water twisted down the narrow confines of the passage and smacked into them. The three criminals swam along with debris, floating beams of wood poked them in the ribs and they crashed out through a window and flailed when the current deposited them outside the lavishly decorated pagoda.

Three stories was a long way to fall.

Flailing uselessly in the crisp night air, Green hastily commanded his golduck to protect Red with a psychic barrier as gravity pulled them downwards. Gold squealed, his penetrating wail adding to the din cocooning them. Typholsion, devoid of consciousness due to the force of water, smacked heavily into the metal plated ground and the breeder plopped unceremoniously on top of his monster. He heard a bone snap and quickly scurried off his partner and recalled the fire type in an apricorn ball. A second later, Green, torpedoed on the pavement and the Johto native flinched. He hurried to the brown haired individual and saw the man stir and push himself up. Blood gushed from his mouth and nose; he bit on his lips and popped his shoulder back in place with an audible hiss of pain. After pulling off his dented helmet, Gold frantically help Green to stand and the leader punched himself in the lower back and straightened up with an anguished sigh. Red floated safely to the ground and on seeing's Green's condition, implored his friend to hand venusaur over to him.

"Saur will be able to heal you." Red accepted the ball. "None of us have any healing items on us and since Saur is a grass type, he can heal his status ailments and stop all that bleeding. You're hemorrhaging from your nose Green, it's dangerous to go on like this." From beneath his torn armor, he brought out three white capsules, peered into them and tossed one over to Red. The fighter pressed the switch but the ball failed to open, grinding his teeth furiously and spitting expletives under his breath, Red tired various ways to force open the premier ball. He depressed the center switch repeatedly and hurled the glass domed capsule on the floor a few times but the glass failed to shatter. Locating a piece of jagged metal amongst the waste, he stabbed the plastic casing of the sphere and after numerous attempts and cuts on his fingers, managed to dig a point through the tough material. Yanking the silver of metal around the bottom, he serrated the ball and forced the two halves apart. A tiny venusaur tumbled out on the metallic pavement and flashed into its normal size, it slept for several moments till Red nudged it. The tightly shut bud on its back bloomed and released a cloud of healing spores all over itself, Gold caught some of the dust and showered it over Green, immediately, both human and beast recovered from their damaged states and the little band sat in the penumbra of the building and rested before attempting to escape through Valora's gates.

A sun rose and the breeder blinked in astonishment. To his amazement, he beheld miniature suns rising out of the castle and flooding the world with a golden light. The environs brightened like day and the only indication of it being in the middle of the night was the pitch black sky. Machinery whirred; a thin metallic pedestal rose up from the ground bearing with it a blindingly luminous orb. The spire ascended, the ball ignited with a searing light and took on the form of a minuscule sun. A sense of urgency crept in Red's actions and he babbled about search lights. Green and Gold half listened to him as they stared dazedly at the fulgent orbs. The sound of clinking armor and marching grew louder and before the hypnotized duo could process the events, they found themselves surrounded by soldiers. Red cursed horribly and furiously pointed at the army, he shouted that he'd never go back into a cell again, not after what his friends did in order to save him. Vines swelled out of venusaur, the appendages tangled together to form thick ropes and the saurian creature brandished them in all directions. Green jumped up, released charizard and slapped the mega bracelet around his dirt stained wrist, he mega evolved his dragon and the blue black beast spewed fire out of the skies. More reinforcements poured in and the fighter's grin morphed into a sadistic smile as he wordlessly commanded his venusaur to wreak destruction. Armor clad soldiers somersaulted akin to toys; they were blasted into the air where a curt command from Green prompted the fire wrym to douse them with a bolt of vermillion flames. The court's pokemon stood scant chance as well. Blood pumping and passion boiling, Red, along with venusaur displayed a rarely seen brutality and Gold meekly shuffled backwards. His mentor was angry...Wrath seized hold of him and whilst in prison, the ebony haired man nurtured his septic feelings. Arcs of blood and poison danced in the air, amber irises reflected the guard's terrified expressions as they went flying with blood spurting out of several orifices. In a complete contrast to their pained miens, Red sported a grim smile, he calmly sat in front of venusaur and gently pressed his palm against the monster's reptilian skin, a net of vines shielded him from hostile forces and solar beams charred anything which came in close proximity to the human.

A minute of silence.

Red wearily got up from his position and shielded his eyes from the cruel rays of light. Due to their unplanned falling, he had no idea of where they were. Keeping venusaur close to him, the team inched forward cautiously. As they wound their way to the open courtyard, the ex-champion yelled gleefully and pointed to the door set into the rock face. He tried to run, however, his exhausted muscles pulled up short and he planted his face spectacularly to the ground. "I didn't actually think you'd be so happy as to kiss the ground Red." Green snidely commented and savagely watched the older male struggle to pick himself up. "You...Seriously need some exercise." The spiky haired male noted more soldiers coming out of the castle, a mega aggron, wearing a breastplate of gold, lead the entire procession. "Come on Red," he urged, "we need to leave, there are more small fry coming up...Under the leadership of an aggron." His words affected the previous Execution commander profoundly. Red snapped his face up, snuck a peak at the aggron advancing aggressively towards him and wilted to the floor.

"Senior Red? Yo! We have to get a move on!" Gold insisted.

"I can't..." Red whispered, his voice vibrating violently. All the strength drained from his limbs. "I can't do this anymore Green." His breath came in quick gasps and he clutched his abdomen. "That aggron...That aggron is going to kill me." He doubled over, planting his forehead on the metal plated ground. "It's no use, we can't fight that thing...That monster...Is going to annihilate us all."

* * *

 **A/N:** Devious Dia is back, and poor, rejected Red. Well, at least they got out of Valora Castle. And the base is being remodeled. Anyway, I'd kill someone for an iced coffee. Much thanks to all those who read and reviewed, and virtual iced-coffee to everyone (just don't kill anybody)

At HeyYouYaYou: Green possibly wants to kill half of the Dex Holders, but he reins his emotions in. Good old Green. At Jack54311: Distortion realm…let's say the Legendary Pokemon are holding a party involving lasers, death threats and punches to the face. Sadly, Misty does not get abducted (although it would've been an interesting twist if she was kidnapped.) At Eevee: Yikes, I apologize for getting mixed up. One year anniversary of Blaec Iustise? Why can't I remember the important things? Thanks for reminding me. Actually, I was very flattered when you described me as Yellow :D And Gold was actually serious when he asked Green about Crystal. At AceTrainerLeaf: I found it difficult to write Red as mentally ill, but eventually pulled it off. (He's been confined and interrogated in less than pleasant ways, so his brain circuitry is whacked.) I'm glad you found their reunion touching.

At Guest: Heh, your reviews is making me itch to read the XY chapters, now only if my internet weren't so crappy. In the Yellow chapters, Green was a surprisingly good (and patient) teacher to Yellow; her rattata evolved? Cue waterworks, but in the end, she manages to overthrow the likes of Lance. Jealous Yellow? Well, Red is an airhead, he'd probably (unknowingly) flirt with others despite being in a relationship. Green, who diffuses a – don't come near me – aura probably won't bring out a jealous side in Yellow. (That, or he is extra careful since he knows firsthand how terrifying she can be when provoked. I think Green does get jealous easily (like you pointed out) but he is too reserved to show it. At Silver: Thanks for the invite, I'll definitely check it out (after my internet stops being mean to me and hey, I'm always up for a good KHR story) Red not completely mad? Heh :D


	78. Legendary arditonnes

**Chapter 78: Legendary adroitness**

Midnight

Ransei

Valora  


Pathetic.

Gold could not help thinking when he saw his senior whimpering on the floor. His mind shied away from such brutal thoughts. He understood Aggron hammered a primordial fear in Red by bulldozing his entire team, but shouldn't the crimson eyed man swear vengeance and go after the monster with fury boiling in his veins? The warden mentioned that the convict was mentally unstable.

What did these people do to him?

"I can't do this Green!" Red shrieked as the soldiers and mega evolved creature lumbered closer. "I'm not going to fight them...I'm scared...I'm so scared I can't think straight." He hugged himself, pressing the pale, filthy kimono closer to his haggard body. When venusaur shifted, the ebony haired man whined and threw himself over the creature. The mass of moving men branched off and closed around them, charizard roared and they maintained a respectable distance. Holding tightly to Saur, Red shivered and whimpered when he heard the dragon's roar. Green stared at his best friend with a clenched jaw and Gold noted potent anger swirling in the commander's jade irises. Oak wanted to explode and deep down, he too, thought of his co-commander as a pathetic man.

Strategy's leader turned his back on his friend; Red yelped and cowered behind him. Green came face to face with the aggron Red spoke so highly of, the tank-esque beast puffed its chest out and its golden breastplate creaked under bulging muscles. The numerous spikes and horns on the monster's body were capped with silver and jewels rippled on the surface of its muscular hide. Under the burning light of a thousand artificial suns, the iron armor pokemon appeared cruel and hideous, it uttered a guttural growl and next to Oak, Gold gagged at the stench its foul breath emitted. Typholsion and politoed were healed by Saur and the two beasts positioned themselves in front of their trainer. Aggron sliced the ground with its fists and scooped up two boulder sized wedges, quickly, Green touched his bracelet and his fire wrym transformed just in time to spew a flame thrower at the earthen projectiles. The boulders dissolved and rained dirt in the space between aggron and Green. The Kanto native held his breath, his opposition, despite being a pokemon, operated with the knowledge and tact of a human. Several armored men slid their swords out from their lacquered sheaths, the blades glinted brilliantly. Clutching his weapon, Oak drew his sword and out of the corner of his eye, he witnessed Gold's visage change. The younger male's face reflected the grim situation they landed in and he glared at the aggron with his might, however, he made no move to attack. Even the breeder, boisterous, perverted and outright disobedient, knew when the odds were against him.

"...Get scared later Red." Green muttered with forced calm. "Right now, we have to fight our way out of here..." His co-worker sniveled and said he was not in the condition to fight a homicidal monster. "If you don't fight here Red...We are all going to die." The ex-champion kept quiet when he heard that, "You are a fighter and a leader, you do not have the luxury of being afraid. Gold and I respect you, the Organization sacrificed much in order to rescue you, do not let their efforts be for naught...And more importantly, do not let us loose our faith in you. You are a champion; you took over the league at the age of eleven and constantly honed your skills. Call out everything Red...And defeat that thing. Here, I held on to this for you." Green tossed Red's mega cuff and the gleaming, scarlet jewels induced a wave of nausea from the crimson eyed trainer.

Blood.

His mother's blood, filling his mouth and nose with a coppery taste and smell.

Get scared later...Heh, what did he know anyway?

However, the thought of having his precious friends die brought on another form of fear.

He curled up.

For the first time in his life, the fighter...Did not want to fight anymore.

Following an order from its trainer, typholsion, covered in a heat haze, sent an eruption rolling across all sides. The metal plates, hammered on the ground, shriveled from the overheated earth, the floor cracked and between the crevices, hell hot flames spewed up and charred half of the soldiers. Dropping on all fours, its mane ignited and spread across its back, Gold barked another command and the flame cloaked pokemon blitzed straight towards aggron, the two monsters collided with each other and the intense heat melted the breast plate of gold. Aggron staggered backwards, swung itself forward and blasted an arm straight at the fire creature's skull. The volcano pokemon soared through the air, blood streaming from its nose; it flipped and landed heavily next to its master. Without wasting a beat, politoed followed up the attack, pushing the metal beast further backwards with twin jets of hydro pump, the pressurized streams of water sent fissures snaking up aggron's armor hide, to the toad pokemon's astonishment, the steel type called forth thunder and a lurid pillar of cackling electricity struck the water type. Politoed endured the pain, it couldn't faint now and leave its master in peril, opening its eyes, it twirled around for a few seconds and heard its owner call. It did not understand what the human said...And why were there so many aggron leering at him? Deciding to take down at least one of those beasts, the toad opened up a palm and let an ice beam rip. It's human screamed, in anger and pain and the frog pokemon wondered what it did wrong. The edges of its vision blurred and it rotated to see Gold staring disbelievingly at him.

Everything became black and peaceful.

The breeder eyed his frozen Exbo; he did not have any healing items on him, not even a measly berry. Wisely, the soldiers retreated a safe distance from the criminal group and let aggron take the stage. Ieyasu, the pompous man mountain, did not make an appearance and Gold inwardly thanked every deity monster they captured. If the Warlord did make an entrance, they were doomed to a place beyond the realms of Giratina's under world. Charizard X kept the metal monster occupied by raking its claws over its tough hide and shooting out beams of fire and ice. The dragon whipped the iron armor pokemon with its tail and the beast fell on its back. Taking the opportunity, Green fired a series of rapid commands. Ebony tinted talons went for aggron's eyes and the monster instinctively caught the wrym by its legs and proceeded to slam the dragon on the cracked floor. Still grasping charizard X, aggron pounded it once more before throwing the creature back. The dragon tumbled on the ground, its wings ripped up a few metal plates and it came to a heaping, steaming stop before Green whose eyes went wide with horror.

And yet, Red curled up and rocked like a baby.

The block of ice imprisoning typholsion melted and the creature shook stray droplets of water off its heavy fur. A few brave soldiers crawled forward, brandishing their swords whilst charizard X, prompted by its trainer, slowly got up to its feet. Opening its webbed wings, the dragon shot up to the sky and elegantly dodged an arc of electricity. Gold shifted, eyeing the palace pawns as the steadily marched closer with their marginally lower leveled pokemon. "Exbo, use eruption once more buddy, keep the area clean," he ordered and the volcano pokemon reared up and slammed down on the fissured earth.

"Charizard...Blast burn." Green curtly commanded.

Through the clefts, the earth heated up again. Swirling vortices of fire erupted from the crevices and flared from the ground akin to lava. Men and beasts screamed, frantically trying to get away from the inferno. The fetor of charred flesh and melted metals infused the air; the breeder inhaled shallowly and ordered his monster to return to his side. Above them, the tourmaline dragonoid circled, calculating the best angle of attack. On the floor, its prey pounded the earth, sending wavelets across the ground. Aggron's beady eyes shone with vicious determination as it chucked a steel coated rock at charizard X; the dragon calmly swerved to the side and dodged several thunderstorms. The sky, pregnant with clouds, rained down bolts, striking the metal plated ground and leaving black scorch marks on it. Quite suddenly, the wrym's body ignited with fire, in tandem, five other pillars of fire gushed out in a circular formation next to aggron. The steel type shrieked as charizard X dove down towards it. Crossing two beefy arms in front of its face, the monster protected itself as the dragon cannoned into it. The columns of fire surrounding it converged into one and then dissipated, racing across the ground and charring everything it touched. The momentum of the attack lifted the iron armor pokemon off its feet and it crash landed into the army. An exhausted vermilion dragon skulked back to its master, its tail flame flickering feebly in the wind.

Valora's soldiers rushed towards the injured aggron and fed it berries. Gold smirked and wiped oily sweat from his forehead, no way was that metal monster getting up after suffering from a point blank blast burn. To their greatest dismay, the pokemon moved, it slammed a bleeding fist down on the earth and created a mini earthquake. Dumfounded, the criminals merely watched as the beast painstakingly hauled itself to its feet. "...I'm dreaming, please, someone wake me up from this nightmare because no way is that thing supposed to move!" The golden eyed man sputtered, "How? It feels like I'm going up against a legendary pokemon, how is that aggron moving after taking a blast burn to its face?!" Gold questioned and curled his hands into fists. "It doesn't make any sense!"

Only now did Green understand why Red feared the monster. Despite sustaining heavy damages, the creature maintained its mega evolved form. The aggron gravitated back towards them, dragging one broken leg along with it. A bead of sweat snaked down Oak's temple and dripped off the end of his chin. With each lumbering step of the metal beast, his heart sped up, beating a cacophony in the confines of his ribcage. He wanted to run; however, fear paralyzed him to the spot. Charizard growled softly and gently rubbed its head against Green's face while Red remained inert on the floor. Gripping the blade with bare hands, Strategy's commander relished the cold feel of the sword and it jerked him back to reality. "Charizard, you do not have time to be sentimental; use roost." he gently admonished and continued with his analysis: "The aggron is weak and therefore it will become more aggressive from now on. My charizard will not be able to attack anymore, even if I mega evolve it, the best it can do is provide support. On the other hand, your typholsion is still full of stamina...It executed two eruptions, took a bash to its skull and is still in optimal condition." Green exhaled, "Gold, use your Typholsion to attack, I'll try and-

"Saur, use growth." Behind them, Red stirred and pulled himself up by grasping the thick foliage spilling from venusaur's back. Gold's eyes lit up whilst Green fiddled with the mega bracelet around his wrist. His co-worker touched his own cuff and behind him, the seed pokemon mega evolved. Thousands of new shoots and barbed vines wriggled out of the forest on its back. "Follow it up with sweet scent and synthesis. The ebony haired male snapped his fingers and a set of razor leaves blasted out of venusaur, sliced through aggron's hide and embedded itself deep within its skin. The steel type stopped in order to pick poison laced leaves out of its flesh. Once sweet scent came into effect, the movements of the aggron slowed down and it took its own time to pull out the razor edged leaflets. Green slipped his mega bracelet off and pressed it into Red's palms, the soldiers rushed forward once again.

"Use charizard X for back-up." He stated, faced forward and brandished his sword. "I'm a little bit out of practice but I can take care of some small fry." Next to him, Gold paled and angrily asserted his position on the team.

"You are back up Gold..." Red rasped and charizard X rose to the skies. "I'm feeling very faint; I need someone to carry me if I pass ou-"

"You are a dude!" The breeder gesticulated wildly, "why do I have to carry a dude outta all people?" he moaned but nonetheless flashed a hearty smile at Red. "More importantly," he turned his attention to Oak, "are you sure you know how to use that thing?" Golden irises reflected the steel sword. "Are you really, absolutely sure you know how to use a sword?"

Green smirked devilishly despite their circumstances. "You might want to duck every time I swing it, I don't want to accidentally lop your head off." Next to him, Gold dissolved into a fit of hysterical cursing and Red found a tiny smile tugging at his lips.

Time for business.

Sweet scent's effects wore off and aggron tore the rest of the leaves out with fury. Red breathed deeply and focused. The beast had a leg broken, a few of its horns were splintered or cracked, its steel tipped appendages were drenched in orange-red blood and it was angry. The man grinned, anger clouded judgment and the numerous injuries will put a dent in the monster's speed. Commanding a protect, he sat in the safety of his pokemon's back and watched as several vines danced across the floor with Gold and Green. His two friends plunged themselves within enemy ranks and threw the formation into disarray. A net of thorny tendrils followed their movements and lashed the heaviest attacks away from them. "Charizard! Use sunny day!" The ex-champion thundered and Green faltered whilst trying to stab an enemy retainer. He got a clipped forehead instead and mutely watched his best friend utter an impossible command.

"It's the middle of the night you insufferable moron!" He screamed furiously, "how the hell do you expect my dragon to..." Charizard X used sunny day anyway, instead of the sun miraculously rising ahead of schedule, the large, spherical lamps burned with a brighter intensity and the glass around them shattered.

Red smiled and sat cross-legged, only the nervous tapping of his thigh belied the anxiety he felt. "Sunny day, intensifies light, it forces light, whether its natural or artificial, to shine brighter. It does not bring up the sun and therefore can be used in the middle of the night as well...As long, there is a powerful enough light source." He reveled at his spiky haired comrade's astonished expression, "Bet you didn't know that huh? Saur, petal blizzard and lace it with toxic." A tornado of leaves halted the stampeding aggron in its tracks, the poison infused leaves ripped multiple gashes in the iron armor pokemon and several jewels fell off its skin and hit the ground with small clangs. The soldiers scurried for cover and some tried to protect their pokemon partners with their bodies. Swiping its pillar-esque arm in an arc and buffeting the leaves away from it, the aggron lumbered forward at high speed and clobbered venusaur in the face. Two barbed vines immediately crawled across its face and gouged out its eyes. Lurching backwards, it howled and clawed its face whilst Saur calmly flicked the eyeballs away. Red shuddered and rubbed his cheek, a bit of that eyeball fluid just splashed on his face.

Aggron roared and slugged Saur again, this time, the seed pokemon uttered a cry of distress and Red frantically patted the saurian creature's bumpy skin and soothed it with words. The iron armor pokemon continued to pummel it, each steel reinforced fist puncturing through green-blue skin and coating with venom and chlorophyll tinged blood. The cuts healed on Saur's body to an ugly bluish bruise and the crimson eyed man merely watched with bated breath. He could not force the aggron away and Saur synthesized a solar beam so that move was no option, right now, all he could do was wait for the poison saturated blood to start corroding the metal on the iron armor pokemon's fists. If the armor wore off, he could order venusaur to slice its wrists off. Sure enough, the aggron growled deafeningly and quickly retreated, licking the blood on its fists. The toxic properties of the grass pokemon's blood eroded his tongue as well and the monster felt its arms become heavy. Aggron was tired of this battle and needed to end it soon.

It must protect his master's territory.

Tottering blindly, the monster used its sense of smell to locate the fragrant smelling venusaur. Doing a spin, it smashed the end of its plated tail into the seed pokemon's side, Red felt the shockwave ripple across the leathery hide and transmit all the way to him. A starburst of pollen and bright green fluid puffed into the air and rained down. Several vines snared the metal monster and pushed it away. Thrashing viciously, aggron pulled on the vines and ripped them up one by one as the grass monster wailed in terror. Red bid his time and after his target took a brief spell to catch its breath, he commanded Saur to use solar beam. The previously closed bud re-opened and both his friends stopped to ogle at the intensity of the solar beam crafted from artificial light. A flavescent orb of light collected in the middle of the open flower, the stream rocketed outwards, leaving trails of smoke behind. Once again, the aggron sensed danger and invariably pulled its arms across its chest. The beam of blinding light pushed it backwards; the beast toppled and to their utter astonishment, slapped the lurid pillar of light away from him. The environs dimmed once more and Red simply nodded. He expected that. After all, the metallic beast did take a blast burn and survive. Letting its guard down, the iron armor crouched on the floor and panted. Blasts of hot hair escaped its mouth and drilled into the earth below its gaping maw. A shroud of light covered it and mega-evolution undid itself. The ex-champion simpered disturbingly; it was common for beasts to be rendered incapable after executing a move of raw power. However, he synthesized the solar beam over the course of the fight and hence, his venusaur still had the energy to execute another move.

"Frenzy plant."

The command echoed hollowly. Shifting, Saur wriggled his buried tendrils and they erupted, first slowly, emerging one by one and then with frightening speeds. The soldiers screeched and retreated. From above, charizard X rained down fire and the surrounds went up in a rush of flames. Aggron did not retreat; it stayed behind and violently tore the invading vines apart. Red sensed his pokemon was at its limits and patted it encouragingly. Saur could do this. Accepting the compliment its master dished out, the seed pokemon decided to end this, the pulsing vines grew limp, green tendrils shriveled up and shrunk. Thereafter, they hardened to bark-like consistency and the tips sported white, finger sized thorns, locating a chink between the monster's moving plates of armor, several vines pierced right through and struck a few vital organs. Red ordered it to repeat the move once more and another dozen of withered vines, stabbed it till the iron armor pokemon stopped moving completely. It emitted a growl of such intensity; it almost peeled the skin off the humans' faces. Deep within the castle, another siren blared, but out here, with the stench of burned remains, blood and the cloying aroma drifting from venusaur's damaged petals, a deafening silence permeated the battle field. Instead of sliding down his beast and flattering himself on a job well done, Red simply balked at the aggron, the beast pinned the three humans with a look of unwavering hate and it unnerved the crimson eyed man that he could decipher the loathed look so easily. A muted groan of misery seeped from the pokemon's mouth and this prompted Green to sheath his weapon and rally the three of them together. Stuffing the injured Saur into an apricorn ball, he saddled the exhausted fighter to charizard; heaped Gold on the protesting dragonoid's back and climbed on. An arrow sailed out from behind him and struck the ground uselessly. Urging charizard to fly, the trio desperately escaped amidst a shower of a thousand arrows. The amber eyed individual twisted himself backwards and picked out a few arrows which managed to strike the vermillion dragon. When Red wearily asked where they headed Oak replied:

"Greenleaf...From there, I'll ask the Warlord to drop us off at Hoenn so we can slowly make our way back to base." He paused, listening to the war cries and the whistle of arrows as the sliced the air in great arcs and soared over his head. "Welcome back home Red..." he mumbled and then scowled when Red slumped against him and snored softly.

* * *

A few weeks later, morning

Sinnoh

Base of Mt Coronet

A digital screen set into the side of a white painted wall displayed the blueprints of a fancy mansion. Three red dots blinked on the screen and Silver scribbled the locations down on a sheet of paper. He memorized the protocols...However; his mission partner seemed to have some problems. Granted, Crystal hardly participated in any of Constellate's assignments, she functioned as a capturer and most of time went with Team Execution in order to help them capture legendary pokemon. The two of them sat opposite the screen and he quickly glanced at the capturer to gauge her progress. Crystal's indigo hair fell in a loose sheet around her shoulders, a beanie rested atop her head and a dark grey pleated coat dress warded off the chill. Sitting adjacent to them, Ruby and Blue filed their nails and debated on the best disguises for their comrades. Silver and Crystal would be posing as invited guests to the grand auction and will have to dress accordingly. The event will open up with a ball and after a heated discussion with Diamond, the commanders agreed to send a female with him. Yellow vehemently denied any participation and Constellate's leader noticed her blush furiously. Understanding exactly what went on the blonde's mind, the sly woman questioned her friend if she imagined Green all dressed up in a form fitting suit and leading her across polished marble tiles and glittering chandeliers in a surprisingly wonderful waltz. Dia turned to see the blonde rush out of their meeting room with her face on fire and Blue simply cackled in pleasure. Presently, Diamond and Yellow sat opposite the Constellate members and observed their debate listlessly. Ruby stabbed his manicured finger at a picture of an aquamarine ball gown which complimented well with the suit of his choice and his commander shook her head, flipped the page and pointed at a royal purple tiered evening dress. The blood eyed teen exhaled and resumed the passionate defense of his desired dress. On screen, a message popped up; there was someone at the entrance. Hopping off his chair, Diamond raced down the corridors and came to the main gate. He pressed a switch on the board and the shutter groaned upwards.

A light breeze buffeted a few snowflakes inside the base as he gazed up on the forms of three adults. Two grinned at him and the third's emotionless visage scrunched up in mild perplexity on seeing the white washed corridor stretch behind the diminutive commander. Red and Gold sported similar attire, peak caps thrust on top of unruly black locks, a skiing jacket decorated with yellow highlights and jeans paired with black boots. The Johto native wore a pair of reflective goggles over his cap. As for the professor, somehow, he managed to buy the exact same jacket his sister, Daisy, gifted him. Jade irises peeked beneath a brown, fur lined hood and his hands were thrust into the pockets of a tan combat pants. Like his friends, he wore a pair of black boots and repeatedly stamped on the snow to keep himself warm. "Who designed this thing?" Green hissed instead of sending Dia a warm greeting. The Sinnoh native meekly raised his hand and shrunk against the man's stare.

"...I'm back Commander Diamond!" Red chirped happily and his face scrunched up lightly, "is it me or did you lose weight?" he gently questioned and Diamond's knees grew weak. His idol just called him commander. Behind him, a thumping noise gave way to Pearl as he hurtled to a stop before them. The blonde peeked at the three men and despite his leader's obvious disdain, threw himself over his superior. Diamond did the same, the black haired Sinnoh native sniffed, trying to hold his tears in place. Green vainly shoved Pearl off him whilst Red patted Dia's head and ruffled the boy's close cropped hair. This proved to be too much for the indolent teen and he started crying. Ushering them inside, the teary eyed Dia led the procession down the winding passages whilst Oak kept up a running commentary about the unhelpful design of the base. They halted at the meeting room and when the door slid open. Blue raised her head to see her best friends grinning at her.

Okay, so Green wasn't smiling. But the sheer happiness on Red's face was enough to convey both their feelings.

Getting up from her chair, she barely registered the shock on her underlings' faces. Her seat toppled back. Green's eyes bugged out and he quickly stepped backwards whilst Red steeled himself for the incoming impact. Blue hugged them both forcefully, she let go of Green who found himself embraced by Yellow. The brown haired woman sobbed in Red's chest and clutched him tightly, he felt her fingernails dig into his skin as she hiccupped and told him how lonely she felt without them; and they better buy her expensive gifts to make up for the grief they caused her. Nodding, he let her cry. Gold plopped himself in between Crystal and Silver. The former gasped and threw her arms around him whilst the latter sent him a rarely seen smile and bumped fists. The breeder then threw his arms around the two of them and enforced a group hug. To his surprise, Silver hugged him back. A second later, the meeting room exploded with noise as the other team members rushed into the cramped chamber. Sapphire vaulted into Red's arms, seeing this, Ruby growled in displeasure and smacked Rald when the midget pointed to his jealousy. Half an hour later, the entirety of the Dex Criminals squeezed into the room. Emerald sat on Ruby's lap much to both their chagrin. Diamond squeezed himself next to Red whilst Pearl dominated the space between Crystal and Green. Whi-2 balanced herself precariously on White's lap and the organizer squashed herself between Gold and Blue. She shuddered when the golden eyed man winked at her. Soda and juice flowed freely. Chip packets and snacks were torn open and soon, the area underneath the table harbored more than a dozen discarded packets. Crumbs, stains and the occasional soda spill littered the carpet and laughter echoed inside the chamber.

"Shouldn't the three of you rest or something?" Blue asked and tossed her hair back. "I bet you are tired...I mean, Greenleaf's Warlord dropped you off in the middle of Hoenn and you slowly made your way back here with a recovering Red to look after. Not to mention that you needed to constantly move from place to place."

"Sleep is for the weak!" Gold declared, "I kept us all alive by repeatedly winning at the game corner. Man it was tough to fly all the way to Mauville from Fortree! It's always raining in Fortree and we lived in tree houses"

"Gold, I hope you aren't looking for an excuse to gamble freely from now on." Crystal sighed and Silver snorted when the breeder whistled innocently.

"I am interested to know what you have on that screen there." Green pointed to the blueprints. "I understand this base is remodeled with utmost safety in mind...However, navigation is hazardous." Blue snickered and commented that he must have horrible directional skills, no one else but he complained about the layout of the base. Oak flushed and irritably gestured at the screen. "Enlighten me." He droned and next to him, Red muttered something about a working robot.

"The base renovating carved a valley in our funds you know." The azure eyed woman sipped her drink and elaborated, "Diamond conned the construction company and thus we survived the harsh payouts. Nonetheless, to be optimally functional, we need to gather more income." She paused and waited for the babble of voices to quieten. "Several weeks ago, I stumbled upon an auction held in Sunnyshore, a rich couple is selling off a sableye jewel-"

"Those are hardly valuable." Green interjected, "sneak into the mines and you will find sableye jewels everywhere."

Diamond fidgeted and spoke up. "...This jewel is not an ordinary one senior Green." He reached for a remote and fiddled with it, a large, scarlet jewel flashed on the monitor. "As you can see, this one is huge and acc-ording to the couple, it is an additional accessory held by the sableye. They said something about a mut-ation." Oak nodded and informed them that it was a mega sableye who holds a jewel of that size. Due to its diamond hard consistency, the jewel acts as a foolproof shield. "...There-fore, we decided to send seniors Crystal and Silver, they will be posing as a couple-"

"WHAT?!" Gold screeched. "No way am I allowing that! Silver is a dude, he's a guy and I can't let Crys be subjected to his perverted tendencies."

A moment of profound silence ensured as each and every member of the Organization turned to judge the golden eyed breeder.

"Tch..." Green rubbed his eyes whilst Gold and Silver divulged into a petty squabble. Next to him, Red stifled a yawn. "So you are sending the two of them off on a quest to steal that jewel?" Constellate's leader replied in affirmative. Suddenly, the brunette male's eyes lit up with mild anger. "Pesky woman, why didn't you inform me about the algorithms used to calculate the duration of the legendary pokemon's stay in the distortion world? Platinum informed me that you, Silver and she worked out the approximate date. Why...Don't I know this? It could save me a whole lot of trouble." Blue put her drink down and pouted; she clasped her hands together and told him that it completely escaped her mind. Red noticed Oak grow angrier at her obvious lie, she sent the former a wink that told him to deal with Green.

"Come on Green..." Red got up and stretched, "let's go check the second floor and get some sleep. We're both tired. Gold, that goes for you as well." The breeder opened his mouth to protest. "No. Sleep is definitely not for the weak." The ex-commander insisted and sternly stared at Gold. "This mission takes place tomorrow, you can't go. Currently, you have no intelligence on how the mission should be executed and you will suffer if you don't get some sleep. Bed...now." Without another word, he turned around and stalked out of the room with Green slouching after him. Gold grumbled under his breath but eventually followed the duo as well. Blue sent White and Yellow after them, in order to familiarize the trio with the corridors and rooms. Once they left, the meeting room quieted and one by one, the others left. The room emptied out save for the Sinnoh duo, Blue and Crystal and the indigo haired female kept on staring at her notes and regretting her mission. The moment Gold returned, a heavy feeling of dread settled in her chest. Her red headed best friend vaguely muttered about checking his room but she knew Silver will eventually end up cleaning Gold's room and tactfully making sure the breeder was comfortable. She wanted to help him, however, a more insistent part of her dictated that she stay here and prepare for the mission ahead. She peeked at Blue; the female leader twirled her chocolate brown hair in her fingers and vacantly gazed at the screen. It must have been a surprise to see her best friends pop up without word or warning. Senior Red...Lost a lot of weight. His hair looked longer than usual and his face was slightly ashen. Her commander appeared to be perpetually stressed and Gold...

Was just Gold.

"Crystal darling," the azure eyed female called, "you can take a break now and catch up with your friends if you like." The girl shook her head and said that she needed to go over the assignment. "Hmm, I understand, but I bet you can't focus much. Take a break and resume your studying after lunch. Sit with Silver and ask him to relate them to you, it will be much easier to commit to memory. And don't worry about mishaps; by the time anyone finds out that the jewel is missing, you will be half way here already." She turned the pages of a leather bound journal. "Also, next week, we need to climb the summit of Mount Coronet. Based on our calculations, all the legendary pokemon will fly out of the distortion world and I want Red to see the spectacle. Well, I hardly remember if we actually released the legendries but from the news and other reports, we must have succeeded in our plan no?" A soft giggle escaped her lips and Crystal smiled at the older woman's enthusiasm. "It is a shame some of our members will not be here to witness this." Leaning back on the spindly metal chair, she blew a strand of hair away from her face and snapped her journal shut. "I'll go bother Red and Green...I want to find out why our ex-Execution commander resembles a skeleton...not that he was particularly gorgeous to begin with. I suppose his experiences in prison would be far from anything pleasant...Maybe I should get him something to eat? Ugh! If Green was looking after him for the past several days...I can only imagine that professor feeding him something akin to poison." Getting up, she brushed her pleated skirt downwards and made for the door. "Dia, don't you want to see Red?" The boy slowly nodded and answered that he will come up later. Blue left and Crystal squirmed in her seat, at the end of the rectangular table, her two juniors sat and conducted a hushed conversation.

Pearl stared at the opposite wall. It was plastered with maps of the different regions, photographs from when they celebrated the completion of the base's remodeling and a snapshot of Diamond, Green and Blue as they took a commemorative photo together. Orange tinted eyes roamed around and came to a rest at an image. Platina carried a stack of documents and smiled at a figure next to her. Judging by the long, brown tresses, it was Whi-2. In the background, he spied the fire burning in the middle of the once main cavern. The fire disappeared and central heating took its place. On the day of departure, he failed to bid Platina goodbye. At the very least, Diamond must have had the privilege to say goodbye. Next to him, his best friend decorated rice balls with berries; normally Dia's face split into a wide smile at the sight of food, now, his blank expression conveyed absolutely nothing. "...Say Dia" Pear timidly whispered. "We are never going to see Platina again are we?"

His friend did not reply, rather, the smooth movements of his hands became jerky and on a few instances, he picked up the little decorations and gingerly pressed them against the rice balls. Seeing the two converse secretly, Crystal vacated the room and only the imperceptible whine of the digital screen was heard in the otherwise silent meeting chamber. "If we can't see her, we will make a way won't we Pearl? Once we become world famous come-dians, we can invite her on our show...She can't say no to that right?" Diamond quietly stated and the blonde chuckled at his words and vehemently agreed, if Platina was unable to visit them, they would force her to see them. "Since senior Red is back...I'll step down from my posi-tion as a commander, it's very stressful you know. I even lost weight!" Pearl snickered and told Dia that he looked good with a little weight loss. "You think so? Then...I suppose I'll have to go on a diet from now on...But what if I can't survive the diet?" The ebony haired male wailed and sent his friend into another fit of giggles. "Missy will be all right, she's much stronger than we realized." The flame eyed boy stopped laughing and somberly agreed.

"I...Liked her a lot." The blonde hesitantly confessed. "No...I loved her."

"Me too." Diamond whispered and Pearl felt a void in his heart.

Platina vanished from their lives, but secretly, he felt glad of the renewed friendship he and Diamond currently shared.

* * *

 **A/N:** Red overcomes his fears and the trio is back at the base. Dia's and Pearl's friendship is stronger than ever. Honestly I love those two. Much thanks to all those who read and reviewed, virtual milkshake to all. Keep on reading and reviewing and telling me what you think.

At Guest: Bald Green? Somehow, I can't picture it but it sounds hilarious. Heh, your sense of impending doom is on point. Misty is headstrong and strong willed and gives Red his first wakeup call (manga). Green worries about Red and is often the one who cheers the Execution's commander up when he is down in the dumps. Blue is equal parts heartwarming and devious. Personally, I think she shares a deeper/sibling like relationship with Red but loves to tease the daylights out of Green. However, she adores both of her friends and will fiercely stand up for them. Your scenarios made my day; I was laughing and grinning like a maniac. If Blue and Gold team up, they'd drive Green crazy and Red would just stand by and helplessly watch them reduce his best friend into nothing. At Jack54311: Sorry, I've never heard of Sky Cooper. I get your feeling, when reading the D/P/Pt chapters, I was impressed by Dia's growth and emotional depth. He is possibly my favorite character. I like devious Dia though, since he is so complex, I feel he could be equal parts compassionate and heartless at the same time.

At AceTrainerLeaf: Manga online…you can read it but it's incomplete. I binge read my manga; I don't have the patience to read a chapter a week. So when I saw X/Y has less than 10 chapters on Mangafox, I gave up. Lol, shipping in Pokemon is serious business, but hey, I thank you for still reading even though you dislike Red/Misty. At Guest: Hehehehe, to be honest, I think I tortured Red the most in the fic…L2 is a close second. Green is there because I'm sick and tired of seeing him being a silent, all knowing moron. He is a moron, but he is a lovable moron. Green uses Square-Enix gel, he'll feel right at home next to Sora, Cloud and Noctis. Thank you for your kind words, they mean very much to me :) Hope you are fine as well.


	79. The sky splits and diaster pends

**Chapter 79: The sky splits and disaster pends**

Dusk

Sinnoh

Sunnyshore city

Wrought iron gates swung silently open to reveal an antebellum mansion surrounded by gnarled trees. A jet black car eased into the driveway porch and the engine purred as it came to a stop before a set of double height oak doors. Two lampent, mounted on brass columns, cast a vivid, lilac glow and the owners of the event greeted each and every guest as the visitors sailed through the entrance and disappeared into the vast confines of the alabaster mansion. Wide windows sported golden curtains which only intensified the light spilling out of the building. Next to Crystal, the door opened and Silver offered her a gloved hand; gathering the vast amounts of organza which made up her dress, she elegantly stepped out and felt the crunch of gravel underneath her heel. The car pulled away and the young couple, to whom the house belonged, peered at the criminals' carefully forged invitation card, nodded in affirmative and sent them away with a polite smile. Silver escorted his female comrade and Crystal desperately wanted to reach up and scratch at her hair. Blue twisted her indigo strands into a braided bun and the strapless ball gown she wore, steadily inched downwards. She wanted to curse Ruby who ultimately swayed his commander into hiring the aquamarine dress he so desperately wanted Crystal to wear. Next to her, Silver marched straight ahead, his hands were concealed in ivory gloves and a fake sapphire gemstone pin held his tie in place. The rest of him looked ravishing in charcoal suit adorned with silver cufflinks. Due an offhand comment made by Ruby, the red head furiously declined any form of hair dyeing and settled for wig. The fiery strands barely brushed his nape and Crystal felt self-conscious.

He guided her effortlessly to the ballroom and the indigo haired woman did not have time to gape. All she noted were marble pillars holding up a ceiling decorated with glass chandeliers. The fixtures exuded finesse and the bright light made the granite tiled floor shine akin to a mirror. She caught her faded reflection and immediately snapped her chin up when a babble of voices floated from the great ballroom. Again, the opulent atmosphere made her uncomfortable. Crystal worked as a part time care-taker at an orphanage in Johto before Professor Oak recruited her to help him with the Pokedex. Seeing rich people squander money in order to impress others did not sit well with her; these people could at least donate a part of their money for some good cause instead of purchasing that questionable piece of art hanging on the opposite wall. The image, enclosed in a gold gilded frame, depicted some nude dude bathing in a pond filled with water pokemon. Flushing, she quickly fiddled with her gemstone encrusted necklace and diverted her attention somewhere else. Silver noticed her discomfort and scanned the room, when his eyes fell on the painting; he smirked in understanding and flatly informed her that the image alone will be able to net them more than half the money Diamond spent on remodeling the base.

"The image is...Quite disturbing. I can't believe people willingly hang those in their homes." Crystal huffed and her best friend offered a wry smile. The chatter in the room swelled in volume and the Johto natives weaved their way through exquisitely dressed crowds and joined the congregation in the center of the marbled floor. Resting on a stone plinth, a glass box offered the viewers a glimpse of tonight's prize: The fuchsia tinted, rare sableye jewel. Gleaming, the gemstone, huge by anyone's standards, nestled in a swath of black silk and the auctioneers greedily fell over it. Pulling away, the red-head kept Crystal close to his side and systemically encircled the oval chamber. Hidden behind gold leafed pillars, he spied a dozen cameras swiveling on metallic mounts. Accepting a flute from a passing waitress, he intently gazed at the bubbles steadily rising to the surface and contemplated on the course of his actions. According to the event schedule, an opening ball will precede the actual auction. The jewel will remain on the pedestal and will only be removed by the hosts once the auction initializes. All guests will be required to move to the auditorium once the dance was over.

However...Stealing the gem during the opening dance will not be easy. As Silver scanned the room for a second time, he observed a party of people hovering suspiciously close to the glass cage holding the sableye jewel. Smashing the cage was out of the question, somehow, he had to sneak the entire thing underneath his slim fit clothes and make it out of the mansion before the auction began. Crystal could serve as a distraction, he contemplated. She could break one of the large windows...Or better yet, yank that offending painting off the wall; her bizarre actions will ensnare the attention of each and every money hungry fool in this room and he could easily slip the jewel underneath his blazer.

The red head grinned diabolically; he was not called the Phantom thief for nothing.

Dumping his glass on a nearby table, Silver pulled his co-worker to a deserted alcove and confirmed the plan with her. The camera swiveled over the heads and he bent lower in an effort to maintain their privacy. Unfortunately, Crystal turned a nice shade of Cheri berry red and instinctively kneed him. A vortex of sympathy immediately rose to the surface of his mind as he suppressed a moan of agony and supported himself against the wall. Poor Gold, he pondered, is this what he goes through every day?

"Silver...Gosh I'm so sorry!" Crystal fretted, wringing her gloved hands together and gently prodding him.

"...I'm fine. I understand...Gold can be annoying at times." The thief gasped and exhaled deeply. "You...Pack quite the power in your kicks and it seems like I'm not immune to them the way Gold is."

"You hardly give me a reason to kick you." Crystal tossed the words over her shoulder as she sashayed away to fetch him a glass of water. The top layers of her bell shaped dress moved fluidly and he kept on staring. This morning, the entirety of Execution, plus a disgruntled Green, trooped to Hearthome City to watch a musical performed by Fantina, Silver wished the three of them could spend some more time together, alas, he had a mission to complete and Yellow advised bed rest for Gold. Perhaps when he finished this assignment, the three of them could hit the game corner together.

Accepting the glass of water from Crystal, he reiterated his plan to her. They will escape from the mansion when the auction convenes. None of them had any pokemon with them since the invitation required that the monsters be kept at home. The lights dimmed in the ballroom and from a corner, an orchestra stirred to life. Music from stringed instruments flowed perfectly with a melody bleeding from a grand piano. With practiced ease, Silver looped his arm around Crystal's waist and guided her back to the center of the room. One by one, more people paired off and swung to the music and the atmosphere around them mellowed.

Crystal was lost.

She tried to tear her gaze from the bewitching depths of her friend's silver stare and look someplace else. There were plenty of things to ogle at. However, the capturer found herself melting into Silver's placid gaze. The duo danced in slow circles and Silver kept a tight rotation around the jewel. Crystal on the other hand, did not notice her surroundings, she only focused on him, noting the short bangs framing his face and the way he grasped her securely. The indigo haired woman wanted to close the miniscule space between them and forget about the mission. She desperately wished for this moment to last forever. Silver gave her a comforting smile and her cheeks glowed hot with pleasure and happiness. A feeling she did not have the luxury to experience often. After the Organization fragmented and went their different ways, her emotions towards her best friends changed; whilst the amber eyed trainer always managed to send her heart fluttering, these days, his soft murmurings only served to highlight the extreme guilt she felt.

What would Gold say if he found out that she considered Silver as more than a friend?

"Crys? Are you alright?" The Johto natives stopped dancing; Silver cupped her cheek with his hand and used his thumb to wipe a tear cascading down her cheek. "I'm concerned...Are you feeling okay?" he questioned. "If you don't want to participate, I'll call my sister and inform her. Meanwhile, you can wait outside while I complete my task and we'll go home together. Thinking about Gold? Don't worry, he's doing fine."

Gold...Why is everything about him?

"No..." she shakily answered, wiped her tears and managed a watery giggle. "You look very handsome with short hair Silver."

He frowned. "You and Sis are the only ones who say I'm handsome these days. The other day I overheard Diamond muttering something about a red headed ghost in the toilet. Turns out we went the same time and since the lights were off, he used a flashlight. The child caught sight of me and ran down the hallways screaming for Blue and sobbing about murder." Silver sighed and brushed his fingers through the wig. "...Are you sure you are okay? By the way, I forgot to mention, you look wonderful in your ball gown; Ruby sure has fine taste." His compliment sent another blush blooming across her cheeks. Wrestling with her emotions, she stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his gaunt frame. Her friend stiffened in confusion and shyly, enveloped her in a hug. "Crys..." he mumbled as realization poured over him akin to a bucket of icy water. "If Gold finds out he will...Crystal," his breath hitched, "please don't do this to me. Gold went through a lot over the past few months and as his best friend, I do not want to betray his feelings; and if he finds out you...He's going to spiral into madness."

"I know..." Crystal breathed and he caught her mellifluous tones through the numerous whisperings flowing through the room. "That's why...I never have the courage to tell him of my real feelings. I'm sorry Silver...I'm sorry things turned out like this. Gold meant the world to me...and I did not even realize when my own feelings cha-"

A loud boom echoed outside the mansion and cut her sentence off. Alarmed, the guests pushed the heavy drapes aside and peered through the window. In the distant horizon, the formless shape of Mount Coronet loomed against the dark sky. Atop the summit, a wrinkle appeared in the sky and a blindingly white burst of light widened the wrinkle into a tear. Dumbstruck, the phantom thief spared a glance at his poke-gear and marched forward; he shouldered his way through the throngs and pressed his face against the window. From the tear in the sky, he witnessed the unmistakable form of Rayquaza as it slithered out of the opening and soared off into the west. More legendary pokemon issued forth from the fissure and zoomed away to their respective areas. How did this happen? Silver mused, according to the calculations, the mythical creatures were not supposed to emerge from the distortion world for another week. Behind him, the guests shoved and spoke, each of them trying to catch a glimpse of this historic moment. Back-tracking, he realized the commotion presented the perfect opportunity to snatch the jewel and run. Nonchalantly, he dipped his head in a courteous greeting to the puzzled owners as they gaped at the sky and ignored him. Taking Crystal's hand, he purposefully strode past the plinth and snuck his gloved fingers underneath the glass covering of the box. His fingertips brushed across the bone chillingly cold surface of the pink jewel and beneath the material of his gloves, his fingers numbed. Smoothly removing the gigantic stone from its nest of black silk, Silver left a calling card in its place. The stiff sheet mockingly displayed a cluster of dark blue stars.

Night

Jubilife City

Convention center

For the past few months, the international police held a string of meetings and their situation did not improve at all. Clusters of round tables stood in the meeting hall and if it were not for the stern faces of the dozen higher ranking police officers and other officials, a person might have mistaken the occasion for a festive event. The tables were draped in a large velvet table cloth and tablets sat on a podium in the middle. A few chairs surrounded each table and bottles of mineral water were laid out for attendants. On far end of the room, Anabel paced on a wooden stage and pointed at a large screen with a laser, whilst directly in front of her, the champions of each region listened intently. Cynthia shifted in her seat, opposite the champions' seating area, the superintendents rigidly sat in their chairs. She spied the taut form of Lack-2 as he listened to the chief's droning speech with absolutely no expression on his face. Surge appeared mildly irritated whilst Falkner folded his arms over his chest and scowled miserably. On the other side, dragon tamer Lance's mien betrayed incredulity; Wallace, exhausted, adjusted the beret resting on his turquoise locks and smoothed his silk shirt. Iris was shattered, her cherubic face sported lines and her normally cheerful maroon irises remained cloudy and distant. Behind the superintendents, their respective officers slouched in a settee. Misty from Kanto, sat dazed behind Falkner, she imparted a malicious glance at Volkner who leaned against her and snored with his eyes closed. Looker imitated his superior and listened to the lecture with rapt attention whilst Blaine wiped his round glasses with a cloth.

Cynthia did not want to be here. What did these meetings achieve anyway? When the other regions' authorities were informed of Kanto's former champion turning rogue, Lance became shell shocked. The Kanto pokemon association wanted to do a man hunt for the ex-champion despite the International Police warning them against such a warrantless search. In the end, Lack-2 and Surge convinced them to leave the matter in the hands of the International Police and the chairperson reluctantly let go. Since Red's detention at Ransei, the ebony haired male divulged no information whatsoever; the police forces were spread thin over each region as they tried to locate the rest of the criminals. Any small scale crime immediately caught their attention and much energy (and resources) was spent in order to track down phantoms. Unfortunately for the police, a few weeks ago, Warlord Ieyasu from Valora conducted a video call to inform a distraught Anabel that their prized convict escaped from jail and there was nothing he could do about it. Two outsiders infiltrated the famed fortress of Valora and managed to sneak the commoner criminal from underneath their noses. The Lord graciously provided two blurry mug shots of the infiltrators and on seeing the perpetrators, Lack-2 involuntarily gasped, backpedaled much to everyone's confusion and thrust his hand inside his duffle to retrieve an inhaler. None of the other superintendents ever saw him use one so it came as a surprise. After he stopped wheezing, he curtly excused himself from the gathering and refused to answer his calls for a week.

Looker paid a private visit to his superior's health advisor and Anabel forced him to share the contents of the appointments Lack-2 conducted with the Magician. Turns out, the officer suffered from Stockholm syndrome which eventually lead to depression. The normally fit as a fiddle boy developed asthma due to his stress and for some reason; the sight of people with golden eyes sent the brown haired officer into an asthma attack. Lt. Surge snorted and ripped up the papers; he declared the Magician's results to be utter rubbish and boomed that Lack-2 operated with inhuman efficiency.

"Brat is a robot." The man articulated with a lazy twirl of his gun, "brat has no feelings; they are dead, like his parents and they will remain dead...Like mine."

Phasing to the present, Cynthia tried to pour more attention to the words uttered by her superior, alas; she failed to concentrate on the speech. The Sinnoh Pokemon league opened and she neglected her champion's duty to attend these fruitless gatherings. Scientists and researchers around the world gathered to discuss minute changes in the environment which started some six months ago. This caught the attention of Cynthia's grandmother who declared that the legendary pokemon were not in this world anymore. Much to the Sinnoh champion's mortification, the other authorities simpered at the old woman's nonsensical ramblings. Three months later, environmentalists confirmed her suspicions and informed the rest of the leading establishments about the degradation of the Poke-world, which according to them, were caused by missing, dead, or misplaced legendary creatures.

Misplaced...Her granny spat the words out and shook her cane in a young scientist's face. The woman paled like a ghost and spoke about her theories. If the legendary creatures were dead, Ho-oh, the symbol of rebirth, would invariably resurrect them.

"They were most likely sent to an alternate dimension..." Another biologist mused and nodded. "Thus...The misplaced theory is the most plausible one." A heated debate still raged amongst the intellectuals and the International Police eventually got roped into it...How long with this meeting last? The blonde woman wondered and peeked at her watch, she needed to squeeze in two hours with her pokemon partners before retiring to bed tonight.

Time warped.

* * *

Night

Sinnoh

Sunnyshore City

Silver and Crystal slunk across the back alleys of the metropolis. The red head's eyes swirled with unspeakable wrath as he glided down a dingy pathway and pulled his friend along with him. After rescuing the jewel, the duo stumbled to the extraction point and found no helicopter waiting for them. No Pearl either. Growling under his breath and spitting heated curses, Silver muttered about never trusting Pearl again and thus the two of them hiked up to the sprawling backstreets of Sunnyshore and kept out of sight. Crystal wished to hack her dress into pieces, squeezing through narrow and grime covered pathways proved to be difficult whilst wearing a ball gown. Pulling out his wallet, Silver groaned at the sight of a few bills and told his co-worker to wait for him. Hopping to a clothing store, he purchased a few nondescript clothes, changed into them and handed the rest to Crystal and waited till she folded her ridiculous gown back into a bag. Ruby will throw a hissy fit if the dress was not returned to the shop by tomorrow. Feeling much more comfortable in a pair of jeans, the duo stepped out into the bustling crowds and located the nearest bus station.

And then.

The sky split apart.

Crystal did not scream. She only looked up to see a large square of the sky detach from the surroundings and fall. The situation seemed so surreal; she merely stood and gaped as the star spangled piece of heaven descended downwards with an unearthly velocity. Silver screamed at her to move but all she did was petrify to her spot and watch her life flashing in front of her eyes. Chaos erupted as the crowds ran helter skelter and people pushed her around. Thrusting the crowds aside, Silver grabbed her hand and forcibly pulled her out of the shoving mass. The indigo haired female felt the life and energy drain out of her. The black canvas rocketed towards the earth and her hand slipped from Silver's sweaty one. In another split instant, she glimpsed the horror reflected in Silver's eyes as they separated, a force of gravity pulled him away and she desperately tried to reach him. Police sirens echoed across the city and in one swoop all the lights blacked out.

 _Black City..._

What?

 _Black City..._

Her mind continued to chant words which held no meaning to her.

 _Black City..._

Emergency lighting kicked into place, instead of the customary highlight orange and yellow, the sky scrapers of Sunnyshore lit up with neon blue lights and panorama unsettled her.

" _A city named after Black?"_ She heard Gold speaking in her head as the others admonished him. Where did these memories come from? She wondered and tried to anchor herself back to reality. The red head was nowhere to be seen and judging from the horrific screams around her, the sky must be really close to falling. Patches of midnight black squares crumbled from above and fell like discarded jigsaw pieces and beyond the torn fabric of reality, she glimpsed a Prussian blue world. The dissonant ringing of sirens emanated from all corners and the entire city trembled. Crystal screwed her eyes shut and prayed, the screeching around her petered to a stop. Opening her eyes, she wiped her tears to see a blonde woman standing in the middle of the crossroads and next to her; a garchomp, its body cloaked with energy. The land shark forced the square sheet of heaven away from the ground. Slowly, very slowly, the piece of sky lifted, the sand dragon roared and sent a pulse of energy, forcing the starry patch to lift off the ground and relocate.

The Sinnoh champion wiped sweat from her brow and looked up, the sky was riddled with holes and she glimpsed some sort of dimension through the spaces. Floating islands? Cynthia was unable to tell, the environs were too dark to accurately see anything. Whirling around, she noted how the other pieces of sky stopped their descent and a multitude of dragons took to the skies. Possibly Claire and Lance were at the forefront of piecing the sky back together. During the meeting, time warped inside the room and all those who remained conscious, rushed out to see the predictions coming true. The future they glimpsed revealed the end of the world as an influx of insurgent legendries tore out of the distortion world and their untimely appearances wreaked havoc. Although the mythical creatures veered off into their own places, the mere fact of them bursting out together resulted in heavy consequences, worse still, the creation trio of Dialga, Palkia and Giratina, who were tasked to maintain the balance of the world, did nothing but watch. The ground quaked again and next to her, a chasm opened up, spewing a plume of lava in the middle of the city.

Half the skyscrapers melted. In the midst of the shrieking crowds, a lone female with dark blue hair shakily stood up and gasped at the heavens. A vein beat into the side of Cynthia's forehead; did that brainless girl not understand the meaning of danger? Why is she stumbling to the pool of lava? Ignoring her other concerns, the champion mounted her dragon and took off at Mach speeds. She came to a stop next to the girl and fiercely ordered her to evacuate.

Instead, the girl stared at her glassily and pointed to the sky. "Could you please tell me what is happening?"

"Young lady...We do not have time to answer your questions." Cynthia sternly stated and noted Crystal's dirt stained cheeks, "please evacuate. The Police and other personnel are responsible for handling this situation-"

"Do you know what's going on?"

"...We received a premonition..." Instead of disbelief, the blonde woman saw understanding dawn on the indigo haired woman's face. "I've said enough...Evacuate, now. The entire world is facing a similar crisis and the other champions are leaving Sinnoh as I speak to attend to the problems their own region is suffering."

A certain clarity pervaded the stranger's crystalline irises. "Don't worry..." she spoke firmly. "All of this will return to normal once the legendary creatures return to their proper places."

"How do you?!" Cynthia stopped speaking when a red headed male stepped out of the shadows and pulled on the girl. The previously rattled female imparted an enigmatic smile.

"I know...Because we are the ones who prompted this disaster in the first place." Before the female champion could assimilate her words, the duo melted into the night.

The two criminals huffed and ran faster. Bolts of lightning rained down from the sky and some of them left smoking impact craters on the ground and roads. A street sign melted and lay as a pool of metallic liquid in front of them. Crystal vaulted over the puddle and continued careering. Thanks to the efforts of Sinnoh's pokemon league, the sky was stitched back into place, unfortunately, the ground unraveled and between the straits; she spied orange rivers of lava coursing silently through the earth. Heat and cold buffeted her and to her dismay, the ponderous clouds covered the once clear sky. A flash of lightning arced across the heavens; snow steadily showered down and covered the city in a blanket of dirty white. Flecks of them fell into the orange depths below and soon, the ravines emitted smoke. Sunnyshore resembled a ghost town. Blue lights blurred against a smoky screen with people and buildings appearing as nothing more than distorted silhouettes.

The air grew thick with the scent of smoke and somewhere, a sandstorm brewed. In one corner of a department store, the two criminals crouched down to catch their breath and perked their ears to hear the faraway sounds of a battle. The ground swayed rhythmically and Crystal wanted to throw up, all these new experiences frightened her and the environment around her resonated with an alien cadence. Merely a few feet away from her spot, the ground groaned open and another geyser of liquid fire erupted from the bowels of the earth, speckles of lava spilled on the pavement and hardened to new earth. The land tore open like a well-worn piece of fabric and she briefly thanked Arceus...At least the sky did not descend on them anymore. Shivering against the alternate heat and cold, she watched Silver stab his finger on his palmtop computer as he tried and failed to get a signal.

"Electromagnetic dissonance" he stated lowly "the universe's magnetic field is in disarray and thus we won't have any electricity and the pokemon relying on the magnetic field will be disorientated. There is quite a distance between Sunnyshore and our base, we do not have any pokemon, the busses, trains, trams and other vehicles are stuck in limbo...Or probably smashing against each other. Hmm...Airplanes...I wonder how they are faring." He lapsed into silence and stowed his gadget back into the pocket of his black jeans. "What should we do now? I doubt hiking all the way to Mount Sinnoh is an option; we will die along the way. I can't contact anyone back at base and they must be preoccupied with concerns of their own, I mean, the sky tore open above their heads in the first place..." Silver trailed off and rested against the sidewalk, the earth raged around them and he repeatedly brushed his head free of snow.

A hopeless situation pervaded them.

Instead of breaking down and bemoaning their situation, Crystal forced herself to calm down and think. Her thoughts spiraled towards her mother and a cruel grip of fear clutched her heart. Her mother...Cynthia mentioned the other regions faced similar crises and the crushing feeling in her chest inflated to epic proportions. Grasping her chest, she breathed evenly through her nose and mouth, seeing her fall into a panic attack, Silver wordlessly rubbed circles into her back and murmured comforting words. Images of her mom flashed by in her head. Crystal's mother was an independent woman, often admonishing her daughter if Crystal showed signs of weakness. _Where are you mom?_ The indigo haired girl cried. _Where are you when I need to see you the most? And more importantly are you safe?_

' _I'm stronger than the storm Crystal and you better finished what you started dear'_

Her mom's cutesy talking and fashion style clashed horribly with her independent ideals. Crystal's sobbing morphed into a shaky laugh and she eventually straightened up and took deep breaths to calm her turbulent emotions. Wherever her mother was, she would be safe and sound; and like Commander Blue stated, the legendary pokemon will not allow the Poke-earth to fall into mass degradation, their primary task is to protect the earth, not destroy it. Shutting the world out, she quickly delved into a few minutes of meditation to clear her mind. Silver did a remarkable job at stealing the gem and she did not want to rely on him too much, as a partner in crime, she had to put forth some suggestions.

A minute passed before she opened her eyes and spouted the most logically illogical resolution to their problem. "Since all the transportation routes are jammed and hiking all the way to Mount Coronet is no option...I propose we steal some pokemon and use them to get back to base." Her friend's mouth hung open and it reminded her of a gaping feebas. "What? Do you have a better idea?" Crystal snapped, "The PC's are all down, I can't waltz into a pokemon center and claim my monsters and catching wild pokemon without a pokeball is futile." She got up and stretched. "Come on Silver, we don't have much time, help me get to the nearest Pokemon center so we can see if they have some monsters in an outside storage...Sometimes, pokeballs are stored manually in case the power fails." As the two stepped out of the penumbrae of the building a deluge of water poured from the heavens. Visibility became an all-time low, Crystal gritted her teeth and pushed forward in the rain. Smoke morphed into a fog and blue lights winked back at her from a dense shroud of white. Pulling out the soaked blazer, Silver draped it across his friend's head and she smiled gratefully at him. The rain drummed onto the roads and fell into the core of the earth, around her, water and fire mixed and hissed akin to a live beast. Stepping over muddy puddles, they raced across empty streets and came to a stop before the nearest Center, the front of the clinic crumbled apart, revealing the insides and water rushed in, damaging the machines whilst the tiled floor cratered in several places. Entering the dilapidated building, Crystal purposefully marched to the back and rifled through boxes. Silver silently helped her unpack and search through special containers, as they hunted, he noted the defeated look in her eyes but yet...She refused to give up.

There were no usable pokemon in the center, the two people, soaking wet and haggard, stood in a storage room full of containers and the female Johto native angrily kicked a box aside. The potions contained within the box spilled to the floor. Silver walked over and pocketed a few; one never knew when they may come in handy. "...Let's search someplace else." Crystal waded through the mountain of cartons and strode outside. "We can try a school, how about it? There should be some pokemon there right?" Noting the desperate look in her eyes, he gently nodded and fell in step behind her as she raced through the squall. The rain came down harder, big fat drops exploding against the ground. Locating the local trainer's school which remained marginally intact, the Johto natives climbed over the rusting gates and the capturer smashed open the door with a powerful kick. The wood splintered apart and the two agreed to search in different places. Silver irises watched Crystal as she bolted down the hallways, instead of turning around and investigating on his own; the red head entered the locker area and slumped against one of the metal cabinets. A simple thieving mission twisted into one of the most bizarre experiences of his life. And that was saying something. In one night, the beheld the sky fall down, the earth rip apart...He silently observed the twist of space as he tried in vain to reach Crystal and odd memories flooded into his mind. Shoving the memories to the back of his head, he decided to study them later, the biggest conundrum was the early appearance of the mythical beasts. How and why did they burst out of the distortion world at such an odd time?

Suddenly, his thought process shifted to Gold and Crystal. He held both of them in the highest regard; they were his best friends. As for Crystal and Gold, he did not mind them ending up together, often; the ebony haired male displayed jealous tendencies if Crystal complimented Silver or sat next to him. He chalked it up to the breeder's idiosyncrasies. To him, the indigo haired woman was a close confederate and a reliable friend...Until she dropped a bombshell on him that is.

After stealing the gem, his mind stubbornly veered towards her. Her simple confession threw his normally apathetic emotions into a violent frenzy and he tried to tame the rampant contemplations playing out in his head. Crystal was a friend, Gold was a friend. Gold loved Crystal and will anything to protect her. He, Silver, never had a chance and he certainly was not going to ruin his friendship with Gold in order to create one.

Still...He pondered as a warm flush spread across his cheeks; it was nice to know what Crystal thought of him. People only remarked on his looks if he followed a strict diet and did not lose too much weight. However, Silver's health went on a constant decline, the extreme stress accompanying his job made it impossible to maintain a peace of mind. If Blue was troubled, he automatically stopped eating and if he had a mission coming up, he often gorged on unhealthy cup noodles to keep him going. Despite his ungainly appearance, Crystal still found him handsome.

The distorted reflection staring back at him did not look flattering in the slightest. Earlier, the pouring rain dissolved his make-up and he discarded his wig in the confusion. In the dull gleam of the metal, he spied a thin face framed by lanky, matted hair. "She must be blind..." he muttered, felt his face heat up some more and wrung out excess water from his drenched shirt.

Crystal found a pair of staraptor in an abandoned classroom. Once the birds were released in the lobby, they refused to obey commands and a gust sent the two humans soaring and smacking to the opposite end of the room. Outside, thunder crashed and the rain eased up to a drizzle. Frightened, the avian beasts huddled together and warily eyed the strange humans. Picking herself up from the floor, the female approached them with soothing words and two rare candies in her palm. The monsters sensed her fear. Gently, she knelt down in front of them and spoke soothingly. The female staraptor, hiding behind her mate, gingerly came forward and sniffed the objects in the human's palm. Crystal held her hand up higher and after giving her a painful peck; the hen staraptor allowed her to stroke it. The male eyed her doubtfully and when Silver approached, it screeched at the red head before raking him with its steel tipped talons. At once, Crys hefted her leg and slammed it straight into the predator pokemon's chest. The bird flew moved back a few paces and blinked, to the thief's astonishment, the male bird meekly waddled over to him and allowed him to stroke its grey plumage.

"Capturing techniques," His comrade explained and mounted her ride. "All pokemon have a spot they are highly sensitive too, if you manage to strike a pokeball at their sensitive area, you will be able to capture a monster at full health with minimal difficulty. Hitting the area either frightens them, or makes them tame." She ran her fingers in the female's head feathers and the bird cooed in delight. "Let's go home...I'm exhausted." He noted weariness lacing her words.

"Just make sure not to fall off." Silver joked with a blank face.

"You make bad dating material" Crystal scrunched up her face. "Jeez, all the girls will run away from you if you aren't a bit charismatic. Take senior Green for example, his icy exterior exudes an intellectual charm." Shaking her head, she pressed her legs against the bird's body and urged the staraptor to fly. The beast soared into the darkened skies and disappeared out of sight.

 _You won't run away from me._

Silver bit his lip till he tasted blood. He did not just think that.

* * *

The next day, dawn

Sinnoh Mainland

Dex Criminal's base, Gold's room.

The male grunted, turned over in his bed and a pokemon scurried away from being crushed under his weight. Gold's room resonated with several snores and grunts and typholsion softened the inky black surroundings of the area with the light of its fiery mane. The volcano pokemon snoozed on the carpet, whilst one paw rested on its master's bed at a painful angle. Next to the raven haired male's bed, his pokegear, resting on the wooden bedstead, rang insistently and an arm shot out from the duvet covers and grabbed the device. Bleary eyed, he accepted the video call and gawped at the sight of his commander.

"Hello Mister Gold, I have an emergency, I really need to go to the bathroom so could you please unlock the door for me?" Red pleaded earnestly. Gold stared, unable to comprehend the situation. Did his commander not have arms? Couldn't he grab the keycard laying somewhere in his room, swipe it at the electronic pad and get out himself? The call ended and the gold eyed man dumbly gawked into the blank screen. Putting the device back down. He rolled over and went to sleep.

"Mister Gold? Eh, he can wait five more minutes..." he warbled to himself and closed his eyes. Surely Commander Red, the legendary battler could hold out for five minutes...

Sunlight streamed in and caressed his face. Jumping up from his bed, the breeder eyed his pokemon as they shuffled around and rubbed off vestiges of sleep. Typholsion stood at the door, the pokemon wanted to go out. Suddenly, he remembered Red's request, his mentor needed the toilet. Shrieking, he glanced at the clock and groaned; over three hours passed since the call. Dragging himself out of bed, he neglected to dress himself properly and instead grabbed his keycard and flew down the corridor. To his astonishment, the door to Red's room remained locked. Puzzled and wondering of the ex-champion somehow pranked him, he swiped his keycard and the door slid open.

In the doorway, clad in an oversized t-shirt and a cap hiding half of his face, stood a five-year old Red. A pair of jeans pooled at the child's feet and the boy pulled his black shirt till it went over his knees. He had a sheepish look in his crimson irises, the one a naughty child would give to someone older if they were caught doing something bad. Gold's eyes trailed down the boy and at the jeans...They were wet. "Uncle, I'm sorry for wetting the jeans. I'm not really sure what's going on but this place looks interesting!" The boy flashed him a toothy grin in spite of his circumstances. The breeder stumbled in the room and crouched down to the scarlet eyed boy's eye level. "My name is Red." Red introduced himself. "I like pokemon battling and I'm good at street fights. My dream is to become the Pokemon Champion!" He puffed his little chest out and declared.

Pokemon Champion huh? The breeder's smirked widened. Seeing a tiny Red looking up earnestly at him brought an influx of memories. Golden eyes softening, he picked the oversized cap off the fighter's head and put it on his own. It fit snugly. Carrying his tiny commander, Gold heard the boy inhale deeply and grab fistfuls of his shirt. "So Red huh?" he asked and the child bopped his head. "Don't worry about this place, it might seem a little strange to you but this is home."

"Home?" The innocent voice piped inquisitively

"Yeah...And I'm your older brother, Call me Gold."

* * *

 **A/N:** So did anyone get a heart attack? Heh. I actually prefer Gold with Crystal but I thought this would be a nice twist. L-2, poor dude, developed some serious problems. Much thanks to all those who read and reviewed, keep on telling me what you think. Virtual –something with a lot of ice- to all.

At Sakurafox1218: Your theories are delicious and interesting, but does L-2 get kicked out from the IP? And yes, look forward to Gold half killing Lack-2. Before that though, look forward to Gold being the ultimate big brother to Red. At Jack54311: I took your advice on divine punishment and cooked the next chapter up. Of course the world is going to go haywire when the legendries return, they are supposed to be far apart from each other, not bunched up and ready to rumble. At AceTrainerLeaf: You can read the manga on MangaFox, but it lacks the latest chapters and its only complete till B/W. Platina will not make a comeback unfortunately, I tried to find a place to squeeze her in but she didn't fit. So yes, my favorite frost queen is gone.


	80. A saccharine escape

**Chapter 80: A saccharine escape**

A month later

Mid-morning

Sinnoh

Dex Criminal's base.

The members of the Organization lazed around in the second chamber. In a corner, Sapphire and Rald pored over a game whilst Ruby stared into a mirror and checked his reflection.

"Can someone please explain to me what is going on around here?" Ruby put the mirror away and peered around the room with a confused gaze.

"Arrrghhhh!" Emerald and Saph screeched in tandem. "Just how many times do we have to tell you?" The midget articulated heatedly and jumped down from the table. He wriggled his fingers and Crystal looked up in alarm. On her lap, Yellow squeaked in fear and clutched the picture book closer to her chest. Sitting on a high stool and away from the group, Green grasped a tome half his size and scrutinized the others with a stormy, scornful gaze. He snorted when Yellow yelped and went back to reading about Pokemon habitats. The door to the chamber slid open and Silver, disgruntled, walked in with a chirpy Blue in his arms.

"Emerald, calm down, you know it is not his fault." The indigo haired woman soothed, "and please don't touch him, we don't want him to end up in the infirmary like the last time." Grumbling under his breath, the blonde ambled back to Sapphire and continued in his senseless staring of the game board. "Well...I have told you this countless times...however you will forget by tomorrow so I'll keep this brief" Crystal sighed and Yellow gazed at her with hazel eyes. "Since the legendary creatures escaped from the distortion world, the members who went to witness the incident were afflicted with inexplicable circumstances. Ruby, you are stuck in a time loop; therefore you won't remember anything by tomorrow. Gold, Silver and I are unaffected because during the event, Silver and I were busy with a mission whilst Gold was fast asleep."

On the far side of the circular chamber, Crystal heard a five year old Green snort. As a child, the young Oak's ego and arrogance far outstripped his size, shutting the weighty book with an audible snap, his mocking gaze speared into Ruby who coolly glared back. "You are telling me...That I climbed up Mt. Coronet, witnessed all the legendary pokemon flying out of a hole in the sky, apprehended some scientist criminal and then got de-aged to a child whilst remembering nothing of my supposed adult life?" The boy's disbelieving tone snaked around the room. "I wanna see my Grandpa..." he hissed, "call him. Now."

The phenomenon around them could easily be explained as a sort of divine retribution for meddling with the universe's unbreakable laws. Since the rupture of the distortion world, the Poke-verse suffered a string of casualties. Flash flood and unexplained forest fires. Trainers, who challenged the Sinnoh league, often vanished when entering forests or other secluded places. The snow around the mountainous regions melted and this caused the rivers to swell and flood their banks; atop Mount Coronet's summit, a vortex to the reverse realm opened up. The authorities of several regions tried and repeatedly failed to study the rip in space; each time a craft veered close to the purplish black opening, a disaster occurred. Either the vehicle combusted, malfunctioned or freak weather conditions forced the investigators to move away from the mountain top. One morning, Gold woke up and found Red de-aged as a five year old child. Concerned and exhilarated, he picked up his child commander and proceeded to check on Green, as the Johto native neared the door and opened it, he gaped as an incensed Oak strode out pompously, marched downstairs and demanded for a way home. Blue, the cunning girl, snuck out of her room and ended up in Silver's place, the red head blearily opened his eyes to witness a younger version of his sister rifling through his possessions. When he got up, the lazuline eyed child squeaked in astonishment, quickly snatched something and fled. Grabbing a shirt, he chased her down the hallway and pried her stiff fingers off his cellphone, sniffing, the girl bawled at the top of her voice and this prompted a four year old Yellow to break down crying as well.

All the oldest members were aged down to children. Green and Red maintained their composure but Yellow could not adjust to her bizarre surroundings and more often than not, burst into tears. She clung on to Crystal and made sure not to cross paths with the spiky haired brunette as he scoffed at her supposed weakness. Silver handcuffed himself to Blue, if left alone; the little commander went around and stole anything she got her hands on. She once ran around screaming with a furious Dia and a placid Pearl at her heels. Red opted to roam around the base and either busied himself in challenging random members to pokemon battles, or annoying the daylights out of Green. When Crystal sensed things settle down, she resumed reading the picture book with Yellow and the door whirred open once more. A breathless Diamond stumbled in whilst a shriek behind him revealed the form of the young fighter. Red ran inside the room with Gold chasing him and the indigo haired woman sighed, so much for spending a quiet morning with Yellow.

Holding up a striped t-shirt, the golden eyed man hunted the tickled brat around the room and Silver growled when Blue wanted to join in the race. "Get back here. Red!" Gold huffed and came to a dizzying stop when the child refused to listen. Crashing down on the carpet, he caught his breath and watched the boy play with Diamond. "...Dia still creeps me out," he muttered and his friends nodded in understanding. "I'm sure he is burning all the calories he stored up whilst gorging on food. By the way, where is Pearl?" Silver removed the cuff and his adopted sibling zoomed off to frolic with her best friend, the red head replied that Pearl worked in the kitchen, baking a cake. "Huh...I wish he'd make lunch or something, I'm starving." Gold picked up the striped shirt and held it in front of his co-workers. "Doesn't this look great?" He eagerly questioned and his comrades heaved heavy sighs. "Oi...Stop sighing. Don't you think this shirt will look cute on-"

Blue immediately zoomed past him and grabbed the shirt; the breeder waved an enraged fist at her giggling form. "...Leave her be Gold, she'll give it back and you can convince Red to wear it." Silver droned and pushed his hair out of his face. "And stop spending so much money on him, he's growing up. Red isn't going to stay as a kid forever you know. From the news reports, the strange events around the regions are dying out, so that means everyone here will return to normal. And get your head outta the gutter, your room is a filthy mess with children's clothes. This isn't a daycare." The phantom thief admonished and his best friend whistled to drown out his words.

"I know...It's just so refreshing to have a kid brother around so..."

"And stop teaching him how to pick up ladies and gambling tactics." Silver smirked when Crystal eyed Gold with a fury of a maddened Arceus.

"I'm sorry for believing that you'll actually grow up to be a decent father." The capturer blandly stated and Gold jerked back like she hit him. Expression doing a revolution, she smiled serenely at Yellow and picked the girl up. "Come on Yellow, let's go and see what Pearl is cooking up in the kitchen, I know he is a bit slow but his cakes are delicious right?" Blonde pigtails bouncing, the little girl skipped behind Crystal and ran when she spied Green. The boy took no notice of her and instead drew up a chart. A shadow fell over him and he snapped his head up to see the contemplative form of Red poring over his meticulous notes. Each morning, the child sported a set of new clothes and Oak suspected the golden eyed man, who currently engaged in a heated debate with a red headed skeleton, was the one spoiling the street brat. Ignoring his rival who squatted down next to him, he continued writing down type advantages and disadvantages. Just as he finished, an older girl with brown hair poked him on his shoulder and he rotated to glance at her. On seeing Sapphire, his mouth became dry; his rival screamed and tore off at once, weeping for Gold whilst Blue rooted to her spot. The marker from Green's hand fell and no matter how many times he saw the tanned girl phase through solid objects, it still frightened him senseless. Seeing their reactions, she guffawed and fist bumped with Emerald. The duo's jubilant moment shattered when Gold yelled at them to stop scaring the kids.

"Pfft!" Sapphire clamped her hands over her mouth. "I mean, did you see Commander Green's face? Ahahahahaha! Did you get a picture Rald?" The midget hefted a camera crawling with vines. "When he returns to normal, I'll show it to him...Hah! Blackmail!" The Hoenn trainers continued to snort and Blue retreated into the safety of Silver's embrace. Next to Gold, Red forgot about his earlier predicament and scribbled on a discarded piece of paper, when the breeder peeked, he saw him drawing up strategies and calculating pokemon weaknesses.

A loud explosion echoed from a distant part of the base and an ear curling scream added to the din.

Whipping around, Gold noticed the tiny fighter caterwauling. Red dropped his pen and curled up, rocking back and forth. When the older male attempted to pick him up, he got a vicious slap for his efforts. Crawling a bit further, the boy balled up and mumbled to himself. At the far end, Strategy's child commander got up and rolled up his notes, he spied the Johto native veering closer to Red and spoke up. "Leave Red alone. He's a war victim and generally, they are scared of loud sounds and things like that. He's gonna be back to normal after a few minutes but don't touch him, he might bite...He did it to Grandpa once and Grandpa told me not to bother him when he becomes like that." Eyes lowering, he shuffled out of the room. Dia sprung up from his chair, declared he would check the commotion taking place in the kitchen and sprinted off. Blue sniffled and stubbornly wiped her tears, Silver picked her up, patted Gold on his back and together with Emerald, vacated the chamber. Left alone with an inert Ruby in one corner, the man listened to his mentor's whining and wondered how to cheer him up. Maybe a new stuffed toy?

Or perhaps he should just wait like Green advised. Amber irises washed over the black haired boy's piteous form.

A war victim...Huh?

* * *

Evening

Sinnoh

Beneath Mount Coronet

Balancing expertly on the edge of a humungous bathtub, Red fastened a large towel around his neck and struck a hero pose. "I'm going to be the champion of the Kanto league! I'm going to become a hero. Yah!" He declared, leapt off the edge and proceeded to run around with the towel fluttering out behind him like a cape. Disinterested in his shenanigans, Ruby grabbed the sponge and proceeded to scrub Emerald with it. The blonde wriggled uncomfortably, endured the scouring with gritted teeth before finally wrenching himself out of the taller male's grasp and peering at his raw skin. Hissing, he asked if the fashionista wanted to peel his skin off to which the male replied in affirmative since Rald's skin was filthier than a muk's muck. Getting a splash of water into his face, the crimson eyed teen eyed the bath water in horror and quickly sloshed to the edge. Getting out, he wrapped a towel around himself and stood near the back wall. Inhaling deeply, he asked the ladies if he could join in their bath. On the other side, Crystal, who washed White's hair, soothed the girl when she jumped. Unfortunately for them, the greatest organizer in the Organization lost her memories and Whi-2's mental state regressed to that of an infant. The younger Unova native played with Yellow and in the middle of the tub, the duo splashed each other playfully. Drifting alone, Sapphire, tired of doing this on a daily basis, got out of the tub, walked to the opposite wall and called Ruby's name. When he answered her, she pulled back her arm and proceeded to smash it through the wall and into her best friend's chest. She heard him gasp and wheeze. Satisfied, she returned to the tub and gave the girls a thumbs up.

"Dude's got courage...He's admirable."

"That's not courage, its sheer stupidity." Silver monotonously voiced and reached for the soap. "Unfortunately, knowing Ruby's condition, he will be doing this again tomorrow."

"Wish I had that phasing skill...Man the stuff I could-" Gold grinned perversely and stared up at the ceiling.

"Will you shut up? What happened to you being the ultimate good example for Red?"

"He can't hear me" The amber eyed trainer went underwater for a few seconds and resurfaced. "He's busy playing hero and kicking Team Rocket's butt. That reminds me...I should scrub him. Oi, Red, come here." The boy straightened up and barreled toward them. Articulating another victorious cry, he undid his towel, flung it someplace else and dove into the bathtub, sending a spray of water everywhere. Ruby shrieked about dirty water getting on his body whilst the scarlet eyed child gleefully paddled to his older brother figure. "You as well Green...come on and don't give me that scandalous look, we all know you bath with Daisy." Pink faced, Oak reluctantly swam and placed himself next to Red. His nemesis played with a rubber ducky whilst humming horribly off tune and Green merely stood still. "Want a duck to play with?" Gold questioned and he shook his head. "Fine then, this will only take a minute, don't worry I won't hurt you."

Yellow played with Whi-2's gorgeous hair as it flowed silkily in the clear water. Trying to emulate Crystal who tackled with White's voluminous shock of chocolate brown locks, the healer reached for shampoo, squirted a tiny amount in her little hands and rubbed it in the Unovian's hair. Delighted by the bubbles and white foam, she continued lathering the older girl's hair and piling it atop her head. The result was a mound of foam tottering on Whi-2's head and on seeing this, the blonde giggled mirthfully. Crystal smiled at her, nodded and grabbed the soap; Yellow watched the older woman wash herself and tried to do the same. The bar slipped from between her fingers and sunk to the tiled floor. Panicking, the Kanto native tried to dive down in order to retrieve it, all her older sisters used the soap and if it went missing, they won't have anything to clean themselves with. Gulping a lung full of air, she attempted to go under when Sapphire stopped her. "I'll fetch it, don't worry about it Yellow, if anything happens to you, I won't forgive myself so go back to Crystal okay."

"But...the water is deep." The girl frowned, worry twisting her cherubic features.

"Hmm? It's not deep for someone like me. Just watch, I'll be back up before you know it." Instead of going back to Crystal, Yellow floated there and waited with bated breath for Sapphire to resurface. When bubbles rose to the surface and the wild trainer did not come up, the blonde wailed and Crystal rushed over to her.

"Yellow...What's wrong?"

"Big Sis Saph...She went to...Uwahhh!" The blonde balled up her fists and wept in Crystal's chest.

"Boo!" Sapphire resurfaced and shouted. Aghast, Yellow's sniffles promptly morphed into a cross between crying and giggling. Letting go of Crystal, she floated over to the Hoenn native and retrieved the bar of soap. When the older woman eyed Saph sternly, the younger trainer defended herself: "Yellow was upset because she dropped the bar of soap and I went down to fetch it...But the thing kept on slipping through my fingers and ending up on the floor...So when I heard her crying, I thought I'd surprise her."

Sneaking up behind Crystal, Blue, with a mischievous sparkle in her eye, wriggled her fingers and tickled the indigo haired female. The Johto native instinctively went rigid and curbed the desire to kick out and shatter something. Instead, Yellow splashed her friend with water and before long, the two children delved into a water battle. In a surprising show of tenacity, Yellow dished out her water attacks accurately and splashed furiously in Blue's face. Giving up, the brown haired girl sprang out of the bath tub and amidst Crystal's admonishing, ran off to the boy's area clad only in a towel. Despite his constant grumbling, Silver happened to be only one Blue trusted and she often rotated around him. She begged to go along with him during shopping excursions and faithfully waited by the entrance for his return. Since the mountainous environment turned warmer, Crystal did not mind and allowed the girl to play outside. One day, Blue rushed out on hearing of Silver's return. Her brother came back with a load of food and hopped down from his honchkrow. On seeing the bird, the five year old screeched in terror and displayed a behavior similar to Red when he heard the oven exploding. After recalling the monster into a pokeball, she rushed over to her brother and tugged for the capsule. Bewildered, by her actions, the red head let go and after shifting a few paces away from him, she threw the pokeball with all her might. Jaw opening, Silver watched his honchkrow soar through the air and disappear into a thicket of trees. Blue cried and related that she did not want those bird monsters to take him away and thus dragged him back into the safety of the base. Nodding, he followed his sister whilst Diamond offered to look for the pokeball.

Bath time was over; Crystal clambered out and gathered the rest of the juniors. Whi-2 was toweled dry, dressed and piloted back to her bedroom. Sapphire guided White to the latter's room; the organizer took a wrong turn and ended up in the wrong place yet again. Apologizing, she allowed the Hoenn native to escort her. In Crystal's bedroom, the capturer dressed Yellow up in a fluffy night gown and observed the little girl stand on her tip toes and squint at picture book titles. Extracting one from a low lying shelf, the blonde tottered back to the older woman and settled in her lap. "Can you please read this one for me?" The girl asked and the azure eyed woman melted. Opening the book, Yellow gasped at an image of a dashing prince mounted atop his regal rapidash. Over the course of the story, the prince saves the princess and they live happily ever after. Snapping the book shut, the older trainer carefully lifted a sleeping Yellow and tucked into bed. She stared at the sleeping child for a while with a soft smile on her lips. The young Kanto native appeared as a handcrafted doll with rosy cheeks and a head full of golden curls fanned against the pillow. Switching off the lights, Crystal eased herself into bed and immediately, her younger senior gravitated towards her and buried her small form against her own.

The deep breaths of two individuals punctuated the stillness of the night.

Hours passed and suddenly, a knock resounded on the door.

At first, the older female ignored it, it might be one of her pokemon shuffling around in the dark and bumping against a table, but the noise repeated itself with increasing intensity and she tossed underneath the blankets. Slowly, she extracted herself from the warm cocoon of duvets and made sure not to disturb Yellow. The little girl uttered a small squeak and turned over. Draping a robe over herself, the indigo haired trainer switched on a lamp and stared at the door. The knocking started up again; praying it wouldn't be Gold, she opened the door and unexpectedly, Green stood in the doorway, rubbing his eyes. Clad in light blue pajamas, the young boy squeezed a plush toy in one arm. His grip on the teddy bear was so tight, Crystal wondered if he was trying to decapitate it. Smiling at him, she bent to his level and enquired if anything was wrong.

"There are monsters underneath my bed..." he muttered in a barely perceptible voice, when she looked skeptical, he further clarified, "they come when the moon is full and if there is a gengar haunting a certain place. I'm very sure...there is a gengar hiding in my room...and it's allowing the monsters to bother me at night." His words were delivered in a factual tone and Crys did not know if she should laugh or feel sorry for him. Red screeched at loud noises, Blue was terrified of birds and Green declared there were monsters hiding underneath his bed. The brunette rubbed his eyes again and patiently waited for the Johto native to digest his discoveries.

"I understand, those bad monsters underneath your bed are scaring you, am I right?" Her child commander nodded hesitantly and strangled his stuffed toy some more. "You want to stay with someone...hmm...how about Gold?" Crystal gently questioned

"Pervert." Oak shot back at her and she giggled.

"Right, pervert." She scratched her head, "how about Silver? He's not a pervert right?"

"The pesky girl is with him." Green whined, "and he looks like a messenger of the ghosts." Crystal stifled her laughs when jade eyes glared at her. "I don't want to stay with them."

"Then...how about me? Although, I've got Yellow staying with me so..." without word or warning, the boy marched past her and climbed into bed. He grimaced on seeing Yellow and placed his teddy bear to act as a partition of some sorts. Muttering a good night, he promptly closed his eyes and stilled.

And Crystal merely watched, slightly uncomfortable to be sharing a bed with her commander. What if he regained his adult body? Shoving the disturbing thoughts into the back of her mind, she clambered back into bed and drifted to sleep.

The next morning:

Waking up to noises emanating from his wardrobe, Silver pushed himself up and timidly observed Blue as she sifted through his wardrobe, for some reason, the girl covered herself in tattered clothing. Blinking, he heaved himself off the bed and attempted to come up with a new admonishing...Something harsh, he decided and nodded to himself. If he allowed Blue to develop her kleptomaniac tendencies, then he would fail at being a good role model for her. Slinking across the carpet, he approached her and frowned, her shirt was in shreds. As he tried to reach her, she spun around, flushed horribly and poked his eyes. "Pervert!" She hissed and Silver swore he heard his heart shatter. Blue out of all people accused him of being a pervert.

"P-Pervert?" he sputtered and shielded his eyes.

"Yes...Now get out; can't you see I want to change?"

"But you are a ki-"

"OUT." Blue bodily shoved him into the corridor and he shivered in the flimsy tank top he wore. Seriously? What _was_ wrong with her? He ruminated on his actions and concluded that he did not do anything to offend her. Well...She did ask for a lullaby but Silver couldn't sing. Could his sister be upset because he refused to sing? In the adjacent room, Yellow's wails permeated through the corridor along with an angry snarling which sounded very much like Green. Amidst all this noise, the silver eyed man heard Gold sobbing.

Gold...Sobbing?

Pushing the stray strands of red hair behind his ears, he opened the door to see Gold kneeling in front of Red and holding up a shirt. "Silveerrr..." the man moaned pathetically, "the clothes don't fit him anymore." Similar to Blue, Red sported a shirt with busted seams and after shifting away from the wailing man, he took off his shirt. Silver noticed the boy's taller stature and realization dawned on him. The Kanto natives were inching back to their original age...So that means the legendary creatures were settling down or, the regional scientists must have found some way to remedy the uncanny events. Sighing, he walked up to Gold's clothes cupboard, yanked open a wooden door and tossed one of Gold's shirts to Red. The boy accepted it with a small thank you and wore it. Near him, Gold resumed his search for a suitable size and the red head watched him with a sadistic hint of amusement.

"...He's growing up you know." The phantom thief eventually articulated and Gold went rigid. The amber eyed male locked his eyes on Red and sharply asked his age. When Red replied that he was nine years old instead of five, the Johto native crumpled to the floor and grumbled some more. "Lugia's sake, stop crying. Red is a twenty six year old man, how do you expect him to stay as a kid? We should be glad they are returning to their normal selves, at least they will be able to guide us on the proceedings of the dimensional scar hanging over this mountain. The local authorities like to check up on it and what are you going to do if they regions' scientists band together and decided to seal it huh?" Silver demanded, his best friend ignored his words and pouted.

"Yeah but...He's a child...He needs my protection. Just look at him Silver!" The breeder pointed to Red who ogled at him in a wary manner. "His innocence must be preserved." Through the open door, Silver witnessed Crystal's room open and Yellow ran out of it like a wild dragon chased her. Crystal sped after the little blonde girl and Green slouched out after them. Seeing his rival, Red spat a string of crude words and tore after the spiky haired child, Gold gasped in horror and his mouth fell open.

Silver smirked. "Protect his innocence huh? Seems like commander Red didn't have much to begin with." Getting up from the floor, Gold exhaled tiredly and asked Silver to gather everyone in the meeting chamber. They needed to discuss some tactics.

* * *

Mid-afternoon

Sinnoh

Base of Mt Coronet

Diamond sat on a plush armchair and beheld his best friend calmly shoving one article food after the other. Pearl's cheeks bulged on both sides and after swallowing the entire mass (didn't his throat hurt?), the flame eyed teen smiled and picked up another pastry. Shooting him a smile, Dia dusted off the crumbs falling on his comrade's jacket and passed a muffin to Whi-2 when she warbled for one. White on the other hand, dissected the doughnut Pearl baked for her and wrote down a few notes, underneath the table, Red and Green fought with each other after Gold had the sense to confiscate their pokemon. How the crimson eyed child managed to sneak into his room and retrieve his belt was a wonder the breeder could not explain. In a narrow corridor, he let loose his venusaur and Pika. Upon seeing its master in a childlike state, the electric mouse petrified and keeled over in confusion. Green summoned his charizard and as expected, both boys had extreme difficulty in handling their over leveled monsters. Charizard and Saur re-ignited their ancient rivalry and refused to obey commands, instead, the monsters decided to duke it out on their own. With typholsion blazing behind him, the amber eyed trainer calmed the two beasts down and recalled them in their respective capsules. Annoyed at having their battle interrupted, the two children decided to assert their supremacy with a physical brawl. Right now, Red got pummeled into submission since Green boasted basic hand to hand skills. The table jittered on the floor and Crystal eyed the two with disbelief. Day by day, her respect for her stoic commander diminished each time she heard him flaunt his arrogance and immeasurable pride.

"Alright first of all...Diamond, just ignore them; I'm sure they will calm down." Gold sighed and leaned back in his chair, it was tiring to be in charge of so many people. "And before you ask, Ruby, you are stuck in a-"

"Time loop, I know...For inexplicable reasons, time stopped resetting for me last night. I'm back to normal."

"And so am I..." Sapphire added with an unhappy frown. "Geez...That phasing thing was pretty handy." Next to her, Emerald tucked his hands back into his sleeves and shook his head. "Seems like Rald is still cursed. Just remember not to touch anyone."

The members nodded and the meeting initialized in full sway. Next to Ruby, Blue claimed a spot for herself and nodded like all this concerned her. She filed her nails and implored Ruby to lend her a fashion magazine. Acting as a spokesperson, Gold glanced at a list of things the children were not allowed to do and read them aloud one by one. Firstly, the last chamber in the second floor is off limits. Roaming around and exploring the base is forbidden for the kids. As soon as he mentioned this particular rule, the noise under the table died down. Secondly, no child, or afflicted member is to stay up past bedtime for whatever reason. Thirdly, if there is someone at the entrance, do not answer to them, unless we are expecting a member returning to base, then flag down Diamond and send him to open the door. Fourthly, Emerald should not touch anyone. Fifthly, Rald should not approach anyone with murderous thoughts. On hearing this, the Hoenn native sunk low in his seat and glared at Gold. Sixth rule; do not battle with Red or Green, no matter how much they beg/threaten you. Seventh, Lock up all your possessions, because Blue. Eight, do not let White cut things up in order to study them and when Whi-2 wants to go to the bathroom, take her, immediately. Ninth, Never let Yellow and Green cross paths; and keep the pesky child away from the kid professor. Hearing this, Blue snorted, chucked a heavy paperweight under the table and Red yelped in pain. Ignoring her, Gold continued droning off the items on the list. Apparently, hurting Red just became prohibited. Last rule: Emerald is not allowed to look at anyone with ill intention.

The midget sprung up and shook his fist at Gold and the entire table collectively recoiled in one direction. "I get it! You don't need to make three rules about me you know. I won't touch anyone and besides, looking at people does not strangle them. Get your facts straight." Muttering expletives under his breath, he sardonically added: "Make a new rule, Ruby is not allowed to ask the girls if he can share their bath." The fashionista turned his head so fast, he suffered from a whiplash and heatedly defended himself, under no circumstances would he ever want to share a bath with a bevy of ladies. A few snorts and giggles promptly deflated his confidence and he slunk away from the meeting. Red crawled out from underneath the table, wiped his bloody nose on his shirt sleeve and Gold noted a mischievous gleam in his eyes. Poking Yellow, he whispered something to her and the child slid off Crystal's lap. Curious, Blue got down from her chair and followed the duo out of the room.

"Hey Red," the breeder hollered, "Where are you going?"

"Blue, Yellow and I are exploring the base." The ebony haired male tauntingly shouted in return. "I'll be back by dinner...come on guys let's split up. I'm sure they're doing something bad in here."

The Johto natives froze in shock.

 _I'm sure they're doing something bad in here._

"BLUE!" Silver screeched and scrambled up from his seat. "We told you the base is off limits, come back here this instant. You could get hurt." He exchanged panicked glances with his friends and they silently agreed to go look for the kids. Diamond jumped up and went after them as well.

"Gold...We can't let them find out." Crystal wrung her hands worriedly and her eyes darted around. At the same moment, Green chose to pull out from underneath the table and fix his crooked clothes; the capturer noticed a scratch on his cheek and his hair stuck out in odd angles. The child hopped into a seat and sat there with a self-satisfied smirk.

The amber eyed breeder narrowed his eyes when he spied the child's expression. "So...You are doing illegal activities around here. I thought something was off...A base secluded in the mountains and a whole lot of shady people refusing to let us go home. I noticed you all hold Pokedexes...Where did you get them?" Suddenly, Green's voice became harsh, "my grandfather pioneered those devices and I don't want a band of criminals putting them to disuse." The brunette balled his fists and stared at the posse surrounding him. "I'm going to get out of here and I'll report you all to my grandpa."

Leaning back into his swivel chair, Gold emitted a short bark of laughter and Crystal eyed him in a panicked manner. "Kiddo...Let's get one thing straight here. You are a twenty six year old man, a world famous professor whose accolades are on par with Samuel Oak...Your beloved Grandpa. You and your best friend...The undefeated champion, Red, cooked up this grand scheme and at first, duped us into joining this Organization before clarifying that we are basically going to craft a world within a world and escape to it. None of us wanted to be part of this...But in the end, we just rolled with it and I have no regrets. I love it here, I like how the people around me take care of each other, we all seek for a fair version of this rotten world and you mister...Is the one who developed ways to forward this project. Yeah...we are criminals...And you...command this bunch of bad people."

Green stared at him, his tiny mouth opening and closing like a water starved magikarp. Crystal sent a worried peek at Gold and shook her head. It was a callous move to relate all this to the poor child. "I...I'm best friends with Red?! Why that idiotic street brat out of all people? He has no brains, he rushes into things without thinking, he jumps straight into danger and he believes in ghosts!" The brown haired boy simmered, gripping the arm rests with such force, his knuckles turned white. "You're telling me I'm best friends with a brainless human? He is slow...And that's a crime!" Hopping off the seat, he mumbled under his breath and made for the door, when Pearl asked him where he was going, the Kanto native replied: "I'm going to train so I don't make stupid mistakes in the future." His gaze turned smug. "Smell ya later." Grinning savagely, he shut the door with a bang and the sound of running feet steadily decreased till it vanished altogether.

"...I just told the brat his entire life history and the only thing he manages to hear is that he is best friends with Red. He called Red brainless and for that I should pound him...How did those two end up as best friends now again?"

"The same way you and Silver ended up as best friends." Crystal sighed, "let's go search for them Gold, we can't have them stumbling upon something they shouldn't."

* * *

A trio of children pounded down the hallways with a furious Silver tailing them. Skidding to a halt, the three nodded to each other and split. A grin cracked Red's face when he heard the red head utter something obscene. Unfortunately for him, he heard the distinct thudding of another pair of sneakers, making a snap decision, the ebony haired child passed the stairs and continued hurtling down the white washed corridors. In the distance, his ears picked up an indignant squeal and his face scrunched up into a frown, seems like Blue got caught. He hated the cooped up environment of this place, the sterility and overbearing nature of the three adults looking after them unnerved him. Even though he thought the sun shone out of Gold, the man's very presence choked him...Why...Did those adults not want them to go home? Green acted like a prick; however, that brunette was willing to play a crucial role in order to get them out of this strange facility. Slowing down, the kid champion shook his head, since this morning, a bank of strange memories flooded in his head and confused him. And for some odd reason, the domicile felt strangely familiar. An insistent nagging at the back of his mind informed him that this place functioned as his home. Irritably wiping his eyes, he gritted his teeth and scanned the area. Red reminded himself that he had no home and no family. He owed his existence and gratitude to Professor Oak and hoped to make the older man proud one day...Unlike the elder's ungrateful grandson; Green perfect Oak, always one step ahead of him and mocking him for being an urchin, the crimson eyed child internally seethed and vowed to himself to escape from the base and carry out his dream of becoming a champion.

Perhaps then...He could make his deceased parents proud as well.

He briefly wondered why he thought of them. Red hardly wasted his time mourning and instead poured the hours into becoming a better trainer...However, the past few nights, he'd wake up crying and Gold would always be there to comfort him.

Stewing in his thoughts, he failed to notice Diamond sneaking up on him. Plopped on the floor wearing a black oversized t-shirt and patched jeans, the Sinnoh native watched the ebony haired child roughly wipe his tears. His commander was so small and vulnerable, inching forward, Dia clasped Red around his waist and lifted him up, the Kanto native thrashed for a while before allowing himself to be carried back to Gold. The red eyed boy only stopped wailing after Dia popped a lollipop in his open mouth.

Elsewhere, Yellow squeaked and crept out of the shadows, she wanted to cry. Following their separation, she raced up the stairs and watched Crystal storm out of the network of corridors and call for her. Recoiling, the blonde tentatively crept past the rows of bedrooms and slinked along the walls. The darkness frightened her but she swallowed her fear and moved forward. Red told her to check the room at the end of the corridor...Apparently it contained something important.

Her head hurt. A sharp throb of pain lanced across her temples and induced a wave of tears to gush down her plump cheeks. Nightmares were a thing of the past, ever since her fisherman Uncle looked after her, all the bad dreams stopped occurring, however, since waking up to this strange place, the horrible dreams re-occurred. She knew Red, Blue and Green were her friends. Very good friends. This fact contradicted itself when she thought about how she met the other kids only a month ago.

We are not kids.

A voice in her head repeated.

Someone shouted her name, a male; and with squeak, she dashed down the corridors, her pigtails bouncing with each step. Without thinking, Yellow turned right and entered the last room on the second floor. The moment she shut the door with a muted click, her body become rigid and cold. The chamber itself was pleasantly warm and thanks to an oval window set into a sheer straight of cream coated rock, a beam of sunlight streamed in and dust particles lazily swirled in the light. On the opposite end of the room, a handful of metal rods, rusting bolts, wooden boards and sheets of taped glass conspired to make the ugliest cage in existence. The quivering Kanto child's hazel irises trailed up to the figure hunched on the floor, on hearing the door click, the old man turned around, each shuffle accompanied by a grimace of pain. Yellow spied heavy cuffs latched on to his bruised wrists and a few white whispers poked out against his swallow face. A pair of round spectacles covered his eyes and magnified the terror churning in the glazed depths.

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, I had fun writing it, especially the interactions between the kid Kanto natives and their Johto charges. Little Yellow is angelic, I can picture her with a halo around her head. Virtual ice-cream sandwiches to all those who read and reviewed. It means a lot for me. Thank you all for the support and constructive criticism is always appreciated.

At Guest (I'm assuming Sakurafox1218?): It isn't a flashback, its divine retribution (and the calm before the storm). Idiosyncrasies is a real word and I like using it. This isn't the last time L-2's going to suffer, so look forward to it :D . At Jack54311: Heh, it was a loaded chapter. Lol, this is the final arc, there is less than ten chapters before Blaec Iustise ends. I'm glad you liked my dark Mewtwo but I'm not saying anything because of spoilers. At Guest: I don't mind specialshipping (I can see it work) but oldrivalshipping…eh, I'm in the firm belief that Green, Blue and Red are platonic soul mates. I just can't picture them falling for each other (even if Blue flirts with them and Red will occasionally tease her). Green moans, it's his way of saying: I love you all, even if you fry my brain cells on a daily basis. I also think that Green is rather soft & sentimental when he is alone. He cares a lot but does not show it. Gold isn't surprised because now he has an excuse to shower his love to a kid Red. Black…is not coming back. I miss writing him though. Ahahaha (don't mind the tears slipping outta my eyes) This fic was going to be extremely dark but I tweaked it because I was afraid no one would want to read it. I had a scene where Gold, Pearl and L-2 head to a black market to bargain for some pokemon artifact and the shopkeeper does not agree to their demands, so, Gold smashes his head open with the pool-cue he carries (which is essentially an iron whip) and L-2 is both terrified and awed. Red and the top trio carried weapons. Geh, don't mind me; I hope the ending surprises you.

At AceTrainerLeaf: YYEESSSS! Kid Red, Yellow and Blue are cute. Kid Green is not. No, you did miss an entire chapter but your astonishment is making me grin and pat myself on my back on a job well done. At Silver: Yep, it has been a while, but I'm sure you are doing something productive (unlike me). Join the dark side for cookies? Tsk, I'll consider if someone gave me bullions of dark chocolate. Legendary pokemon revenge: Turn the criminals to adorable kids. At Guest: Ahahaha, I remember the times when Red was an obnoxious brat. Yes, that is Red in his natural habitat. He was a flirt, just like Gold. Red's characterization in the manga was quite nice, we see him grow up to be a bumbling flirt to a well-intentioned, responsible hero. You miss cocky little Green? Get a dose of him in this chapter :P


	81. Plummeting to the point of no return

**Chapter 81: Plummeting to the point of no return**

Afternoon

Sinnoh

Dex Criminal's base

Yellow did not tell anyone about Charon.

When she first discovered him, fear paralyzed her to the spot. The older scientist held his breath and studied her with an inquisitive gaze. Palms sweating and desperately swallowing the prickle of warm tears pooling at the edges of her eyes, the young blonde scrutinized the prisoner. The terror in his eyes softened to curiosity and perhaps a mild hint of amusement? Yellow did not know. At long last, the old man broke the enthralled silence by urging her to leave. His voice, cracked and aged, told her to quickly evacuate the room and to never, ever come back. Nodding reflexively, the Kanto native stumbled out of the chamber in a dazed stupor, as she neared the middle of the corridor and saw Crystal come up, all her frightened emotions spilled out of her. Yellow bawled and allowed the older woman to soothe her.

However, she kept on visiting the imprisoned old man.

Charon entertained his lone audience with stories. The girl's hazel irises shone with wonder when he related the marvels of science to her. In the distortion world, he glimpsed many spectacular and heart breaking things. Situated on an outcrop, both he and Cyrus bore witness to the creation of a new world. Unfortunately, the piece of rock they drifted on, flew further and further away from the organized chaos conducted by the legendary creatures. A swarm of Unown flooded the reverse world and made vision difficult, the pocket dimension kept on expanding into a fathomless depth and Charon floated deeper to the edge of the cosmos. To his astonishment, the dimensional pocket blew up to resemble a miniature space. In the distance, he rivetedly beheld the mythical creatures toil endlessly. The beasts fought ceaselessly, each war sent shockwaves rippling across the dimension and scattering the Unown to far off places. Dissatisfied with merely watching from afar, Cyrus, against his better judgment, decided to move in closer for a better look. Numerous warnings from the leader's only aide fell to deaf ears and the moment the cyan haired individual ventured forth, he vaporized. Not an atom remained of Cyrus. Dumbfounded, Charon's wide eyes swiveled to the side to see a cyclone of Unown churning angrily near the spot where Cyrus evaporated, the flat beasts quivered with rage and swept the area with a wave of psychic energy, memory manipulating wavelengths designed to cause confusion and amnesia. In an instant, the scientist fled from the area and let his rocky platform carry him to Arceus knows where. During this time, Charon suffered miserably. The outcrop he floated on contained a few berry bushes and a pool of healing sap, alas; these two items were not enough to nourish the human body.

His ticket to the outside world arrived when the legendary creatures snapped. Due to the influence of Unown, who exerted some sort of hidden power over the divine beasts, the mythical monsters dutifully completed their tasks and sought for a way out of the dimensional egg. The fastest solution was provided by none other than the eon duo. Representing the ideals of sacrifice, protection and duality, Latios, in an attempt to get his sister out of the bizarre universe, literally slashed open the fabric of the world. Seeing their rightful home, the unspoken order amongst the legendries cracked and they all raced for a bid to freedom. The Poke-world they were supposed to protect; buckled under the immense energy signatures given off by the rouge legendries. Nonetheless, the situation remedied somewhat and an unspoken rule emerged amongst them. The next time some low life human attempts to capture them...Those two legged abominations shall be promptly executed on the spot.

No questions and consultations necessary.

Little Yellow clapped her hands and cheered when Charon told her that the legendary creatures were finally free and back to the place they belonged. Each day, when the base quieted down and the Johto natives gathered in the meeting chamber to conduct private discussions, the Kanto child sneaked up to the second corridor and slipped into the prisoner's room. As for the other brats, Yellow informed him that Gold forced Red to take a nap; the amber eyed man carried the nine year old boy around till the child fell asleep and drooled on his clothes. Blue was also coerced into sleep, or, she joined Ruby into designing new outfits. As for Green, the boy adapted a strict training regimen and this caused him to tire out before lunch. The moment he ate his fill, he passed out, snoring softly on the couch in Strategy's common room. Seizing the window of opportunity presented to her, Yellow climbed out of Crystal's bed and snuck upstairs where she sat on the floor and listened to Charon's stories with stars gallivanting in her hazel irises. The older scientist loved the attention and before long, brewed a plan for escaping his horrid confinement; the stench emanating from his polluted cell did little to deter Yellow and when he casually dropped hints of how painful it was to be hunched in one place, the young girl herself spouted the very words he'd been yearning to hear for a very long time. A bit more than two years to be specific.

"Say...Mr. Charon," Yellow fiddled with her ruffled dress, "you don't like it her do you?" he nodded and smiled somberly, "so...I was thinking...Maybe I can help you out of here." The girl beamed with the radiance of an angel and his heart melted. A few stray tears escaped from beneath his glasses and on seeing this, Yellow gasped and frantically searched the room for a tissue or a handkerchief, finding none, she awkwardly wiped the man's tears by herself and grinned shyly. Charon thanked her profusely but warned her that the risk was too great; and if her caretaker, Crystal, found out, the indigo haired woman will show no mercy. The blonde nodded, seemingly aware of the dangers. "I understand...But, I don't like to see you suffer!" her mellow voice bled with anguish. "I promise Mr. Charon, I'll find a way to free you, so don't worry. I won't tell anyone else!" Renewed with newfound determination, she skipped away from him and he caught a few tones of her joyful humming. Charon shook his head in disbelief and wrung his chained wrists; the girl did not know what she got herself into.

* * *

Night

Dex Criminal's base

Second chamber

It was during their bonding hour did Yellow notice a bunch of keys dangling from Gold's belt. She owed her discovery partly to Red. Tired of bothering Green and forbidden to explore the base, the ebony haired youngster crashed out on the carpet and busied himself with a coloring book whilst the Johto native watched with an amiable smile blooming on his face. Next to him, Silver filed Blue's nails whilst Crystal meandered over to the Sinnoh natives and watched as Pearl instructed Diamond on frosting techniques. Having nothing to do, Yellow put down her picture book, dodged the quarrelling Hoenn trio and joined Red on the carpet. He flashed her a huge grin, heaved a stationary set between them and picked up a crayon, adding orange color to a majestic picture of charizard. On top of the picture however, he scrawled some very derogatory remarks about Green and if Gold noticed it, he never commented. Yawning heartily, the amber eyed trainer leaned back on Silver and as he did so, his shirt crumpled up with the movements and she caught a glimpse of metal looped on his belt. On closer inspection, she observed a ring of keys and metal edged cards. Flushing, she focused on coloring the picture with Red and her hands trembled. When Silver declared bonding hour to be over, Crystal first escorted White and Whi-2 up to their rooms before picking Yellow up. Instead of meekly following her older sister figure back to the bedroom, the girl mustered up courage and asked if she could spend some more time playing with Red. And odd gleam of amusement passed Crystal's eyes and she readily agreed.

The door to Gold's bedroom slid open and Red stood there with an ear to ear grin on his face. Upon entering, the boy zoomed off to his collection of toys and she edged inside the room and frowned, Gold was missing. Her best friend informed her that the breeder stepped out to change. Nodding, she bounced over to help him assimilate a pokemon with colored blocks when the glint of metal ensnared her attention.

For all his mischief, Red was surprisingly a good boy.

Sitting on a low cabinet, the ring of keys lay temptingly out of reach, perhaps if she could drag a chair over and climb it, she would be able take the keys down. Sputtering an excuse to her black haired comrade, she went about on her own devices and the child champion merely gave her a disinterested glance before resuming the building of his venusaur model. Climbing on the stool with a little bit of difficulty, she hooked her chubby digits through the key ring and dragged it towards her. Flushed, sweating and nervous, she turned around to see Red pinning her with an accusatory stare.

"Put that back." His tone pulsed threateningly. "Gold said I should never touch those keys. And you shouldn't either." Getting up from his position, he lumbered towards her and Yellow resisted the urge to squeak in fear. Maybe the choice to rescue Charon had not been such a good idea after all. Rigidly standing in front of her, the blood eyed child resolutely stared and crossed his skinny arms over an equally skinny chest. "Put them down or else he's gonna scold me." Red pouted.

"Green said I should get these keys..." Yellow finally whined, "He said it will help us get out of here." For a moment, the young girl witnessed the male's pupils shrink. _Of course he won't believe you!_ Her inner thoughts scolded. Certainly, he is not that dumb.

The Kanto boy tilted his head in confusion. "That prick?" he finally questioned and the blonde swore she could see his cognitive gears whirring. "Well...then I suppose you could take it." He pumped a fist. "Yeah, take it, don't worry," he whispered conspiratorially, "I won't tell big brother Gold."

 _How dumb!_

Yellow simply stared, unable to believe her good fortune. Her cheeks tinted pink at the unexpected turn of events. Stuffing the ring of keys in one of her pockets, she was about to jump down from the stool when the door whirred open. In walked Gold, a towel around his neck and on seeing Yellow, he paused, flashed her a smile and then asked her the reason for her visit. She grinned in return and hopped down the stool. Before the blonde stuttered a response, Red tugged at the breeder's hand and exuberantly dragged him deeper in the room in order to show off the half-finished venusaur model. The child gave Yellow a thumbs up and she discreetly exited the room.

Around the same time:

A circle of pale moonlight lay on the spongy grey carpet; Silver groaned and rubbed his eyes. The soft orange glow thrown by the bedside lamp did not make his reading experience any easier. Standing with her face pressed against the frigid glass, Blue looked up to the sky and saw a wide crack in the flawless heavens. She wished for a telescope, the extra magnification will enable her to see inside the tear. As of now, she could only pick out silhouettes floating aimlessly in a blackish-blue haze. Beyond the boundaries of the rip, the sky stretched out seamlessly with stars scattered across the great canopy. Occasionally, she glimpsed heavy clouds dotting the horizon and when the clouds came, they brought with them the glacial winds. Pressing her eyes shut, she brought her hands together and knelt, the spherical window lacked a windowsill so she could not put her elbows on it, nonetheless, she pressed her palms together and murmured to herself. On the bed, the red head's breath hitched. For some unfathomable reason, Blue started praying a few nights back, every evening, before bed time, she would take time off to gape at the sky before pressing her hands together and murmuring a prayer. What she wished for, he never asked, but the image of his devilish sister praying made him uncomfortable on many different levels. Sighing and running a hand through his hair, he waited for her to finish and run to his arms. Instead, the blue eyed girl completed her prayers, turned around and sat down on the cold ground. Feeling fatigue overcome him, Silver suppressed his yawns and joined her on the floor, at once, she clambered on his lap and hugged him. Her tiny body radiated warmth and compassion.

"So...What did you wish for?" The thief asked and ran his gnarled fingers through his sibling's shock of chocolate brown locks.

Blue did not reply straight away. "I wished for the two of us to never seperate," she whispered and buried her face in his chest, "and for those scary birds to stay far from you. I know I'm not your real sister...But...I don't want to leave you." Her voice quaked and he quietly, firmly assured her that they will stay siblings forever. Hearing this, his sister let out a relived giggle and poked him in the ribs. "You should eat more..." Blue broke off and he picked out a ponderous frown etched on her face. "I know! When I'm a little older, I'll learn how to cook and then I'll make all your meals." She declared passionately and Silver smiled at her, "then you won't look sick all the time. You have really good friends you know, they don't criticize you for looking like that." She lapsed into silence and he resumed in stroking her hair, the luminous hands of the clock hanging on the wall pointed past midnight, and Blue was still up, guess he won't be a polished parent like Gold, who somehow managed to clock out his little terror at almost the exact hour each night. The golden eyed man even put up with Green when the latter threw tantrums. Unfortunately for him, the spiky haired child rewarded the breeder's good intentions by pummeling his small fists in the older man's face. Eventually, Gold would toss Green over to Crystal and the boy immediately piped down when she gave him a stern stare. "Do you have someone you like?" Blue abruptly broke his train of though and he gawped, his mouth a perfect oval.

Silver blinked and blushed, grateful for the dark surroundings covering up his embarrassment. "No." he replied.

"...Why not?" Blue shrilled, all vestiges of sleep gone, "I'm sure there is someone you like!" she insisted and grabbed him by his shirt. "Aren't you going to get married? Won't I have a sister in law? I want a sister in law!" Surprisingly, she sounded similarly like her older self and he wondered if the deity monsters perhaps played some cruel joke on him. "Spit it out! You have the hots for someone don't you? Who is it? Crys?"

 _Crys?_ Why did she use that name? Bewildered and wishing for the erratic thumping of his heart to stop, he beheld his sister clutch her head and scream. Worried, he pulled her back into his embrace and rocked comfortingly. By now, she sobbed and complained of a head splitting pain. Right on cue, the other Kanto natives erupted in a simultaneous cry. Grabbing a pair of headphones off his bedstead and clamping them on his sister's ears, he played a lullaby and she quieted down for a bit. Red's wailing stopped a few minutes later followed by Green's, who no doubt marched to Crystal's bedroom and demanded to stay for the night. Blue curled up and she too, fell asleep. Heart rate returning to normal, he eased the device off her ears and carefully placed her in bed. Switching the lamp off, he threw his arm over the miniscule form of his heavily breathing sister and lulled himself to sleep.

Next day, mid-morning

Sinnoh

Base of Mt Coronet

The bunch of keys looked heavy and Charon refused to believe his eyes. Hands, slick with sweat and trembling violently, Yellow meticulously fitted one key after another in the rusting padlock. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, the adults gathered together to argue about some topic and the children were left to their own devices. Unanimously, Red and Green delved into a fight, Blue slunk away to sift through the rooms and Yellow tiptoed upstairs and entered the forbidden area. Upon seeing the hunched man, her spirits soared and she assured him of his escape. The old scientist suppressed the overflowing hope shining in his eyes and wondered how the little child would feel if none of the keys fit. To his astonishment, one key smoothly clicked in place and with great fervor, the blonde turned it. The key did a half a rotation and then...

Nothing.

It jammed.

Charon breathed raggedly, his hot breath fogging his glasses. "Child...leave this place and take the keys back, they might be searching for them. Please, just stop. This is nonsense, if you get caught, they will forbid you from visiting me again." Taking off his glasses, he used his dirty sleeve to wipe them, "go little girl, leave me alone, nothing good will come if you help an old man like me. Those adults you stay with, they will be very angry with you. They might not even give you dinner." Shaking her head firmly, Yellow listened for sounds emanating from the bottom floor and petrified. The meeting broke up and she heard Gold's distinctive shriek as he wrestled the brawling boys apart. A sense of urgency crept into her actions and she fumbled with the key. Summoning all her strength, she forced the mechanism to turn, alas, it resolutely refused to budge. Wiping her palms on her skirt, she peered around the room for something. Spying a pair of dirty, rubber gloves lying abandoned on a rickety chair; she slipped the gloves over her hands and tried to turn the key again. Bit by bit, the metal ground forward and she heard little clicks echoing from deep within the delicate contrivances of the lock. Click. The key snapped and did a full circle, the curved bar popped out and Charon was set free. The older man shook, terror seizing hold of his clouded eyes, reverently, he pushed the gate open, stepped outside his cell and gulped in a breath of fresh, untainted air. Away from the fetid damp of his jail, the room appeared less dreary and he crouched down to Yellow to thank her. Not caring if he smelt like mold, she threw her little arms around him and stiffened.

A cold, razor edged plate pressed against the soft skin of her throat.

Yellow looked up, all the life drained from her when Charon held a metal card against her neck.

"Why?"

Her question never went answered because in the next minute, he roughly carried her and squeezed the weapon deeper into her flesh. A volley of tears cascaded down her cheeks as he carried her downwards and navigated through the maze. She dared not to scream or gasp. The door whirred open and the entirety of the base's inhabitants mirrored her shock. Crystal's jaw dropped open and she gasped audibly. In response, Gold clutched both boys closer to him and instinctively, Silver picked Blue up and forced her to look away. Shaking like a tree battered by a hurricane, Yellow tried to reach for Crystal who froze in her spot. Charon grasped the blonde tighter and growled threateningly.

"Leave the child...Or I swear you will have more than broken bones to contend with." Crystal recovered and hissed furiously, the scientist saw a storm brewing in the clear depths of her lazuline irises. "I am warning you. I will split your skull open if you harm a hair on Yellow's head." She clenched her fists and glared menacingly. Charon quivered, these people scared him senseless, to assert his position, he clamped the metal card down on Yellow's throat and saw the older woman falter. Red, the little sniveling brat, clutched Gold's shirt with all his might and beheld the scene with mute horror. Charon wanted to run over and slit the brat's throat. It's all his fault, him and that scientist standing in Gold's shadow. If those two and that pesky woman did not exist, he'd be a free man by now. Beads of sweat dotted on his balding head and ran down his face.

"My demands are simple." He rasped and his hostage cried louder still. "You people will let me leave this base and I will not harm her." Silver opened his mouth to fire a few words of his own and the former Team Galactic member simpered. "Do you not see the position _you_ are in? I understand that a single one of you is more than capable enough to topple me, however, what about sweet little Yellow?" His tone turned abrasive, "harm me, thwart me and this child will not live to see the light of day again. Now it's my turn to warn you..." Unhesitatingly, he marched forward and the Dex Criminal's parted to allow him through. "Open the door." Charon commanded, Crystal moved and he stopped her, "no, not you young lady, I want that boy to open the door." Ruby, his blood tinted irises smoldering, sauntered over and swiped his keycard on the electronic lock. "Good. None of you are to follow me. If you do..." He let the threat hang and spun around to leave. At the same time, Yellow screamed for Crystal, begging the older female to help her. The capturer ambled forward till Silver grabbed her and held her back. She thrashed and screeched at him to let go. White ran forward to restrain her whilst Green, for perhaps the first time since he de-aged to a child, sniffled in public and looped his arms around Gold's waist. Yellow's piteous cries bounced off the white painted walls till darkness closed over Charon and his rapidly retreating form.

"Crystal...Crystal please help me!" Her cries for help were muffled by the distance.

They waited for five minutes before Crystal thundered down the corridor with Sapphire, White and Diamond at her heels. Gold watched them go, regretting that he could not join them. Green disappeared off to his bedroom and Silver escorted Blue and Whi-2 upstairs. Emerald waited at the entrance of the second chamber, whilst Ruby slouched in one corner. Spying the raven haired adolescent, the breeder sauntered over to him and gently dropped Red near the Hoenn native. "Take care of him for a while, I have business to attend to, he is a bit hyper-active so don't let him out of your sight." Ruby nodded solemnly and straightened up when Crystal strode back in with a weeping Yellow in her arms. Ignoring all the questions directed at her, she climbed the stairs and locked herself in her room. Running a hand through his hair, Gold sighed wearily and grinned comfortingly at Red. "Don't worry kiddo, an accident that's all. Now, you be a good kid and play with big brother Ruby alright? I need to do some work." Red meekly nodded and the room emptied out save for the two ebony haired males. For a while, the kid champion contemplated in profound silence, his crimson eyes drilling holes into the opposite wall. Deciding such a serious facade did not belong to a kid; Ruby called out to him and offered to comb the boy's disheveled locks. When Red sat in front of him, the fashionista extracted a comb from the pocket of his jeans and groomed him.

"We can't let that bad man get away." The former leader shifted on the carpeted floor and Ruby swallowed a groan, "We should find him and hand him over to the police." Red looked up, "Why...Aren't we doing that?" Pushing up his glasses, the Hoenn native answered that Charon was out of the base and it'd be a hassle to go after him. "Hassle?" Red exploded and jumped up. "He...He just threatened to hurt Yellow and you don't want to go after him?" His eyes belied disbelief and a vein beat in Ruby's skull, the brat sounded very much like Norman and his etched in stone ideals. "Look...I'm going to go after that bad man and hand him over to the police."

"Spare me the theatrics Red." Ruby drawled, "you don't have any...Pokemon...With- HOW IN Kyogre's name did you get those?!" The young boy extracted two capsules from his jeans pocket. Inside the glass domes, a venusaur grinned and a poliwrath flexed its arms. "Didn't Gold confiscate your pokemon? They are ultra-leveled beasts you stupid brat, put them back! They won't listen to you." The older male's hand instinctively reached for his own pokeballs. Red juggled the two balls in the air before catching them and stuffing them in his pocket.

"They will listen to me." The child's words contained an air of solemnity. "I conditioned them to follow my orders at all costs. It's all in the confidence, if you show them that you can command them, the pocket monsters will obey you unconditionally." Red secured his cap firmly on his head and shot a distressed glance to the door. "I have to do this; it's the champion's responsibility to maintain peace in a region. The champion is a hero to the people and since I am aiming to be a champion myself, I should start by doing whatever I can." Ruby simply gnashed his teeth, child Red plucked his conscious and he chuckled sardonically at the irony of the situation. He warned the black haired child of the apparent dangers of venturing outside, but the boy vehemently stuck to his ideals. Finally, the Hoenn native mentioned Gold and as expected, the Kanto native stopped and fumbled with his shirt. "...It's not gonna take long...I mean, the old geezer can't run very far right? I'll just catch him with Poli and drop him off to the local police station. Uhm...Maybe they can commend me for civil service." With a diabolical grin on his face, the boy hurtled off in the direction of the entrance. Ruby let his suppressed groan surface and he rubbed his temples. He had to go after Red, if anything happened to the fighter:

Gold will kill him.

The golden eyed man was obsessed with his little charge to the point where discussions were held about him. Silver worried about his best friend's mental state should the ex-champion one day blow up to his original age and proceed to forget about his falsely crafted childhood with Gold.

"We might have to make offerings to him." Silver joked whilst Crystal's face morphed into horror.

Shaking his head and muttering a string of expletives under his breath, Ruby scrawled a note and left it in the middle of the room; hopefully a member would see it and understand that the former Execution's commander decided it will be a walk in the park to catch Charon. Running down the twisted hallways, he impatiently waited for the shutter to open and stepped outside to receive a face full of warm sunshine. Due to the melting snow, the ground became an unpleasant mixture of slush and mud and the fashionista eyed his sneakers and bemoaned their fate. On the ground, he spied a dozen set of foot prints and picked the smallest set. Clenching his fists, he took a tentative step forward and heard Sapphire taunting him in his head. Shutting her voice out, Ruby carelessly threw himself forward and ran down the slope.

Spying a hunched figure donned in a dirty white lab coat, Red yelled triumphantly and gave chase through a copse of trees. The man peeked backwards, distilled terror flaring in his eyes as he turned and ran. The boy accelerated, churning up mud in his wake and uncaring if he slipped. His brand new shirt had mud splatters all over it and the Kanto boy wiped dirt off his cheeks. Zigzagging through the dark forest, Charon stumbled and his breath came in ragged gasps, he did not have a pokemon to fend for him and the woods were alive with wild, hostile creatures. Damn brat! The elder scientist cursed and risked a glance backwards only to receive more bad news. Behind kid Red and sitting pompously on the shoulders of a rapidly hurtling swampert, another pale faced youth smirked at him. The water beast's cavernous mouth dipped open and Charon saw a gurgle of muddy water gushing out of the monster's maw. His foot caught on a dead branch and suddenly the world tilted sideways. A geyser of brownish water erupted past his face, washed down the sides of the mountain and Charon fell, rolling over and over whilst the world spun in dizzying rotations around him. At the top of the hill, Red and Ruby halted, watching the prisoner tumble down the slope with mild satisfaction stamped on their faces. When Charon stopped, a poliwrath exploded in his face and smashed a fist in his chest. By the time the two males ambled down the hill, the old man's body was a patchwork of purplish bruises.

Binding Charon's bruised wrists together; Red straightened up and admired his handiwork with a beaming smile. Ruby stared at his slender fingers; the dirt underneath his manicured nails mocked him. Facing the boy, he suggested that they drag the convict back to base, alas, the brat had other plans and cheekily announced that the rouge scientist should be handed over to the Police. "Police!" Ruby gripped his hat and almost yanked it off his head due to sheer frustration. "Look Red, the police aren't fond of us. Let's go back home NOW!" His plea fell on deaf ears; the boy slogged through more mud and dragged Charon behind him.

* * *

Afternoon

Sinnoh

Hearthome City

A buzz of activity erupted in the foyer of the police station as a mud caked kid dragged in a haggard looking man. Behind the duo, another well-dressed adolescent slunk in and pulled his furry hat low over his eyes. The receptionist balked for a moment and the child hiked up with his prize in a tow. Pointing to the old man, the black haired boy launched into a full assault about the man being a cruel scientist who was formerly part of Team Galactic. Apparently this Charon had been held prisoner for quite some time before escaping the facility by taking a friend of his hostage. Through his rambling narration, punctuated heavily with battle strategies, the policeman noted how the adolescent shifted uncomfortably. Nodding when the boy demanded that he listen with utmost intention, he checked the police database in order to confirm the ebony haired kid's information. To his surprise, the intelligence provided by the boy seemed accurate. Next to the file of Charon however, another file caught his eyes. Opening it on a whim, the receptionist froze and zoomed in on Red's face.

Pictures of a wanted ex-champion filled up the monitor. The mug shots were taken at different times and via various methods. One showed him wearing a mask, his face concealed from view. Another was taken at night, the image blurry and difficult to define. The clearest picture of the criminal happened to the shot taken at Ransei. Instead of looking apologetic, he grinned in the camera, revealing an animalistic desire to be free. The rambling boy in front of him appeared very much like a younger version of the criminal...Confused and yet sure of his intuitions, the man asked the boy his name.

He abruptly stopped in his narration and grinned. "My name is-"

"His name is not important; please list us as anonymous witnesses." The older youth cut in. "I'd like you to hurry up, this child's older brother will throw a fit if he doesn't get home on time." The police man nodded and arrested Charon. Dumping the older man to a lesser ranked officer; he asked for a moment and went inside. Around this time, Ruby noticed Red become fidgety; the Kanto native wrung his t-shirt, scratched his head and peered around the brightly lit room. "Anything wrong?" The Hoenn native enquired, "Don't fret; we'll be back home before lo-"

"I think I did something really stupid." Red hissed to himself. "What in Ho-oh's name was I thinking? Waltzing into a police station like this?" He looked up and the fashionista noticed a change in his eyes. They were heavy and clouded. "Ruby, we are leaving and no, I'm not waiting for that police man to come back." The boy strode forcefully to the sliding glass doors, his clipped stride portrayed urgency. When the doors slid apart, a shout from the back prompted both of them to barrel out of the domicile.

"Arrest them!" The chief officer bellowed. "That kid is the most wanted man by the International Police. Get him." A horde of police erupted out of the doors and smoothly drew their weapons. Red, in his quest to put as much distance as possible between himself and the platoon of bloodthirsty police at his heels, tripped over his untied laces and crashed face first into the concrete pavement. Without wasting a moment, the swarm of blue clothed men immediately fell on him akin to a flock of mandibuzz. Ruby fought against his priority to escape and doubled back, charging at the men with a screech befitting Sapphire. He hoped the noise would drive the police away, instead, one of them shot a dart at him, the gleaming needle sunk into his shoulder and he reached up to take it out. However, his fingers numbed, the world spun and he dropped to the floor like a boulder.

When he came to, he saw Red peering at him concernedly. Ruby pushed himself up and fought down the urge to vomit. The ex-leader drew away and the Hoenn native gawked at him. Red grew again, this time, his stature was one of a teenager, the teen shrugged helplessly and crouched in one corner. From the look in his eyes, he knew exactly what went on and even if his body remained fully undeveloped, the man regained his memories. "Sorry...I'm so sorry for dragging you in this mess." A string of apologies fell from the ebony haired youth's mouth. "I'm not really sure what my child-self thought...In any case...Lt. Surge is on his way to interrogate us. Just our luck huh?" A dry bark of laughter forced itself out of his through and Ruby shook his head. The cell squeezed around them, narrow and stark. A bare bulb washed the room in a light that was more dim than bright. Thick bars covered up the only exit and a set of heavy cuffs adorned both their wrists. Ruby's hat was confiscated and a surge of boiling anger erupted in his chest. Opposite him, Red shivered in tattered clothing, his shirt barely covered anything and his full length jeans now served as a pair of nasty, ripped shorts. "Whatever they do or say...Do not give them any information understand Ruby?" The Hoenn native nodded slowly. "Good...I hope they make this quick. The anticipation is going to kill me if the interrogation doesn't." Getting up, the fighter paced the length of the cramped cells and his wrist bindings rattled with each step.

Lt. Surge arrived a bit too early for Ruby's tastes.

Combat boots thundering down the corridor, the adolescent quaked when the blonde soldier appeared. The fashionista swallowed bile, stood up from the bed he sat on and almost crumpled back to the floor as his strength failed him. Two guns were strapped on the belt of the superintendent's camouflage trousers and he pulled his wrap around glasses off to reveal a set of electric blue irises peering disgustedly at him. Red, unlike Ruby, did not tremble in the slightest and when the lieutenant stepped inside the cage and banged the door shut, the criminal advanced forward with an emotionless visage. "Lucky for you, I happened to be in the area for a meeting...Must be fate huh?" The officer drawled, marched to the bed and crashed down comfortably on the thin mattress. Biting down a squeak of fear, the Hoenn native bolted to the other side of the cell and shivered in the corner. "This process is off the record, Cynthia, bless her royal lady heart, forked the interrogation over to me." Surge extracted an intricately designed switchblade knife from the pocket of his pants and the blade flicked outwards, glinting in the meager light filtering through the cell. "A memento...From my time during the war." He whispered, his voice managing to raise goose bumps on Ruby's icy skin. "Let me get on thing straight kiddos, I'm fighting for my cause and I will not allow anything to deter me. It's almost night, I have to get back to Kanto pronto and reset my damn traps and I'd like this interrogation to go smoothly. Okay?" Red glared at the soldier, his lips pressed into a thin, resolute line. "Haha!" guffawed the International police agent, "you think I'll patiently wait and torture you for information kid? You think I have time to waste on the likes of you? Wrong, If you do not spill what I want, I'll slit your throat right here. No use for vocal cords if you aren't gonna use them when they are needed the most and it provides plenty of motivation for you to spill the beans, right chic kid?" The blonde's sharp gaze zeroed in on Ruby who dumbly nodded. "Good, let's get started then."

Like an arbok poised to strike, Lt. Surge jumped up from the bed with his mammoth of a fist outstretched. Silently, the younger male watched as Red's head slammed against the wall of the cell. The dull thud echoed everywhere. Pressing the sharp edge of the knife against his throat, the officer snarled a series of questions and Red refused to answer. With each new question fired, the corners of the convict's mouth lifted in an iniquitous grin which sent Ruby questioning his senior's sanity. When the fighter failed on answering any questions, he received a sharp slap on his cheek. The unearthly howl of pain bursting from his lips sent another tingle of fear racing down the youngster's spine. A soft mumble escaped Ruby's lips and this did not go unnoticed by the soldier. The blonde whipped back, speared him with a cerulean gaze before grasping Red's bangs once more. He moved to the side and male fashionista stared at the battered teenager as he spat up blood.

"Try me..." Red rasped, "We are not telling you anything."

"I suppose not." Surge agreed, "Instead...I'll use a different tactic. I've heard..." he paused and wrenched Red's head backwards and the teenager exhaled painfully, "that you are extremely loyal to each other. Commander of the Execution faction eh? Tell me brat" his attention swerved back to a trembling Ruby, "which faction do you belong to?"

"Constellate." The adolescent answered unhesitatingly and the ex-champion's eyes narrowed in displeasure.

"RUBY!" The blood eyed teen tugged himself out of the interrogator's grasp and the accused jumped in fright. "I told you not to say anything!" Surge wrapped a hand around Red's throat and cut of further speech. Without warning, he drew the blade in a shallow cut and the constellate member whimpered.

This isn't happening.

"Open your eyes brat," Lt. Surge's penetrating tone dropped again to a ghostly murmur. "One of your commander's lives is hanging in your hands. If you don't tell me what I need to know, I'll cut him again. Don't test my patience; I made a living by killing other people." His pale hand soaked with warm blood gushing out of the wound on Red's throat. "I want to know where the rest of you are situated." He paused. "Each and every one of your friends...Reveal their locations to me..." To impress upon his threat, he pressed the knife against the wound and the convict moaned in pain.

"Don't...Ruby...It's not worth it." The ex-leader gurgled.

Another cut sent Red wailing with pain. And Ruby shuddered.

 _I'm sorry...Sorry...Sorry sorry._

He thought of Sapphire and Emerald.

 _Please forgive me for what I am about to do._

"Cough up brat." Surge urged. "Like I told you...I don't have all night."

"...We...Are all in one place." The Hoenn native began, his voice vacillating with each word.

"Ruby!"

"Sinnoh." The ebony haired male quietly confessed. "We are all situated in mainland Sinnoh. You will find my friends in a fortified structure situated at the base of Mt. Coronet." The moment he revealed the location, a cascade of tears streamed down his face and his chest compressed. He wanted to gasp for air. The guilt of selling out his friends fogged his mind and dampened all other senses. At the edge of his blurry vision, he blearily watched Lt. Surge let go of Red who mindlessly slid to the floor. The teen's glassy visage screwed up into a mixture of self-loathing and confusion. An expression Ruby was familiar with. The blonde soldier marched towards him, his shoes sounding like hammers on the cement flooring. Suddenly, the Hoenn native did not care anymore. If the interrogator decided to kill him, it would provide welcome relief. Instead of plunging the switchblade into his chest, the superintendent simply placed his blood tinted hand on Ruby's head and patted him on a job well done.

"Well done kid." He boomed. "Your father will be very proud of you."

 _Father..._

And Ruby buried his face in his hands and cried. His anguished wails bounced unheard in the cell's walls.

* * *

 **A/N:** And the kid Kanto natives are back to their old selves…somewhat. Red is still Red, smiling in Lt. Surge's face even when he's almost dying. Poor Ruby. Much thanks to all those who read and reviewed; and don't forget to drop a line of what you think. Virtual chocolate milkshake to all.

At AceTrainerLeaf: I actually wrote this piece as a lighthearted chapter but now that you mentioned it…yeah, I impressed myself, with their backgrounds and all :) I have a (dark) pokemon crossover in the works…In the meantime, look forward to Blaec Iustise's sequel (of sorts). At Guest: You know, with all the ideas you have, why not start writing? I really like the little story snippets you post as reviews and sometimes, I wish I could read full chapters; I know I could do with more kid Kantonians and the others fussing over them. Both Red and Green were spoiled as children, but in different ways (at least I think so). As for Green sleeping next to Crystal, it actually has less to do with Yellow and more with seeing Crys as a dependable person (unlike the rest) maybe she reminds him of Daisy? Or Mom? Gold dotes on all the little babies so he is the one buying the toys, clothing and food. Lol, Yellow did choose a princess story, but in this point in time, her rapidash riding knight is Red, not Green. I think the poke-gear only allows for texting and communication, hence the cellphone to watch movies and like. According to the Manga, Gold is a natural at taking care of kids (and pokemon babies) because he grew up with a house full of baby pokemon. I tease Mindy a lot :P Gold would rather take an opportunity to get under Green's skin than lecture him, Crys would be the one telling the professor to mind his manners.

At Jack54311: Smell you later. Ugh. Whenever Green from the games said that, I resisted the urge to hurl my gaming device at the wall, I hated him, he is obnoxious. My brother used to swear at his sprite (pretty funny considering he hardly curses). Red and Green's friendship was built on grudging respect. At Guest: Sycamore…handsome? Oh. Hahaha, for me, it was a gathering of intellectuals. I'd actually want a jacket like Green's but in black. I turned them into five year olds because at that point, children learn the most, they perceive their surroundings and can make decisions for themselves. Any younger and there would be no fights, no snarling Green or smart mouthed Red. If they were older, the Johto Dex-holders would pummel them into submission if the kids decide to do something naughty. At Silver: I'm already writing a (sequel-ish) story for Blaec Iustise. Eh, you flatter me, but thank you for your kind compliments, I'll definitely read your stories :) I like the twists you put in them. At Guest: Green is quite formal so I can see him dancing with someone. For some reason I think he can dance pretty well, those fancy dances (waltz, tango?). I hate mornings, but your message made me smile. It's really cloudy and humid here and it makes it difficult for me to breath. Still, I'm surviving ;)


	82. Mental and physical shackles

**Chapter 82: Mental and physical shackles**

A code red emergency forced him to pause all his investigations and board an airplane from Striation City. He found Skyla waiting for him and without further ado, the single passenger buckled up and the aircraft sped over Unova's sunny skies and landed in the overcast city of Jubilife City. His mind spun with a cyclone of thoughts. When Chief Anabel sent the message, she refused to divulge additional information, instead, she impressed upon the importance of flying to Sinnoh and arriving there before evening. Against all odds, he managed to land at a private area in Jubilife airport and another unmarked vehicle waited for him. The lower ranked personnel saluted and then, tires squealing, tore out of the airport at breakneck speeds and deposited him on the doorsteps of a shady cafe in Hearthome City. Head spinning from the momentum, he smoothed his chocolate brown hair away from his forehead, adjusted the visor and entered the cafe. The interior diffused dread and when he saw the other superintendents sitting in the otherwise empty coffee shop, he immediately knew something grave occurred. Silently, he pulled out a chair, sat in it and resisted the urge to tug out his inhaler and use it.

The information Chief Anabel and Lt. Surge provided him proved too good to be true. For a while, he slouched, balancing a cup of hot tea in his hands and ruminated over their discoveries. Due to Falkner being unable to attend this impromptu meeting, the chief once again assigned him to be the leader of this mission.

Lack-2 almost asphyxiated.

However, the expectant gazes of the higher ranked officers pressured him into taking up the offer. Cynthia's vacuous expression hardened when she was teamed up with him. He knew, it had less to do with her working under a brat and more with the league closing down only a month after it opened. More than half of the registered trainers who participated in the challenge, went missing on trying to cross the various lakes, forests and other rural areas across Sinnoh. The decisions for the official league pathways to be re-routed were met with various criticisms and ridicule. Unfortunately, investigation teams sent out to find the trainers either turned up empty handed, or they disappeared themselves. For safety reasons, the league closed down and since then, the Pokemon Association placed the Champion under heavy scrutiny.

People died. He reminded himself.

Freak weather conditions occurred since the legendary monsters broke out.

Hoenn currently faced a severe drought.

Unova suffered from unstable weather phenomena. All four seasons cycled through one day and the hospitals overflowed with people and pokemon unable to cope with harsh environments. The delicate balance of the weather ruptured and the authorities were tied down in trying to capture and subdue the Tao trio. Apparently, locating the mischievous weather titans gave rise to more trouble than simply letting them wreak havoc.

And amongst all this chaos, the Chief suddenly revealed to him the Dex Criminals base was situated in Sinnoh. Under Mount Coronet. Why didn't he suspect that place? He wondered.

 _Oh,_ his mind jibed, _you suspected it alright, you just did not want to inform the police about them, lest they round up all your friends and throw them in jail. Then you'll have to visit and watch the wretched misery on their faces._

Lies, he argued back.

He truly did not know the location.

The chair scraped against worn tiles as he got up. "I suppose putting the ambush off till tomorrow morning will alert them to danger. I don't have Looker with me." Lack-2 said, dug out a notepad from his high collared tweed coat and scribbled a few words on it. "Get me a map of the terrain and it better be detailed, the last thing I want is for nature to surprise me, I'm sick of it. Also, Keldeo and genesect are in my private quarters, I left them behind at home. Someone should transfer them over via a PC." He tore out the page and handed it to Anabel. "I need high resolution binoculars and my crossbow. I am not commencing the mission until I have my items." The detailed map of Sinnoh's mount Coronet was procured immediately, clamming up, he snatched the map and waded through a sea of tables and chairs, locating a secluded spot near one of the windows, he unfurled the map on the bare table and studied it. The police chief watched him, anger warping her normally mellow features. They needed to apprehend the Dex Criminals as soon as possible and the de-facto leader of the operation hefted some unreasonable demands on her and went off to brood on his own. If Lack-2 wanted his battle items, then by Arceus she would manage a way to get them before the sun's rays turned orange. Clenching her jaw, she urged an irate Cynthia to join the Unovian superintendent. The champion combed slender fingers through her platinum blonde hair and reluctantly dragged herself over to Lack-2. Anabel observed them, sighing, she fished out her Holo Caster. Time to make some calls.

Preposterous.

The Unova native did not expect Anabel to actually follow through his ridiculous requests. Merely an hour later, the fuchsia haired lady stomped back with all his items in a clear box. She dumped the plastic carton on the table and nodded to him. Biting back an insult, he reached into the box and retrieved his items. Once fully equipped, the chief guided him and Cynthia outside where a helicopter full of armored personnel waited for them. A brief soar through ominous clouds gave him a chilling glimpse of the dimensional scar hanging over the peak of Mount Coronet. Before his mind could start up the infernal arguing, the pilot dropped the squad on a hill and he watched the vehicle whisk away. The rotor blades scythed through the fiery sky and the copter melted into the horizon. Inhaling deeply, he trudged to the peak of the hills and gasped inaudibly. The base of Mount Coronet nestled into a valley surrounded by a range of smaller mountains on one side and a dense green forest on the other. A river snaked between these two boundaries and forked into two, gushing and tumbling over low lying hills. Screwing a pair of binoculars on his eyes, he held his breath and zoomed in. Set into the base of the gargantuan piece of rock, a white, metallic shutter closed up the entrance to an artificial building. By panning the magnification device sideways, he noted several cameras swiveling around the entrance. Lowering the binoculars, he felt a heavy weight settling in his chest. The surroundings were exactly the same as depicted on the map, not a tree or a blade of grass out of place. If he strolled up to the shutter and knocked, he doubted anyone would open the door and invite him in. Reaching to his belt, he peered down to select his Keldeo, however, the grinning pichu looking up innocently at him made him pause.

Gold.

Frantically, he dug his free hand into his coat pocket and grasped his inhaler. Cynthia watched him with mild concern as he clamped the device between his lips and pumped furiously, behind her, the soldiers straightened up, somehow trying to reassure their commander that if he failed, they would not. Waving her concerns away, he let loose his genesect and Keldeo, the water type pawed the ground impatiently and tossed its voluminous, blue mane. Lack-2 calculated his options; there was a fair distance between the hill and the entrance of the base. Signaling to his underlings, the group boarded their pokemon and careered down the ravine. The noise of falling rocks echoed through the crisp, evening air and the leading official hissed at his subordinates to keep down the racket. At the bottom of the valley, the door of the secluded headquarters loomed up, larger than life. Sliding off Keldeo, the male officer swallowed his apprehension and took a minute to study the entrance. The shutter consisted of sheets of metal, interleaved to make it sturdy, it would not matter to Keldeo and Virizion though, a dual sacred sword would render the door into dust. Uttering a sharp command, he watched with grim approval as the two legendary creatures cut through the air, Virizion, who was faster than her companion, reached the door first and a burst of light erupted from her forehead. Keldeo caught up to her and in tandem, the mythical creatures drew a jagged X shaped scar on the door. Instantaneously, the alarm blared deep within the base. The metallic door emitted steam and crumpled from the hinges. Uncurling from his squatted position, Lack-2 barked another series of orders to his underlings and watched them scurry to the base, cradling weapons in their arms and calling out to their pokemon partners. Cynthia spared him a glance before joining the fray herself. She whipped past him, her blonde hair swaying in the mountainous breeze and garchomp faithfully barreled after her. Momentarily stunned by her grace, he smacked himself back to reality and followed her.

Why did he have to do this again?

 _They are criminals and you are the police...How dare you shun your morality for your own selfish desires?_ His mind admonished him maliciously. _Their work is taboo and it is your duty to stop them. They are murderers and felons, tampering with which that should not be tampered._

"Shut up!" he hissed to himself and gathered his thoughts. Step one, arrest each and every member of the Dex Criminals. Step two, have two choppers ready to fly himself and the convicts back to Hearthome. Step three: Process the paper work required to send all of them back to Valora. Perhaps he should call Looker back from his mission in order to help with the paper work. Step four...Lack-2 did not want to think about step four. Growling, he furiously massaged his temples, muttered some more under his breath and briskly strode to the caved in door. The closer he got, the louder the sounds of carnage echoed. Bullet shots ricocheted off the stark, rocky walls, he heard people screaming threats, curses and in the midst of them all, his ears picked up a plaintive plea for mercy.

* * *

Evening

Sinnoh

Base of Mt Coronet

"How many cups of coffee did you drink now? You are still a teenager; too much coffee is not good for your health."

"Shut up." Green snapped at Gold and wrapped his hands around the steaming mug. "I'm older than you, so don't lecture me on what to do."

"Whatever you say half-pint." The golden eyed man sneered in return. "Talk big once you get to my size you puny teen." Blue huffed and watched the two banter through half lidded eyes. Picking at her ill-fitting t-shirt and jeans, she irritably fastened her long hair into a ponytail and exhaled audibly, resorting to drumming her nails on the table and glaring at Oak who slurped his hot beverage with careless abandon. Her internal senses tingled with danger. The entirety of the Dex Criminals banded together in the second chamber and waited for Ruby and Red to return. A while earlier, the inhabitants went into panic mode when they discovered the two were missing along with Charon. Luckily, Sapphire and Diamond fell upon the note scrawled by Ruby and thus opted to wait for the duo to come back. Meanwhile, the Kanto natives morphed into teenagers and their memory became fully intact. Yellow, instead of screeching and running away when she spied the spiky haired professor, sat next to Green and the latter gulped down almost a liter's worth of coffee right after he grew. A quick glance at the clock told Constellate's leader that it was evening and yet, Red and Ruby were nowhere to be seen. Getting off the chair, she hitched her jeans up her waist and paced through the circular chamber. Lined against one wall and exchanging stories, the Hoenn and Sinnoh natives snickered and giggled. Crystal sat between White and Whi-2, listening to the younger Unovian babble about a topic. Gold and surprisingly Silver, took turns poking fun at a teenaged Green, who's temper still betrayed him. Blue would've joined in the fun if the cold feeling of fear, currently gripping her heart, dissipated. Time seemed to stand still, holding its breath and anticipating something to go horribly wrong.

The change happened indiscernibly. Like ripples in a still pond. Sapphire perked up, her eyes going wide and glazing over with fear. Opposite her, Crystal picked up her distress and eyed Gold who snapped his head up in alarm. Just as the group moved, the siren blared. Against her instincts, Blue raced towards the outer corridor and Silver screamed at her to move away. His voice seemed to emanate from deep within a hollow cavern as she ignored him. The hot mug of coffee slipped from Green's fingers and splashed onto his thighs, she heard him curse. The sliding door separating the second chamber from the maze of tunnels leading to the entrance, imploded.

Time stopped.

Silver observed the events unfold akin to a horror movie. Blue ran towards the entrance and he shrieked at her. Without thinking, Gold hurtled after her, clasping a pokeball in his gloved palm. Green sprung from his chair and winced, the dark stain of coffee spread over his cargo pants and he hissed painfully as the liquid scalded his skin. He tried to hobble to the entrance, but Crystal and Yellow held him back and together, marshaled the other afflicted members deeper into the base. The door burst open, pieces of white shrapnel cannoned into the room and bounced off surfaces. A stoutland fired an energy ball and the projectile hit Blue square in her face. Rooted to his spot, the silver eyed Johto native watched his sister's head jerk back and a starburst of crimson blood erupted from her nose. Red filled his vision completely and his entire body quaked and became cold. Another masked operative aimed at Gold who scrambled past Blue and shielded her. The officer fired a gun and Gold uttered a groan of misery. He stumbled and eventually dropped to the floor, a large patch of scarlet blooming on the left side of his chest.

Arceus...Please no. Silver prayed. Please not him.

Please not my best friend.

The police officers poured in the circular chamber akin to black bodied durant. On the floor, Blue pressed one hand against her hemorrhaging nose and the other one clamped over Gold's bleeding chest. The inert male gasped in pain, his burnished gold eyes rolling uselessly around the sockets. When a policeman tried to separate them, the female venomously spat and kicked him away. Finally snapping to attention when a group of the enemies closed in on him, Silver let his feraligatr loose and blasted them away with a hydro pump. On the other end, Sapphire freed herself from Crystal's protective embrace and whaled in on the soldiers closing on the retreating group. Diamond and Pearl joined the battle. Unfortunately for them, their pokemon did not co-operate.

"Torterra!" Dia shouted, "use razor leaf. Now." The continental pokemon simply ignored him and thoughtfully grinded its teeth. Annoyed beyond words, the hyperactive teen danced around his sluggish pokemon and screeched at it to move. On the other end, Pearl ruminated on the scenes of destruction currently taking place before him. Near the entrance, seniors Blue and Silver kept the police men from hauling a gravely injured Gold away. Senior Crystal and Yellow, reigned in a fuming Green and soothed Whi-2 when the latter burst out crying. White went into shock, her mind unable to process the events happening in front of her. Sapphire stood next to a frazzled Diamond and dueled against the Champion of Sinnoh. Garchomp and blaziken dissolved into a blur of orange and indigo limbs. The sand shark brewed a sandstorm.

Wiping the vestiges of a cupcake from his chin, he peeked at infernape who eyed him scornfully. The fire monkey's eyes glittered intensely and Pearl wondered if it was impatient to join the battle. "Use flamethrower" The blonde sluggishly articulated and in response, the monkey breathed a stream of hell hot flames.

At his feet.

Jumping away from the dissipating flames and grunting at the searing heat, Pearl confusedly looked up to see his beast's visage twisted into one of disgust. Then it dawned on him. Due to the odd occurrences, he and Diamond switched personalities, his brain offered and the pieces clicked together. The sense of urgency he previously lacked, fogged his brain, alas, his neural networks were still too slow to fully comprehend everything. Rotating around, he witnessed Diamond furiously urging torterra to do something whilst next to them, garchomp tore up the room with its razor edged fins. "Dia!" the flame eyed teen howled at the top of the voice. "Dia! Let's switch pokemon; our beasts might listen to us if we exchanged places." Through the sea of blood, flailing limbs, gunshots and sand particles, he saw his friend nod. Dia expertly skirted around a soldier and roundhouse kicked one sailing down from the sky. Despite the circumstances, Pearl smiled; a speedier Diamond definitely knew how to impress people. Without pausing for breath, the ebony haired teen hollered:

"Infernape, flare blitz, let's go!" The fiery mane on the ape's head belted out a thick plume of flame, its limbs caught on fire and the monkey propelled itself off the floor and arced into the sky. The din inside the room dimmed as the individuals looked up to see a flaming ball of fire smack into a pack of barking stoutland. A stench of charred flesh filled the air and the barking promptly morphed into agonized howls and growls. The flame pokemon cartwheeled across the room, smashing its flaming fists accurately into the policemen's helmets and shattering them. From outside, a jet stream of water pummeled into infernape and slack jawed, the Sinnoh duo observed the flaming monkey hit the opposite wall. Bones crunched, skin tore and the water tinged red. By the time the horizontal deluge of water stopped, the ape limply slid down the rocky wall, painting the formerly white rock into a sickly shade of crimson.

Upon stepping into the second circular chamber, the first thing Lack-2 saw was Gold.

Lying in a pool of blood.

His golden irises barely visible behind hooded lids.

Blue frantically dragged him deeper into the base amidst the tornado of chaos erupting around them. Lack-2 briefly wondered why she looked so young...before remembering Surge muttering about a de-aged Red. Silver guarded the duo, his gaze cutting into anyone who dared to block their path. The pale man held his hair out of his face and an angry scowl twisted his visage into something resembling a monster. Silver irises glittered with hate and came to a rest on Lack-2. The Unovian swallowed rapidly, trying in vain to keep himself from hyperventilating and throwing up. Reshiram and Zekrom...he pondered. What on earth am I doing?

 _You are doing the right thing._

 _Your parents would be ashamed of you!_ Snarled his differing conscious. _Go back. Quietly leave from this place while all your underlings are distracted. You do not belong here._

The sheer look of contempt Silver leveled at him surfaced a nightmare. And the thief looked exactly like Gold. Brimming with hatred, malice and spite for the traitor who sold them all. The red head articulated a noise which sounded like an amalgamation of a growl and a hiss. Animalistic. Screaming obscenities, he pointed a finger at the trembling Lack-2 and shouted for his kingdra to render that piece of scum into dust.

 _Murderers!_ The voice in his head cackled. _He wants to kill you. They hate you._

Keldeo flashed out from behind him and absorbed the impact of a body slam. Holding himself upright, Lack-2 witnessed kingdra execute a dragon dance. Silver abandoned post and poured his efforts in commanding the water dragon to flay the Unovian. Inhaling deeply, Lack-2 steadied his nerves and bellowed into a mini-megaphone he managed to swipe from Lt. Surge: "Hurry up you imbeciles. I want this operation to be terminated before nightfall. How long does it take to arrest a bunch of criminals?" His amplified voice served as the final nail in the coffin. Gold twitched, briefly jerking back to life and clawing the air in order to catch the sound. A heavy blow rendered Blue dizzy and a masked official chained her wrists. By this time, Crystal let Emerald loose. The boy ran past Sapphire and grabbed on to a police officer's forearm. His fingers morphed into a multitude of vines which crept up the man's chest and promptly strangled him to a near death like state. The man fell, and the vines spread with alarming speed. A web of sinewy tendrils aimed for extinguishing the breath out of living things. Keldeo, genesect and Cynthia's garchomp switched their attention to the blonde boy whose form writhed in poisonous vines. The Sinnoh champion covered her nose and mouth. She felt light headed and woozy from the stench and powered venom lingering in the air.

Night

Sinnoh

Helicopter cabin

Whi-2 did not understand how things came to be like this. Words failed to describe the terror she experienced when those scary men burst into her home and did something horrible to big brother Gold. When she tried to reach out, Crystal pushed her backwards. Crystal...Normally she smiled with a gentle look in her eyes but now they were dull and dim. Like a black sky without stars. Whi-2 saw a red blossom on Gold's chest. It flowered beautifully against his pale pink shirt but for some reason, his face scrunched up like he was in a lot of pain. Blue went to help him and Silver just stood like a statue who forgot to close his mouth. Stupid Silver, why didn't he help when his best friend fell to the floor, gasping for air?

The chains bruised her wrists. She tried to force the metal circlets apart; however, they were too strong for her. Confused, Whi-2 longed to see her mother, longed to be safe in a warm, perfumed embrace. The noise in the flying cabin deafened her. A heli-copter right? She remembered reading about different aircraft back at the nursery. Whi-2 smiled and raised her face to see Silver bleeding from one eye. His face sent a shudder through her body and whimpering, she scooted close to Yellow and Blue. The brown haired teen stared vacantly at her brother, her lips twitching nonstop. Next to Silver, Gold leaned on him with an uncharacteristic weight, the latter's breath came in ragged blasts, signifying pain. Crystal supported him; the police handcuffed the Johto natives with each other. Brown eyes widening, the younger Unovian rotated her head to witness more of her friends crouched in miserable positions, before; they overflowed with life and confidence.

Now their bleak faces starved for hope and a way out of this mess.

The Dex Criminals would never get caught. Whilst rounding them up, the police taunted them. Utterly bewildered, Whi-2 saw a young man stumble around and support himself by leaning against the walls. All of the other black clothed men answered to him, so he was probably the leader. Commander? She pondered and rolled the foreign word around her developing brain. When Viney (as Sapphire dubbed Emerald) strangled almost half of the police officers to death, the brown haired commander...leader brought out a little crossbow and shot him. The young girl never saw anything more wicked in her life. Two shots. Two blue tinted arrowheads whistled through the air and torpedoed through Emerald's palms. The vines contorted, writhing across the floor and doing little jumps before shriveling and dying altogether. A cascade of lime green blood poured out of his sleeves and a police strode over and tied his wrists behind his back. Emerald screamed, thrashed and bit the officer on his arm and Whi-2 felt Crystal's pain when she ignored him and tried to get them to safety. Green ducked from underneath Yellow's arms and aggressively marched into the heat of battle. The weird machines the police carried, lit up with a skull shattering sound and the spiky haired male jerked back; something slammed into him and he dropped uselessly to the floor.

Bullets...Yellow's breath hitched when Whi-2 asked her what those things were. Rubber bullets coming out of the machines called guns. Rubber bullets were not fatal...they will not kill you...Yellow said...So why was she crying like Green just died?

No one died. One of the men reported to the brown haired teenager when they were all handcuffed and sitting on the floor. The visor wearing leader gave off a troubled aura and Whi-2 wanted to ask him why he did this when he looked so sick. Before she worded out her question, he turned tail and strode through the conduit leading outdoors, his tweed coat flaring behind him. The slight drop of his shoulders told her more secrets than any other action of his.

Lack-2...Why?

Sapphire fought well, she did her best, pitting two of her monsters against Cynthia's legendary garchomp. By now, the sand shark gained a reputation bordering on infamous. Infamous for tearing through anything standing in its way. Heart hammering in her ribcage, Whi-2 watched, the scenes blurry through her tears as the dragon sent her older friend soaring through the air. The Hoenn native back flipped, rammed her bleeding leg into an official's stomach and placidly observed her best beasts being mowed down by a mixture of bullets, a dragon and a sword of justice. Deciding Toro was too exhausted for battle, the girl crouched into a fighting stance. The Unovian admired her bravery...But sadly, the image playing before her blurred again. The next clear picture she saw saddened her. Sapphire dropped to her knees, clutched her stomach and threw up, whilst Cynthia slipped a pair of cuffs on her thin wrists. Whi-2 thought life was unfair. Her friends did not deserve this. Pearl and Diamond continued arguing, their loud words sailing over Torterra's domed back. The huge, green monster did nothing to help and if it spouted moves, they were slow and bounced off harmlessly against the armored personnel. Unable to breathe through the fear clogging her throat, Whi-2 wailed loudly, the sudden loud sound caught the police off-guard. One of them promptly handcuffed her and dragged her to the helicopter. She screamed for Sapphire or Yellow...She screeched for Crystal and Blue. At the end, she whimpered for her mom, begging for her to be by her side in these troubling circumstances.

Whi-2 sobbed louder, wiped her tears on her tattered sleeve and one of the policemen sent a threatening gesture at Blue. The teenager scowled at him. How brainless was that moron? Could he not see that she suffered from a regressive problem? Squashed somewhere at the back, Diamond and Pearl resumed their asinine arguing and a sadistic hint of a smile crawled her smeared face. Those two proved to be a royal headache to the guards. And only after a man posted himself with his weapon shoved in their faces, did they stop with their banter.

"Where are you taking us?" Blue demanded and unsurprisingly, none answered, not even sparing her a glance. "Green and Gold need serious medical attention..." she pressed. "Tell me where are we going?"

"Blue." Silver rasped and she recoiled. "Shut up." His tone bled with rancor and she promptly silenced herself.

"You will reunite with old friends before being shipped off to Valora." Cynthia graciously informed her from the cockpit. "The world will rejoice...Your reign of terror is over."

Green laughed.

His guffaws were punctuated by hisses and sighs of pain; and the noise sounded so out of character, that everyone, save for the pilot, swerved to face him. The champion demanded what he found funny and he spoke. Each word spat out with pure loathing: "Perhaps...But good luck on trying to figure out how to close the dimensional scar." His lips tugged into a humorous slash of a smile. "And well done on the raid." His emerald green eyes sparkled vindictively, "today, I realized that we are not so different after all." His last word dipped into a whisper, he slouched over and resumed his former comatose position.

Could they bargain their freedom in return for information? Blue wondered; and more importantly, since when was Green so adept at lying? After the legendary pokemon burst out from the reverse world, they were stuck as children. Obviously he had no time to conduct research on the dimensional scar. The lazuline eyed teenager heaved and a seed of content buried itself in her heart. Good to know Green was okay...

Good to know...that they might come out of this stronger than ever.

* * *

Mid-afternoon

Hearthome City

Police station

Two full days passed. During this time, the convicts were holed up together and the police provided them with medical attention. Apparently, this came as an anonymous request from one of the higher ups. Blue and Green retained their teenaged forms and they waited impatiently to meet Red. Emerald rid himself of the curse and his hands were bandaged. Each palm held a scar dead in the middle from where Lack-2's arrows pierced him.

In a dim cell, Ruby slumped on his bunk and squinted at the splatter of sunlight dancing teasingly out of reach. Red was already at work, cracking odd jokes with the warden posted outside the jail cell. When the Hoenn native moved and rubbed his eyes, the teenaged man rotated around, abandoned his pastime, shuffled closer to Ruby and sat on the bed. "Did you have nightmares again?" The ex-champion asked softly and noticed the shadows growing darker around his comrade's eyes. The fashionista nodded, he did not trust himself to speak lest he whimper uncontrollably. "It's fine...Don't worry about it." The older man soothed, "there seems to be some commotion taking place at this police station. Something about fresh recruits...Which is their way of saying, more jailbirds...Huh...I wonder what Blue and the others are up to. Do I dare hope they fled somewhere safe? Maybe the police delayed in raiding our base..." Red trailed off and his eyes dimmed in anxiety, on seeing Ruby's visage collapse further into an expression of utter depression, the fighter forcibly smiled. "Hey...Don't blame yourself Ruby. You saved my life alright?" The Hoenn adolescent's irises briefly flickered upwards, where a gauze of white wrapped around his senior's throat. He screwed his eyes shut. Images of Red with a slit throat plagued his nightmares. He envisioned himself at home...With Norman welcoming him back on a job well done. Lt. Surge's last words echoed like a broken record in his head. His father would be proud. Ruby snorted in disgust and a small part of him fully agreed with the ruthless soldier. "Come on," the older man's wrist chains rattled as he reached up to fluff Ruby's hair, "stop brooding, if you have any problems or nightmares to relate, I'm all ears. I know I'm not Sapphire or Emerald...But...I'm here so you can depend on me a bit more okay?"

The Hoenn native thought Red would hate him for disclosing a secret he'd gladly guard with his life. Instead, when Surge left, the ex-commander picked himself up and slunk towards Ruby. For a split, frightening moment, the fashionista thought the Kanto native might kill him. However, the only thing Red did was totter dangerously close and envelope him in a hug. Instantaneously, Ruby stopped crying and curled up for a period of self-loathing. Each morning, he'd be greeted by Red's grinning face and an enquiry about his health.

Ruby appreciated the gesture, even if he never thanked the older man.

A few shouts prompted the ex-champion to leave his side and swagger back to the bars. Outside, the warden shouted at Red to halt at his position and the door clanged open. In stepped two teenagers and Ruby's jaw dropped to the floor. The ebony haired man mirrored his shock, but the newcomers, simply gazed at him with dulled miens.

"Yo." Green greeted and trained his eyes on the dark grey floor of the cell. Next to him, Blue shifted uncomfortably and mumbled a greeting which, judging by her best friend's expression, did not reach his ears.

"Yo?!" Red sputtered. "Yo? You walk in here and all you can manage is Yo?" His eyes narrowed predatorily. "Aren't you gonna chew me out for what happened?" the raven haired meekly whined. In spite of the entire mess surrounding them, Blue and Green erupted into light hearted laughter and Ruby found a smile tugging at his chapped lips, he licked them. Yuck...If Sapphire was here...Then she better have lip balm or something similar, his skin needs some serious attention. "Jeez...Here I'm having nightmares about Green skinning me alive and roasting me over a spit. So..." Red queried cautiously, "are all of you here...Or?"

Blue replied in affirmative and he sighed in defeat. The pervious light of hope burned into nothingness. Blinking away tears collecting at the edge of her eyes, she put her arms around Red and hugged him tightly. He leaned in the warmth, forcing Green to join in the huddle. The trio stayed like that formation for quite some time and Ruby, slightly uncomfortable and wishing to be with his own gang of friends, simply observed them with sadness tinting his eyes. The top three did not speak, not even a hushed whisper. Their presence comforted each other and he contemplated on what will happen next. "I figured blaming you won't change anything." The spiky haired brunette whispered, "Besides, Charon would snitch on us sooner or later. Your throat Red...Did you injure..." Green broke off and stared harder at the swathe of bandages on his co-companion's neck. "...They _hurt_ you?" His voice rose an octave. "They sliced your throat because you refused to give them information? How dumb are you?!" By now, the strategy leader's voice grew into a high pitched shriek. "If they threaten you to spill the beans...You should just do so! Arceus Red...What is wrong with you?!" His tone dipped back into a hoarse whisper when Blue gently brushed her fingers over the scratchy material.

"Yeah...Ruby saved my life actually." The fighter sheepishly admitted. "I'm sorry for making you worry Green...Blue." Any snappy comeback Oak wanted to articulate, simply died in his throat and the teenaged professor grunted. "Now what do we do? I doubt having a mass jailbreak is an option." Red traced his finger along the cold floor. "By the way, where are the others? And more importantly, is everyone okay? I figured we might be suffering from anomalies. I can't recall what I did in the recent months. All I remember is waking up next to Gold and staring at the mess on his bedroom floor...And dragging Charon to the police station which ultimately resulted in this fiasco."

"Genius." Muttered Green sarcastically and shook his head. "We were de-aged to children and thus wholly dependent on the Johto natives to help us around. And Gold had a blast of a time acting as a foster father to you." A strange emotion passed Red's scarlet irises and before Blue deciphered the longing behind it, he smiled and shook his head amiably, motioning for his friend to continue speaking. "And apparently, I was a pompous-"

"No surprises there" Red and Blue cut in.

"-selfish moron who only thought about myself and regarded others as trash..." The jade eyed male confessed in a small voice. "Crystal lectured me on my behavior as soon as I grew back into a teenager. During that time, she had no idea I regained my adult memories...how mortifying." His two best friends chuckled and on one of the narrow beds bolted against the wall, Ruby straightened up and let a giggle loose. The door set into the jail cell swung open again and this time, the Hoenn natives tumbled into the room. Sapphire glanced at Ruby and flew over to him; her sobs rebounded off the walls whilst Emerald first dipped his head at Red and joined his friends on the bed. After two days of seeing the fashionista flounder around like a living corpse, it was refreshing to see the wide, sunny smile stretching across his pallid face. Red grinned wider and Green scowled. "I hate that conniving expression of yours..." he complained, "but it beats seeing your face screwed up like a sour prune...So...You have any other plans for how to bust out of Valora?"

"Valora?" Blood drained from Red's face.

"Yeah." Blue chimed in. "Because that's where they are taking us."

* * *

 **A/N:** The Dex Criminals have turned back to normal and unfortunately Lack-2 doomed them all. Much thanks to BewareTheShadows and skrubboi For following and favoriting and to all those who read and reviewed. Virtual Devil's food cake to all.

At Jack54311: I sorta ship Blue and Ruby. Apart from the Manga, Blue and Silver don't really have a sibling relationship so it works I guess. Poor Ruby, though.


	83. A string of unhappy correspondences

**Chapter 83: A string of unhappy correspondences**

Unknown time

Johto

Whirl Islands

Maximum security prison

Day and night melted into each other. They simply served to show the passage of time. Time meant nothing in this dreary darkness. A square room surrounded by three bare walls and metallic bars. Inside the stark cell devoid of natural light, Giovanni squinted at the words inked on a page and frowned on hearing a brawl break out in the adjacent lockups. The beginnings of a headache throbbed behind his eyes and put the book down to massage his temples. In the distance, a pair of boots echoed on shiny tiles and the other prisoners stopped yelling and pummeling each other. The warden, a young man, came to a crisp stop in front of Giovanni and thrust a white envelope between the steel rods, he waited for the criminal leader to get up and take it from him. Instead of pushing himself off the bed and snatching the letter from the official, Giovanni first scrutinized it. The envelope bore an intricate seal, one he could not recognize. Underneath the seal, he saw the insignia of the International Police. What did they want? He already had a life sentence to serve...Perhaps they decided to release him early due to his good behavior? The former Team Rocket leader amusedly contemplated and grunted. Heaving himself off the bed, he nodded at the young warden and reached for the envelope.

"Letter for you convict." The guard dipped his head lightly. Giovanni did not know why this particular individual treated him differently. When the young man called him convict, it sounded more like an affectionate nickname than a derogatory term. And the adolescent should not smile like that, all the senior officials treated the former criminal lynchpin like scum...However this youngster simply regarded him like an ordinary old man and Giovanni felt a bit grateful for the sentiment shown to him. Offering the warden a modest smile, he sat on the floor and tore the envelope open. Out fell a letter. "It's from the International Police." The jailer offered uselessly, "I doubt they are offering you parole...However...I hope they don't take you away from here" Turning around, he muttered to himself and looked back. "You didn't hear me say that...Okay?" The former boss nodded distractedly, wanting the warbling man to keep quiet so he could focus on the words written on the expensive piece of paper. He read it over and over again, hardly believing his eyes. After the third time, he placed the letter in his lap and stared at the dirty white ceiling of his cell. How long was he confined in here? "Hey, is there something wrong? You look pretty shaken." The guard pressed his face against the bars and enquired, a hint of concern laced his electric blue eyes. Why did that brat care so much anyway? The criminal blinked, gave a watery smile and waved the man away. Throwing him another look, the sentry marched off to his duties and left Giovanni to read the letter for a fourth time.

 _To Giovanni:_

 _We write to inform you of your son's detainment to Valora, Ransei. Silver is being held in maximum security for his allegiance with the Dex Criminals._ Giovanni's eyes misted over. _Due to your confinement, you may have not heard of this notorious group of criminals who operate on a multi-regional level. They managed to blot out all their competitors, the first and foremost group being Team Rocket, but we digress. We regret to relay that your son has performed an act of crime that put people in danger on a national scale. This is no mere theft or murder, his and the actions of the people he works with, ultimately put the entirety of the Poke-world in danger. For this, he is to serve life time imprisonment in Valora and the nobles of Ransei unanimously agreed to punish both him and his cohorts accordingly._

 _Signed:_

 _Chief Anabel of the International Police._

Why be a criminal out of all people? He inwardly bemoaned the fate of his son. Couldn't Silver learn from his father's mistakes? Father...The Rocket executive chuckled humorlessly. His son never considered him a father to begin with. He remembered the red head bursting into his office so many years ago. The boy's face held hatred and contempt and the word father, spat out from his mouth like some undesirable object, sounded more like an insult than a term of endearment. Giovanni shook his head and folded the letter, as he tried to slip it back into the envelope an image fell out. On seeing the booking photograph, he briefly wondered if the Chief of Police perhaps had children of her own. The picture showed Silver, pale and thin. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he stared at the photo, noting down each and every detail on his child's face before humbly pocketing the image. Scrunching up the letter and envelope, he threw them outside and huddled back to his bed in order to sleep.

* * *

Late afternoon

Ransei

Valora

A fortress. They collectively agreed.

The members of the Dex Criminals craned their necks to see Valora castle resting atop a rocky escarpment crawling with a multitude of pipes, levers and gears. The region resonated with a mechanical energy and most buildings were constructed out of metal or mechanical implements. They exchanged glances and snippets of conversation drifted into the air. The head imperial escort, tasked with a team of six men to guard the criminals whilst they journeyed to Ransei, resisted the urge to growl in displeasure. These people had no fear, despite being roped to each other like a pack of sub-humans; they continued to chatter amongst themselves, pointing at the castle and at the gates. Gasps of awe emanated from the huddle in front of him and the other sentinels shared his disgust. In the middle, an ebony haired man excitedly pointed at Valora's blast doors and poked his spiky haired companion in the ribs. Said companion, dissatisfied because the jailers roused him up too early and refused to fuel him with a daily dose of coffee, murmured and looked away. Undeterred, the black haired man's blood eyed gaze swept around for another victim. This time he pounced on a well-endowed, brown haired woman. Her azure irises clouded with apprehension and she meekly nodded at her companion's enthusiastic findings. The guard derived sadistic of pleasure when the male turned away and prodded someone else; the expression of worry on the alluring female's face fuelled him. It made him feel important. His ego stoking moment promptly suffered a backlash when he saw one of the younger female's gnaw on the ropes tied around her wrist, her two comrades eyed her disturbingly before the blonde midget followed her example and chewed on the heavy duty lariats.

The band of convicts stiffened when the leading escort's skarmory uttered a harsh cry. They quailed as one; some of them dropped to the floor and covered their ears. Silence replaced the formerly excited babbling and skarmory touched down to the metal plated ground. Skirting around the group, the imperial retainer climbed the steps leading to the gates and rotated to face the assembly. "You will now enter the Royal Palace grounds. He boomed, "so far, you criminals have shown utter disrespect for the nobles of Ransei. I do hope you will conduct yourself civilly from now on; it will be in your best interest to remember that we hold your lives in our hands. If anyone of you steps out of bounds, I shall be forced to make an example." The previously raven haired, crimson eyed man rolled his eyes expressively and the guard resisted the urge to unsheathe his sword and cleanly swipe the offender's head off. How dare this bunch of commoners soil his region! Who do the International Police think they are to be asking his Lord to house such infernals? Composing himself, he turned around and the blast gates opened, again, a few whimpers of fear and cries of distress rose from the group behind him and one person whooped in pleasure.

Arceus damn you, fiendish individual. The guard chanted in his head and led the procession through the doors.

A convoy of guards, steelix and lairon greeted them. Seeing the pre-evolved state of aggron, Red tensed and Gold cast a quick peek at his mentor. Next to him, Silver and Crystal eyed their surroundings in astonishment, unable to believe their eyes at the blend of cutting edge science and ancient traditions. The gold eyed man looked around, any chance of seeing the pretty female warrior he encountered here the last time? Through the gaps offered by armor plated men and their steelix, he caught her. She stood behind the line of men, her inky-blue hair held up in a high ponytail with two bangs framing her face. Most of the retainers failed to recognize him since the last time he came here, he resembled one of Greenleaf's retainers, however, a knowing tingle pervaded her eyes. The warmth in her face diffused and she turned her face to the side. Gold shrunk...the shame of being escorted as a criminal finally dawned on him.

They were not allowed to peek inside the beautiful interior of Valora Castle. Blue let out a breath she didn't know she held. The new experiences around her were disorientating. Oak gazed at everything in a disinterested manner whilst Red excitedly pointed at the scenery and kept up a running commentary about the marvels of the province. A small part of her looked forward to seeing the interior of Valora castle. Red, Gold and even Green commented on the aesthetics of the palace and the latter never complimented anything unless it awed him. Next to her, Yellow shuffled melancholically; the blonde's sunny disposition seemed to hide under permanent clouds since they were arrested. Coming to a stop before a door set into the plateau, one of Valora's retainers approached them, holding a black box in his metal clad arms. He bowed to the commanding official and the older man, his face lined and lecherous retrieved a strip of black cloth. He motioned Red to step out of line, her friend marched forward with his head held high and the escort wound the cloth around the fighter's eyes and guided him back to the line.

Great...Blindfolds. Blue sighed, so much for wanting to see the inside of Valora Castle.

White imagined the environment around her based on the sounds she heard. After riding a rickety elevator in which the cries of kling, klang and klingklang deafened her, she blindly followed her captors to what seemed like a metal workshop. Heat prickled her skin and bright light diffused from the exterior environment, bleeding through her eye covering. And the clanging and banging of metals echoed from all sides. They passed through a door and the cacophony faded till a heavy silence enveloped it. Now the only thing she heard were the dull sounds of marching feet over wooden tiles. Her surroundings became quiet as a grave and she sensed fear clouding around her friends. None spoke; they only paraded blindly, led forward by seven captors. A subtle mix of wax and incense drifted across her nose and she inhaled deeply, the scent calming her overwhelming apprehension. Down twisted hallways they trooped and eventually came to a stop when her sock clad feet hit metal. The Dex Criminals huddled together, seeking comfort from each other's presence and in spite of being swamped with friends, she felt alienated. Black was not here...White reminded herself. He will never be here. Just as her thoughts took a morbid turn, she felt two, no; three pairs of hands grab her. One pair belonged to Whi-2, the others were Diamond and Pearl who fumbled over each other and eventually pressed her into a hug.

"You aren't alone." Pearl whispered, his breath brushing over her ear and she recoiled. The Unovian appreciated the gesture but her three friends squashed her into a pulp; and the hyperactive teen seriously needed to shift away, when Black and White first saw the Sinnoh natives, she was surprised by their age. They were young children. Now several years later, both Dia and Pearl towered over her. Shifting backwards, Pearl comfortably clasped her hand and Whi-2 gripped her arm, Dia ambled away to find himself a person to stick to, the older female mused, probably senior Red. Team Execution worshipped their leader.

A warm, content feeling pervaded her chest and she wanted to cry for a wholly different reason.

They were escorted into individual cells. Once the guards pushed them through the barred doorways, they removed all restraints and quickly locked the door, without waiting for the outlaws to adjust to their new environs, the royal escorts melted into a line and followed their leader out of the metallic corridor. In the distance, White heard a door slam shut. Contrary to her mental image of a jail cell, the room she stumbled in was well lit, a single bed stood in one corner and behind a screen, she beheld a shower and a toilet. In the middle of nowhere, a basin with a mirror hanging above it, reflected her slightly shocked expression. "Sweet! They have hot water in here!" Yelled a male voice and she spun around to see her friends all holed up in the adjacent cells. Some of them, like Gold, Pearl, Sapphire and Ruby explored their areas and related their findings in jubilant hollers. Others, notably Silver, Green and Red, tucked themselves into one corner and brooded. Her lazuline irises locked on the fighter, normally he would be leading the exploration...However, the red eyed male crouched in one corner and peered at the world scornfully. Of course, the organizer admonished herself, he wouldn't want to come back to this place would he?

"My skin is all dry." Ruby complained, "And they neglected to supply us with shampoo, lotion and scented soa-"

"Ruby darling." Blue sliced in her underling's grumbles. "This is a jail sweetie." Her tone dripped saccharine poison, "be lucky you have hot water for a shower you imbecile." The brown haired woman paced the cell akin to a glameow and sharply studied her environs; she noted a button camera hidden in one of the ornate screws and no doubt, it recorded each and every event playing out in the cells. Whirling to a stop, she eyed Red who sagged in the shadows. Prowling to the barred entrance, she gripped the steel columns and added: "Red, stop looking like someone stole one of your badges and think of a way to get us out of here." Her comrade frowned, seemingly unconcerned about searching for a way out of this cell. He adjusted his position and tucked his head inside his arms.

"...I'm sorry; I'll give back the badge I stole from your house." Silver weakly confessed from his cell and Blue glared at him. Her brother's words had a profound effect on Red, the male's head snapped up, he scowled at the red head who rummaged in his pockets and locked gazes with his female friend.

"There isn't a way out of here Blue." His tone lacked energy and the will to live. "I've been here before remember? Valora is designed to keep intruders within these four walls, the last time we were lucky...The warlord was busy with other matters." The female trainer's resolve crumbled but she steeled herself and implored him to think of a plan. "For starters...Go ahead and bust the cameras hidden in the screws holding up the mirror...And try to drive the guards crazy. At least...That's how I stopped myself from tearing my hair out." As soon as he mentioned the cameras, all of the Dex Criminals whaled in on the button sized devices and smashed them with various degrees of satisfaction. Emerald plucked the gadget out carefully and gently dissected it, trying to find out its intricacies, when the camera failed to amuse him, he grinded it underfoot. Gold tossed his like a ball straight into Sapphire's compound and the latter kicked it back to him. The round camera soared over his head, crashed against the wall and burst into little silicone chips and wires.

Green peered into the camera; the lens reflected a gloomy, distorted visage. "I wonder if the Ransei nobles are discussing some sort of punishment for us." He muttered loudly and flushed the device down the toilet. "Red is right, this place is an iron fortress, there isn't a way out."

"Stop being so depressing Green. We are all tired and scared, you don't have to make us panic." Yellow's surprisingly strong voice cut into the hushed din and a moment of silence ensured. Whi-2 glimpsed the blond senior clutching the pendant around her neck and trying to hold herself together. She was right; they did not need more ominous prophecies to further dampen the already distressed atmosphere hanging over their heads.

A pair of orange tinted eyes forlornly watched Diamond as he fumbled with his hands. Pearl breathed through his nose, in an effort not to break down and start screaming. When Dia stressed, he played with food, unfortunately, the guards confiscated every bit of edible article the chubby cheeked boy possessed and now the black haired teen picked his hands. In the periphery of his vision, the blonde witnessed Crystal, staring mindlessly at the opposite wall. "How about we vote for senior Yellow to be Strategy's next commander?" He piped up, intending to ease the tension amongst them. A few cells further, his commander growled a threat which was drowned by light hearted chuckles. Pearl smiled to himself; if they had the spirit to laugh...then all is not lost. Sitting cross legged on the cold, metallic floor, he forced himself to think. What would Missy do in this situation? He pondered and veered his thought processes away from her. No, don't think about her! Think about what she would do...They could not get any outside help. Their pokemon partners were lulled into a drug induced sleep. They were secured in steel cells, inside a metallic palace sitting on top of a hill. If by any chance they could squeeze through the window...A sheer drop would reduce him into fertilizer for crops. Befriending and bribing the guards were not applicable. The lines on the blonde's forehead grew deeper, what would he bribe the royal escorts with? Smelly socks?

Pearl let out a short bark of hopeless laughter.

"Pearl, don't think too much, you'll get cross eyed." Diamond gently articulated from the opposite cell. "And senior Sapphire, please don't bite the bars...They won't break." The ebony haired boy scratched his head. "Is anyone hungry? I think I'm starving."

Ruby hissed: "You think?" He turned to see his best friend biting the bars and a grimace marred his handsome features. "Saph! Stop gnawing on those bars. Holy Kyogre, your teeth with wear out."

"In case you haven't noticed prissy boy." She screeched. "I'm trying to find a way out."

"By biting through steel columns?" Emerald's tone betrayed disbelief.

"Good luck." Green and Red simultaneously droned. "Inform me of your progress once I wake up." Oak huffed and climbed into bed. The Hoenn native stopped in her foolish quest and slumped pathetically to the floor. Internally cursing at the spiky haired commander, she briefly wondered what on earth kind, sweet Yellow saw in that guy. Pearl's proposal of electing Yellow as the next strategy leader seemed plausible enough. That's it! The girl fist pumped, after they manage to get out of this mess, she'll petition for Yellow.

Not long after, the members of the Dex Criminals crawled to their individual beds. Crystal went first and Gold pretended not to hear her stifled sobs. Blue paced her cage, one eye on her inert best friend. The fighter drew circles on the floor and seemed to be in no mood to get some sleep. Urging him to rest, she climbed in her bed and glanced at him one last time. Red looked at her for a brief moment and then tore his gaze away.

The image of his face, glistening with tears, haunted the Kanto native in her sleep.

Evening

Valora

Inside the palace dungeon

Sometime after the convicts snuggled into bed, a lone guard reported to his higher ranked officer that the cameras were all found and broken. The head warden, familiar with the commoner criminals' hatred for surveillance, told his escorts to leave them be. Besides, they were stranded and hopeless. All the members have been captured and accounted for; they had no one to rescue them. Saluting and leaving the traditional meeting room, the lower ranked retainer checked his schedule and suppressed a groan. The felons needed to be fed and it was time to distribute their dinner. Feeding fourteen people proved to be a herculean task and he sought out a unit of servants to aid him in delivering their meals. Looking after commoners was a humiliating chore and he pondered why Lord Ieyasu accepted the uncanny proposal from the commoner region authorities. The province of Valora functioned as the defense of Ransei's strongest alliance and thus, the soldier found it unbefitting for his Lord to house criminals of such ill-repute. From the snippets of gossip he caught in the halls, these upstarts were the reason why the deity monsters were not appearing to them. Rumors went around that Registeel last visited Valora almost two years ago. If the steel golem did not come more frequently, Valora would collapse. Perhaps these transgressors knew how to reverse the process? Traversing down the twisted corridors, he briskly walked past whispering servants and retainers; and decided to ruminate about the Dex Criminals a bit later.

In the royal kitchen, a spacious room housing several stoves, steel counter tops and smoke extracting fans, a set of fourteen surgical steel lunchboxes rested on a large tray. Two manservants bowed respectfully to the guard and gestured to the pile. The sentry relayed commands and the servants rushed to carry them out. Hefting the steel tray between themselves, they faithfully followed the retainer up the corridors. The aroma of delectable food wafted from the kitchen and the escort wished to be relieved of duty, for breakfast, he only had a cup of green tea and a bowl of rice to contend with. Striding through the corridors, the trio arrived at the top floor and noticed the lack of guards. Typical, no one wanted to go near the secret corridor if they were tasked to defend a band of low-life humans. The warden scanned the area, opened the corridor and against protocols, ushered the two servants in and ordered them to quickly dole out boxes. Nervously, the two servants did their jobs, placing a steel lunchbox into the individual cells with a muted thunk. The quietude of the corridor unnerved the jailer and he marched inside the corridor in order to investigate. To his astonishment and bitter anger, those felons fell fast asleep, snuggled inside their beds without a care in the world. Only one remained hunched on the freezing floor and the black haired male looked up. Startled by the sheer amount of languor in his eyes, the royal guardsman swallowed his fear and quickly evacuated the hallway.

He did not want to be on duty for the next few days.

Waking up, Diamond rubbed his eyes and spied a rectangular lunchbox sitting innocently on the floor of his cage. The teenager blinked. A trap? He did not know the time and he mused his life will now be dictated by the ones who run this place. Time meant nothing and desires must be shunned. Rampant thoughts and his never ending appetite should be tamed. Throwing off the sparse blanket he used to cover himself with, Dia splashed water on his face and washed his hands. Thereafter, he circled the metal box; too afraid it might be a figment of his imagination and will simply disappear if he touched it. At long last, he summoned the courage to pick the carton up and the warmth diffused by the still hot food prompted him to clasp the box to his chest and sniff it. Food, glorious food. Letting out a delighted squeak, he opened it and gawked, his mouth watering instantaneously. The compartmented base held rice, grilled fish, vegetables in broth and seafood. Eyes lighting up, he picked up a set of chopsticks and speared a shrimp with it. Uttering a prayer to Arceus, he dove into his food with a delighted moan. The delicious aroma drifting from his open lunch prompted Sapphire and Yellow to stir. In the next few minutes, delighted shouts reverberated from the corridor as the people tucked into their food with obvious relish. Sitting close to the entrances and exchanging comments, the Dex Criminals simultaneously finished their meal together and complimented their food with a slew of graces or insults.

Except for one person.

The former champion of Kanto.

Blue gathered all of them together and urged them to brainstorm ideas on how to get out of Valora with all their sanity and limbs intact. Diamond found it difficult to think when an unopened lunchbox sat teasingly at the edge of his vision. His commander stewed by himself and did not touch his food. "Red...Please eat up and join in the discussion." Constellate's leader pleaded. "You too Green, you ate your lunch, so try and contribute something...Even if it's a joke. Come on, you are supposed to be the thinker! Think Professor Oak!" In response to her earnest requests, the jade eyed male sighed dejectedly, closed his eyes and massaged his temples. On the other hand, Execution's commander picked up the lunchbox and dropped it into his lap. He stared at the steel surface like it contained the answer to all of life's mysteries.

"Not hungry..." he mumbled and pushed the box away again.

"I'm... still hungry." Diamond warbled unhelpfully and ignored the glower Pearl sent his way. Red was about to slide the lunchbox over to him when Blue interrupted him.

"No Red," she stated firmly, "you are hungry and you need to eat. Finish up that meal, I promise it will make you feel better." Gold repeated her request timorously and reluctantly the ex-champion popped open the lid and ate, slowly chewing each morsel. Blind to his surroundings, Dia gulped and stared at his leader, the man looked up and gave him an sheepish smile, meanwhile, Pearl's flame pigmented eyes bore holes through his best friend's body. Appeased by her companions, Blue listened to the conversations floating around the cells and spoke up: "Does anyone have an idea of how to get out of here? Anything?"

"I have a headache." Green offered dolefully

Uncharacteristically, Silver bit down a snigger and Gold clamped a hand over his mouth to drown a giggle. Crystal shot Blue an apologetic look and reeled backwards when the female commander's face twisted into an expression of unspeakable wrath. "Do you think I'm joking around Oak?" She spat, "We are all in the same predicament. I'm sure you are bemoaning your fate, but understand there are people younger than you here." Her breathy tone penetrated the silence. "Try to be an example for them, you spineless weedle and you have the nerve to lecture Red when he-"

"Blue...Shush it." Her ebony haired best friend interjected and she quieted down, her cheeks flushed with anger and indignation. "Green has a lot to think about. Give him some space." The brunette in question let out a heavy breath and his shoulders slumped. Blue pressed her lips into a thin line and demanded to know what thoughts plagued the professor and Red answered. "He is thinking about his Grandpa. And his worried about what Daisy will think if she finds out her beloved kid brother has been sent to jail for causing mass destruction."

Silence.

The commander's words induced a new wave of shame. Ruby shot up from his position, careered to the basin and gagged whilst Sapphire buried her face in her scratched up palms and wept. Yellow fumbled with her pendant, twisting the fine chain before slipping the necklace off her person and dropping it into her tunic pocket. Blue uncurled her fingers from the bars. Unlike her other peers, she did not feel ashamed of her actions, thieving, lying and cheating was a means for her to survive when Team Rocket kidnapped her. Silver too, he nonchalantly shrugged when she peeked at him and pointed to Crystal. The indigo haired girl stuffed a knuckle in her mouth and bent over; tears poured out of her eyes and formed a little puddle of liquid on the floor. "...Look guys...we can't really blame the higher ups for what happened." Gold timidly interrupted and his mentor's lips twitched. Lies. The gold eyed man thought, even though Red, Blue and Green seemingly 'invited' the Dex Holders into forming the organization, their requests left little to argument and choice. A bubble of resentment inflated in his chest and he quashed the feeling violently. Red meant the world to him, the ex-champion took care of him after his mother died and trained him. All the blood eyed man wanted...Was a fair world for all. Inhaling deeply, he continued his speech in a tender tone: "It's our fault we are in this mess...Yeah, we did some pretty terrible things and I really can't forgive myself...nor will my dear mom who's up in heaven." Gold's breath hitched. "...But, we gotta stop sniffling and like senior Blue said, start thinking of a way to get out of here. The last time Senior Green and I infiltrated this place, the Warlord of Greenleaf...Bless his leafy heart, helped us out a lot. Hey Green! Do you have his number or something?"

"Yes I do, two nights ago he texted me about his serperior slicing a rouge guard to ribbons." Gold eyed the Strategy commander skeptically. "Of course I don't have it you dolt! Do you think he's going to risk his title and heritage to leave his contact number with a Mew damned criminal? And besides..." Oak rapidly voiced, "The people here use an old means of communication...Letters and whatnot. Do you not understand sarcasm Gold?"

"Sorry." The Johto native jumped up, shrieked and grabbed the bars of his prison, "I'm tired, stressed and trying to mop up the messes you and your cronies created! I certainly do not have time to appreciate your stupid sarcasm you intellectual moron." At his outburst, Red smirked and Gold almost lashed out at him as well. What did the black haired man find so funny anyway? Forcefully calming himself down, he glanced at Crystal who straightened up and graced him with a diluted smile. The breeder wanted to protect her and her smile even if it cost his life, wrath melting into nothingness he reclined on the cold floor once more. "Red...The last time, you mentioned a secret passage of sorts; do you still remember the way? Judging from the sounds, we came in from the castle's basement; there is an iron forge there, right?" Red nodded and replied that he remembered the route very clearly, unfortunately, he doubted the guards would keep the corridors unmanned this time around and there remained a high possibility for them to reconstruct the interior. Without their pokemon they are helpless and after the last break in of Valora Castle, the fighter would not be surprised if their monster partners were guarded by the abominable aggron and Lord Ieyasu himself. "Well...Your logic makes total sense." Gold scratched his head. "Before anything else, we first have to find a way to unlock these cells. Hey Silver, think you can pickpocket a guard?" The red head nodded and Blue chimed in that she was a better thief than her brother. "Well, I'm not sure how the procedures are; previously, a pair of guards would keep watch 'cause senior Red kept on breaking their cameras. If we could at least net ourselves a key...And pray the guards don't notice it, we can escape from our cells and create some sort of distraction."

His co-workers nodded at his brilliant plan and he perceived renewed determination returning to their dulled irises. "You forgot about Red's paralyzing fear of the Lord's aggron." Green deflated the amber eyed trainer's meticulous arrangement and the latter threw him a dirty look. From her cell, White gave Gold a thumbs up and he returned the smile with a shaky one of his own. If she, the organizer and counterpart of Black, approved of his plans then the strategy commander can sit in one corner and tally his faults on an abacus or something. "We have to assign someone with Red-"

"Why don't you go?" Blue pointed, "You two are perfectly capable of covering each other's weaknesses-"

"No." Red interjected and the Kanto natives eyed him in shock. Green inhaled deeply, traced his fingers across the floor and covered his visage with a poker face whilst Gold seized the opportunity to grin toothily and flash the jade eyed male a crude sign. "I need emotional support Blue..." the fighter intoned, "and if you noticed, Green, for all his good looks and intelligence, lacks in the sentiment department." Crimson irises scanned the other members, "how about Yellow? Wanna come with me?"

"No!" Green articulated heartily, Yellow jumped at his shout, blushed and retreated deeper into her cell. Blue and Red simultaneously sported devious, knowing grins and the professor hastily drew back from their plotting expressions. "I meant...Take someone else, if you pass out from seeing the aggron, she won't be able to carry you. And wipe those sneers off your face, both of you!" Oak, against his best efforts, felt his cheeks grow hot and somewhere, Emerald and Pearl snickered and exchanged hushed words. "Contradictory to what you believe Red...I am not emotionally inept."

Tossing her hair backwards and enjoying the teasing smile on Red's face, the brown haired female agreed: "We noticed Green; obviously you aren't emotionally dead...Or else..." She added and their grins grew wider, "how else would you develop feelings for sweet Yellow? Am I right?"

Whi-2 blinked, this was the first time during her stay with the Dex Criminals, that she witnessed the level headed strategy commander loose his cool in public. His cheeks were aflame and a small smile tugged at her lips. He angrily sputtered excuses in a manner similar to Hugh and she wondered if she would see her mauve haired childhood friend again. If...If they ever met, she wanted to apologize for letting him down. "Shut up pesky woman! And you too Red! I swear, if I get out of here alive I'll ignore the two of you for the rest of my life." Green panted whilst his best friends and other members chuckled at him. "Stop getting ahead of yourselves, we still have a stupid key to steal!"

* * *

A multitude of phones and other communication devices rang concurrently on four different regions. When the receivers picked up, they all listened intently to a smooth, expressionless tone leaching through the mike. Each of the voices were the bearers of bad news:

"We regret to inform you..." the officer intoned.

"...That your son, Pearl"

"Your daughter Sapphire..."

"Is convicted for being part of the multi-regional crime syndicate known as the Dex Criminals." Several of the men and woman, upon hearing this, broke down gasping and sobbing, pressing a hand against their mouth to soften their cries. Others simply went mute with shock, unable to believe.

Not wanting to believe.

"Your child is currently held in Valora, Ransei. There will be a trial held by the noble leaders to discuss their punishment and as their guardians and parents; you are hereby obligated to attend to this trial. We shall call you back with more details. In the meantime, please prepare your papers in order to enter Ransei." The line went dead with a muted click and Ruby's mother stared into the phone, blinking back tears. Her whole body stiffened, refusing to obey her orders and her limbs shook uncontrollably. Dropping the receiver back into the cradle, she hurtled out of her lounge to see Norman wheeling himself around on the grassy plain in front of their house. Opposite their home, Professor Birch, wearing his stained lab coat, stumbled out of his front door and clutched his hair; seeing him, another heap of dread settled on her chest. The professor met her eyes and she noted a delirious gleam in them. Birch shook his head and wiped his face free of the stubborn tears cascading down his eyes; he collapsed on the porch and wept silently. Ignoring him for now, she called for her husband who stopped ogling at a swarm of beautifly and turned his attention to her.

She strode down the steps, her body leaden. "Honey..." her voice cracked. "Honey...We received a call, there was a female police officer on the phone...She..." his expression turned grim and he clasped her hands in an effort to calm her down. "Said Ruby...Our Ruby...Is currently in Valora because he is convicted for being part of the Dex Criminals." She searched her husband's face for a trace of disbelief, for surprise or astonishment, but it remained blank and serious. "You...You knew?!" Ruby's mother trembled and whispered. "You knew he was part of them and yet you didn't tell me? Why? Norman please tell me...Why?" Norman simply watched his wife break down; she slid to the floor, placed her head in his lap and cried loudly. The gym leader's eyes smarted. He directed his gaze at Professor Birch's house and saw the man get up and amble drunkenly about. Birch went inside and shut the door with such a loud bang; it scared the nearby birds away.

So Sapphire must be part of this as well.

Stroking his wife's head offered scant relief, his fingers brushed lightly over her silky strands and Norman simply listened to her heartbroken sobs and hiccups. Her tears soaked the fabric of his pants. "Put me on the phone." He softly stated, his wife stirred and look at him through a haze of confusion. "Call the officer again. I want to conduct some negotiations."

* * *

 **A/N:** The rest of the Dex Criminals have been caught and their parents informed. Heh, Norman. Much thanks to all those who read and reviewed, as always constructive criticism is always valued. Virtual chocolate milkshake to all. (Dear lord I need one of those)

At Silver: Fifty chapters ago (or something like that) you mentioned Giovanni and I managed to squeeze him in here :) Hope I did justice, I mean the man is not that heartless. Devil's food cake is also my favorite, I inhale half of it each time my sister bakes it. Green is saying that the police are just as underhanded as the criminals and will employ any methods to get their duties done, illegal or not. Eh, sorry for the POV switching, I'll try to remedy that in the future chapters and thanks for pointing it out. At Jack54311: Yep, maybe the readers are peeved at the direction the story is taking, that, or I shocked them speechless (Heh). Lack-2 play a role in their escape, hah, look forward to that :P Red can't blame Ruby, the only person he can blame, is himself.


	84. Impending punishment

**Chapter 84: Impending punishment**

Early morning

Unova

Striation City

The airport of Striation City boasted the largest airfields in all of Unova. Despite Castelia City being the region's capital metropolis, it was easier to build a gigantic hub surrounded by smaller, village-esque towns. The numerous runways guided cargo planes, private vehicles, military craft and rescue operations. An entirely separate hangar was reserved for emergencies and Skyla personally piloted anyone who could afford the exorbitant amounts of money needed for said emergencies. A faction was also dedicated for the International Police and other authorities. When the Pokemon World tournament took place, all of the champions were flown over in private jets and escorted to a secluded lounge before being shipped off to the south of Driftveil City. This particular morning, Surge, squinting behind his dark sunglasses, hurried through several doors and marched over expanses of marble tiled ground. The airport bustled with life, people moved in and out of shops and kiosks, purchasing last minute necessities or souvenirs. Frowning, he slipped into a restricted area, manned by two burly guards; and pushed open another door. A carpeted corridor branched off to several luxurious lounges. Checking his destination on a leaflet crumpled in his palm, he strode forward and the opaque, glass doors slid aside to let him in. The moment he entered, the rest of his co-workers ogled at him quizzically, Lt. Surge took one look at their attire and cursed fluently.

Taking his wraparound sunglasses off, he swaggered to the wine colored couches and sank his weight into one. A coffee table in front of him held an array of beverages and a remote. Grabbing the remote, he switched on the flat screen television mounted on the opposite wall and flicked through several channels. Most of them contained news and reports about the micro-destructions taking place throughout the different regions. Leaving the news on, he reached for a bottle of juice and leant back after popping open the seal. Hefting his combat boots on the table, he relaxed and heartily drank a long swig of his favorite drink. Lack-2 stared at him in a laconic manner and after enduring the brat's gaze for a good few minutes, Surge turned and graced the teenager with one of his patented glowers. To his credit, the russet eyed youth did not flinch, he did, however, look away after sheepishly combing back his hair.

The news reporter droned on and on about the drought in Hoenn before switching topics to Unova's weather cycles. According to the Seasons Research Laboratory, the population of deerling was reproducing at an alarming rate and threatening the balance of the ecosystem. Since these four legged creatures are capable of adjusting to seasons, their internal biochemistry allowed them to survive the freak weather conditions which killed off the other, less adaptable pokemon. Surge peered at the television with great interest till Lack-2, the darn upstart, shattered his curiosity by voicing the electric gym leader's lack of proper wear. Sighing, the man switched off the monitor and gave his companions a sedated look. Anabel and Falkner were resplendent in their traditional clothing. The cyan haired man wore a kimono jacket over metallic blue threads and his sash contained his family's crest. His hair shaggy hair was fashioned into some sort of topknot which, the soldier inwardly agreed, made him look like the handsome son of some ancient feudal lord. Next to him, Anabel's fuchsia hair was collected into a side ponytail and wreathed in golden thread. She donned a purple patterned kimono and by Zapdos, Surge never knew his superior sported such a ravishing figure. The Unovian brat also wore traditionalist clothing and Surge smirked because the child's face bore misery. He kept on tightening the silk sash around his waist and picking on the golden leaf patterns on his maroon kimono.

"Get dressed." Lack-2 grouched when Surge's grin split his face. "Chief repeatedly ordered you to wear clothing styles the Ransei nobles preferred. Or did a lightning bolt fry your memory as well as your fashion sense?" the boy leered, "I haven't seen you wear anything either than your filthy boots, camouflage pants and that black tank top...And your dog tag...Trust me" the officer slyly grinned, "woman don't find those appealing these days." In response, the blonde man grunted that he didn't have time to change into something resembling a pleated skirt and here, Lack-2 gritted his teeth and gripped the fabric of his black hakama pants. "Go change Surge." The teen's voice dropped dangerously, "we received an invitation to Ransei and we are going there to discuss the punishment given to the Dex-Criminals. They enforced certain terms and we must abide by them. Don't ruin this chance; if you are not dressed properly before the imperial escorts arrive, then we shall leave you here." He turned to the other superintendents who feigned disinterest, "agreed?" Lack-2 asked in a manner which left little to contemplation.

 _Agreed_ , they silently agreed.

The Sinnoh Champion completely shunned her co-workers and stared out of the window. She sipped a bottle of fizzy water and forced her mind to edge away from the depressing thoughts swirling in her head. Her reputation of a champion fell under severe scrutiny and the tension aged her. Grandmother joked that if Cynthia went around looking like a blonde icon of misery, she will chase away potential suitors. When her grandma walked in on a video conference while the female champion held a discussion with Anabel on their terms to enter Ransei, the old lady gently apologized to the chief of police and quietly slipped out of her granddaughter's room. Puzzled, because the old woman would rather stay and actively take part in the conversation, Cynthia finished the call and went to her grandmother's chamber only to see the elder opening a trunk and showering the blonde with a multitude of exquisitely decorated kimonos. For the next few hours, the elder demanded the blonde try on each and every article of clothing and finally settled on an attention grabbing blood red kimono with a silver trim. An outer jacket stamped with an antediluvian crest completed her outfit and her grandmother sat her down and pulled her shock of hair into a high ponytail. Nonetheless, when she first arrived at the lounge, Lack-2, who busied himself in scribbling some police report, looked up and gawked at her. His copper tinted eyes, which gleamed blankly most of the time, took on an interested spark as he studied her with what seemed like a perverse smirk. Seconds later, he coughed, oriented his attention back at his work and acted like the incident never happened. Cynthia shrugged; perhaps the image of Lack-2 acting like an awestruck male was simply a figment of her imagination.

She scowled thoughtfully and seated herself next to him...It must be an idea conjured up by her imagination. He'd never do that.

Sighing, Lt. Surge retracted his feet from the table and left little dust prints on the previously flawless surface. "I haven't got any traditional clothing" he gruffly whined. "Threw them out before I head into war...Didn't think I was going to make it out alive so I chucked out all my family heirlooms." Cynthia jolted like she received an electric shock whilst Chief and Falkner spared him an exasperated glance. "What?" he boomed, "Sentimental attachment to things is a sign of weakness, am I right brat?" Lack-2 mechanically nodded and scrawled on his seemingly never ending pile of paperwork...Who does paperwork in an airport lounge anyway? The soldier wondered and decided it was not worth asking the bratty superintendent because the child might end up snarking a rude comment or two. "Fine...I'll go get changed. So who's got a kimono for me?" Anabel clenched her fists so hard; she left crescent shaped indents into her palm. Falkner smiled at her and the anger in her chest dissipated for a bit. Unfurling from her sofa, she motioned for Surge to follow her. Would he be okay in wearing a pink kimono jacket?

* * *

Mid-afternoon

Valora

Palace dungeon

Four sentries kept a hawk-eyed watch on the fourteen criminals. When the early morning shift started, the quartet walked into the secret corridor and the cells erupted into a cacophony. Like caged beasts, the convicts shrieked over each other, arguing about sleep, inadequate shower water, the metallic confines and lack of sunlight. Following customs, the imperial wardens peered into each cell and were ironically punished for peeping. One guard had his helmet kicked off by a fuming, indigo haired female and when another escort ventured a bit too close to the bars, a tanned, scarred arm, seized hold of him and the occupant promptly sank her teeth through his metal armor and left marks on his skin. Screeching, he retreated backwards where another blonde haired male kicked him hard in his behind and the guard, balance offset, did a spectacular fall. Shouting at the criminals to be quiet did nothing; it only served to make them louder. When the head warden contemplated on bringing one of Lord Ieyasu's pokemon to threaten this band of outcasts, a man with spiky brown hair tersely uttered a few commands and half of the voices quieted down at once. The remaining rebellious shouts only ceased when another low voice sliced through the high pitched screeching. In a minute, the entire corridor became as silent as a coffin and the guards heaved a sigh of relief. Curious about the one who managed to shush them all down, a lone guard marched to Red's cell and found the individual sitting on the floor. When the fighter turned to face him, the guard whimpered and went back to his post.

It was the famed commoner prisoner, the one who drove all the other patrols crazy by wearing a creepy smile each time someone came to see him. Rumor has it his nonsensical ramblings could drive even Lord Ieyasu crazy and after he escaped from Valora's jails, he managed to single handedly cripple the Lord's undefeated metal monster. The guards hailed the aggron as a half-deity and the beast alone could defend the castle in case of an attack.

The sentinel suppressed a moan. He did not want to think about the consequences should these group of people manage to wriggle themselves out of Valora.

Perhaps, it would be better for them to escape.

In the gloom, Silver's eyes darted about calculatedly and he noted down the formations the sentinels marched in. Very clever, he frowned and checked their posts once more. Despite being only four people, two patrolled the passage, their movements in perfect harmony whilst the other two kept watch over the individual cells and shifted to a new place every few minutes. This arrangement left very few blind spots the red head could exploit and if he succeeded in sticking his fingers in a bodyguard's pocket, it will be futile if the man suddenly moved. Shuffling closer to the entrance of the cell, Silver tucked his head in his arms and peered through the curtain of his hair, if he memorized their routine, it might give him a few ideas to explore. Bit by bit, a pattern emerged in the movements of the four men and he ticked them off on his fingers. Mind tingling, he boldly placed himself right behind the thick bars and glimpsed his sister in the corner of his vision. She waved a predetermined sign and he smirked. Looks like Blue figured out their movements faster than he did. As if on cue, Emerald shattered the previous quietude with a complaint about food and Ruby followed, moaning about lotion and dry skin. This prompted Pearl and Diamond to initiate their comedy routine in blaring tones. The patrolling escorts halted to calm the duo down and the man standing in front of Silver's cell, merely sighed in defeat and rapidly grumbled under his breath. Getting up from his position, the red head stuck his arm out and expertly navigated his hand around the metal armor, holding his breath, his finger skirted over the rough edges and dipped into a soft pocket. Rising up a bit more, he pressed his face against the bar, strained his arm and his digits brushed against a key ring. Desperately clasping the ring, he drew his hand out and fell backwards on the floor.

The watchman turned around.

Silver drew a few shaky breaths and simpered diabolically. The guard briefly touched his scabbard in a subtle warning and the phantom thief used his free hand to insult him by flashing a rude sign. Face turning purple due to sheer anger and frustration, the noble whipped around and Silver exhaled in relief. The next time he wanted to relive stress, he might as well follow Gold's example and show all the uncouth gestures his hands could manage. Slipping the key into his prison issued uniform; he felt the cold metal flush against his bare chest. Exhaling, he climbed into bed and buried his body beneath the sparse blankets. A few hours later, lunchtime will roll around the sentries will leave them alone. The Johto native grinned; he had good news to report.

During lunchtime:

Unfortunately for Silver...The keys did not fit.

"You stole the wrong keys?" Gold asked for the umpteenth time and arched his eyebrows. The top trio retreated deeper into their cells after figuring out that the keys opened something else. Silver's guilt intensified when Blue refused to comment and instead, ate her lunch on her own.

"Senior Gold...Silver tried his best...Please cut him some slack, it's not like he knew what the warden carried in his pocket. At least praise him on a job well done. If you are so heated up, why don't you try stealing for a change?" Whi-2 hotly stated from her cell and angrily stabbed her chopsticks in a piece of meat. Gold sheepishly scratched his nape and inhaled through his nose. He muttered an apology and Silver nodded. If Gold apologized to him then...he could think up the consequences later, right now, he had to find a way out of these cells.

The red head examined the keys; his fingers ran over a multitude of pins and small discs of metal. The pins came in different sizes and shapes. "If I could get some tools, I might be able to fashion a lock pic, unfortunately, it's impossible to do it bare handedly." Leaving his lunchbox on the floor, he slipped a few of the longer pins out and fitted them through the keyhole. Crystal and Gold abandoned their eating and watched him intently. "No good..." he admitted, "I can't get the two of them to fit properly." He sat back down and tinkered with the bunch of keys some more, trying to figure out the purpose. His lunch grew cold and Crystal urged him to finish it. Forlornly flinging the bunch of metal at his bed, he lowered his eyes and forced the meal down. The rest of the members devoured their food and he heard several thunks as the boxes were placed back on the floor. He wondered what to do, if the guard noticed his keys were missing, the nobles might heap more torturous security measures in place. A feeling of hopelessness compressed his ribcage and he found it difficult to breath. Gritting his teeth, he placed the empty steel box on the floor and re-examined the keys. Snatching them from his bed, he painstakingly fed different combinations in the keyhole. His best friends half-heartedly cheered from their cells and a sardonic smile twisted on his lips. Like before, none of keys, or the thin rods helped him. Sweaty and hair damp from exertion, he tossed the keys outside and Gold enquired if he'd gone out of his mind. "It'll raise less suspicion," the silver eyed trainer clarified, "obviously the guard will notice if his possessions go missing, in that case, they might warrant an investigation, if the keys are simply laying in the middle of the corridor, he won't have to open our cells up and search us."

"But won't that present an opportunity?" Crystal asked.

"No, it won't." Silver responded, "...Although, it might give them an excuse to torture us. And they will make sure to bring extra men should any one of us entertain notions of escaping." Blue strode to the forefront of her metallic confinement and a new wave of nausea and guilt washed over him. Fatigued, the thief wished to sleep this nightmare away. The experience of being thrown into prison was not new to him. He spent his childhood locked up in a dingy cell with only his depressing thoughts for company. Periodically, a Team Rocket member and his detestable rhydon harassed him and till today, he had subtle teeth marks on both his arms, reminders of the time when the drill pokemon used him as a chew toy. Silver remembered shivering and trying to wipe the rivulets of blood streaking down his arms. Tears rained from his eyes and fell, stinging the open wounds. Compared to that miserable experience, Valora seemed like a metal plated hotel room. The key he threw, lay a few meters out of reach and suddenly, he wanted to have it back. In the periphery of his vision, his older sister shuffled around aimlessly. At first, the red head paid no attention, bit by bit; he perked up on seeing his sister try to pick the lock. Where she got the tools from, he'd never know, but judging from the fierce concentration on her face, it either worked. Or failed spectacularly. Standing up, Silver pressed his face to the bars and watched, spellbound as the Constellate leader worked on her own, she grabbed the burglar bars and shook it, with a muted pop...the door sprang open.

No one cheered. They were too stunned to speak. Grinning widely at Red who looked like his eyes might pop out, the brown haired woman winked at Silver and retreated back into her cell. With a soft clang, she shut the door.

To no one's surprise, Green recovered first and rapidly fired a question, starting with how she hid lock picks on her person and ending with why she asked Silver to steal a bunch of keys if she had a way to get out of the cell. His viridian eyes glittered with mistrust and to the red head's chagrin, he saw Red mirror the Oak's expression. Usually, the ebony haired commander placated Green if he whaled on Blue, now, his taut visage showed a visible hint of suspicion. "You want to know how I got these things Green?" the female leader sneered, "unlike you and Red who are wallowing in self-despair, I actually buried my feelings and got to work. From the first day we were thrown in here, I kept the camera and managed to steal a pair metal coated chopsticks which they gave me with the lunch box...I think Emerald found a pair as well." The blonde midget nodded and gleefully produced a pair of silver chopsticks. "I asked Silver to steal the keys because I was not confident in my ability to fashion something workable with the things I had. But after I saw the plan to swipe the keys failed and my poor brother, who is far more resourceful than you two morons, actually tried to pick the locks; I decided to give a go." She viciously glared at her two friends who shrunk under her sharp stare. "Rald told me he found magnets in the camera. At first I was puzzled but eventually it made sense. Valora relies heavily on electromagnetism and that's why the locks wouldn't open. Those flat disks on the keys are magnets. You need them to open almost any lock here." After her speech, Green eyed her with renewed respect and Red merely shrugged. "No need to thank me..." she griped, "I did my part, now, the two of you put your Mew forsaken heads together and think of a way out of here. And no Oak, I do not want a standing ovation!"

She whirled away from the bars, her matted hair flaring behind her; and stalked back to her bed. Opposite her, Red and Green clapped akin to mechanical dolls and broke into a hushed conversation. Gold, toyed with the sash around his waist, got up and joined in the discussion. Drained and slightly woozy from the scene he just witnessed, Silver wobbled to his bed and climbed in. Hopefully by tomorrow, the leaders of Strategy and Execution might figure something out, however, from the loud, strung up voices clashing at each other, he highly doubted a solution to their predicament might come so easily.

* * *

Late evening

Ransei

Dragnor

Peering at Surge, Lack-2 agreed with the blonde soldier that he will never get used to such elaborate settings. Lacquered beams held up a ceiling at triple height, paper sliding doors depicted surreal art, the paintings so beautiful, it robbed one's breath away. Dragnor nestled in the grip of a massif. The range of mountains also served as a home to ancient dragons, by now, most of the wryms were hunted to extinction and only the oldest and most powerful ones held on to their meager territory. Craggy caverns and rolling hillsides juxtaposed beautifully and tumbling waterfalls softened the sheer cliffs. The superintendents landed at Spectra, as requested by Nobunaga, before a war blimp shipped them to Dragnor. Surge, who appeared threatening in a pale pink kimono jacket, boomed the old coot wanted to scare them. Whether it was for intimidation purposes or not, Lack-2 and the other officers appreciated the timeless scenery sprawling out like a multicolored carpet. Soaring over a sea of golden roofs, which glinted brilliantly in the dying sunlight, Lack-2 saw steeples rising all around them, their bricks were black stone. The ship landed at a port, a bustling terminal winking with lights, people and pokemon. Irritably hitching up his pants, Lack-2 tightened the sash and smoothed out the folds of silk. Unlike him and his blonde co-worker, the other superintendents glided out of the ship and off the heavily decorated gangplank. Their beasts lumbered after them carefully, wary to be travelling over such long distances without being cooped up in a pokeball. The air in Dragnor smelled ancient. It smelt of bricks, burnt dust tickled the Unovian's nose and beneath this tint, the officer imagined dragon fire, charring the surroundings into charcoal.

He waited patiently behind Cynthia and observed how the noblemen cast glances at her. Perhaps it was Falkner's presence, but very few males dared to look at their chief. Surge garnered the most looks, the retainers, donned in midnight black silk and faces obscured behind a satin clothes mask, quickly averted their gazes away when the Kanto native trained his electric blue eyes on them. Tired from the journey and wanting to slip out of his breezy kimono, Lack-2 turned around and beheld the towering pagoda of Dragnor Castle, even from a distance; the sheer size of the royal domicile befuddled his mind. An obelisk of black stone was planted on the side of the castle and the surface shimmered like gold. The palace's roofs were adorned with precious metal. When he finally stepped over the traditional gate leading into the castle, he suppressed a gasp; the golden finery displayed in the vestibule blinded him.

The servants and retainers of Lord Nobunaga ushered the superintendents into a spacious meeting room. By now, Lack-2's head swam with everything he witnessed. The chamber was entirely leafed in gold and the roof stretched endlessly upwards. Paper lanterns, clustered together, held flames in an array of colors. Mauve and orange fire complimented each other, bathing the room in a muted glow and a foreboding chill. Shifting on the cushion he reclined on, the Unovian sipped a mug of green tea and suppressed his disgust for the watery beverage. The police waited for the Castle's Lord to make an appearance and the chief daintily drank her share of tea. Speaking of etiquette, Surge gulped a mouthful of the green slosh and promptly dumped his ceramic mug on the low wooden table. Anabel eyed him deplorably and he simply glued his eyes to a wall scroll. It showed Zekrom rendered in ink, the image depicted the dragon legendary perfectly and Surge, hypnotized by the painting, stared at it thoughtlessly. A door at the back of the room slid open and Lord Nobunaga waltzed in, with his wife and a three headed hydreigon at his heels. Lack-2 blinked, he imagined the supreme ruler of Dragnor to be some wizened old man, certainly not the muscular middle aged person who stood before them. As customs dictated, the police officers rose in unison and bowed down to him. Three other individuals drifted in after Nobunaga. A hulking man mountain, his armor creaking with each step, a pale faced man whose long hair swung in a high ponytail and an adolescent wearing an eye patch. Wordlessly, they trooped inside and assumed strategic places in the meeting room

Nobunaga sat behind the table, somehow, the flames washed over his face and for a brief moment, his shining ebony irises seemed to suck the light out of the room. Lady Noh demurely covered her face and Lack-2 tore his gaze away from her.

 _No,_ he admonished his conscious; _he wasn't interested in seeing her face_. Her eyes, dark and lustrous like her husband's, shone with trace of profound sadness.

"It is a pleasure to have you here, superintendents of the International Police." Droned Nobunaga in the most unwelcome way possible, Anabel nearly flinched, they were not allowed here, she knew, and moreover, she chipped away their pride by repeatedly asking them to house commoner convicts. "Although, the first criminal you tasked us to handle, gave the Lord of Valora a very difficult time...And he managed to escape." The warlord hissed, a murderous intent slithering in the soft lilt of his voice, "Tell me, Chief Anabel, do you think it is courteous of you to ask us another favor? Valora is not a jail cell for the convicts you cannot handle." Hydreigon growled gently on his lap and he stroked one of the heads. "It is shameful to us...Humiliating to Lord Ieyasu to house a bunch of monkeys...However, I deviate...I am sure you have a very good reason to demand that we keep those commoners here." Nobunaga paused and the air in the room grew suffocatingly thick. "Well...Do you?" He snapped and this time, Anabel flinched.

The fuchsia haired woman composed herself before structuring a reply. The capering flames dancing against the paper screen doors magnified the Lords' shadows into grotesque shapes. "I deeply apologize for bringing such ignominy to you, however, as you stated, these people are an extremely dangerous group of criminals and their scope of crimes goes beyond our reach. We have evidence..." Anabel halted and quickly peeked at the Lord of Nixtorm, the pale man sat with his lips pressed into a thin line, obviously unhappy to be attending a meeting during the middle of the night. "That...the convict escaped because he had help from the nobles of Ransei." Nobunaga's eyebrows shot up and joined his hairline. In response to his master's sudden change in emotions, the three headed beast rose up and critically eyed the guests. "To preserve the integrity of this meeting, I shall not mention names and besides, it does not matter anymore since we recaptured them." Losing interest because the pink haired woman blathered on and on about those criminals, the Warlord of Dragnor peered at the other officers with discreet interest. He recognized Lack-2, the officer who handled all the paperwork during the criminal's deployment, premature wrinkles lined the boy's face and the child frowned to himself. Next to him, Nobunaga veered his eyes away from a blonde eyesore. His tourmaline gaze landed on another female, this one wearing a blood red kimono. He grinned.

The woman was exquisitely beautiful for a lowly commoner.

"My Lord," Noh murmured from behind him, "are you listening?" The Warlord twitched and focused on the chief's words. He had prior knowledge about the Dex Criminals; they were the ones responsible for tainting his dark dragon stone. A throb of anger shot through his body and he waited till the female police officer finished with her speech. In the meantime, he wondered who the traitor was; certainly none of the alliance members would betray him would they? His eyes clicked to Mitsuhide who coolly held his gaze.

"I understand." Nobunaga held up his hand. When Anabel finished, his previous anger morphed into surprise and then back to boiling wrath. How dare those damned outcasts cause such a disaster! According to the chief, they managed to capture all the prominent legendary pokemon, save for the creation titans; the upstarts summoned Dialga, Palkia and eventually, Giratina to force open a path to the distortion world. What they did there remained a mystery but Anabel described that the legendary pokemon burst out of the pocket dimension and created a tunnel leading directly to the distortion world. Apparently, this scar hung in the sky, atop Mount Coronet's peak. "They are responsible for disordering the delicate balance of the world...It is now clear why the legendary creatures do not answer to us." A pregnant silence hung between the occupants of the room. "We came together to discuss their punishment." The dragon Warlord quietly stated, "I have to warn you that our punishment is harsh. It is unbefitting to ask my comrade to retain those felons in his castle...So...I propose you bring them here."

The silence grew heavier, more uncomfortable.

On the supreme Warlord's right side, Mitsuhide shifted his stance ever so lightly; his legs were numb from holding his weight. "Lord Nobunaga...We all agreed that keeping those commoners is a disgrace and yet, you suggest they defile your palace?" An indescribable smirk ghosted over the icy man's face before melting into nothingness. "They have committed terrible crimes-"

"You do not understand the gravity of their felony Mitsuhide." The dragon tamer articulated huskily, "Because Arceus rests in this region; all the other mythical creatures pay tribute to this land. Tell me, have Regice or Articuno visited you in the last few years?" Nobunaga's irises glinted viciously when the man failed to respond. "I suppose not. The Dex Criminals need to be punished. Severely."

Lt. Surge, weary of the political debate and wishing for this meeting to end, heartily yawned and both his companions and the visiting Warlords eyed him scandalously. "Alright..." he roughly voiced. "You want them to come to Dragnor; therefore you are responsible for shipping them over here." Lack-2 moaned at his uncouth way of speaking and Nobunaga arched an eyebrow, not wanting to believe a mere commoner addressed him in such a manner. "However, you should at least give them a fair trial. Those are our conditions and we will make sure you uphold them. Some of the members in the organization are brats, kidnapped and forced to do atrocious deeds against their will. Not their problem. You give them a fair chance and thereafter you punish them. Humanely." The soldier added, his blue eyes glowing like glacier ice. "A life time of scrubbing your floors or feet seem fine don't you think?" Indignation erupted in Nobunaga's chest like an active volcano, he had a good mind to add this eyesore to the list of convicts and the other officers appeared positively sick by Surge's behavior. "I am tired and I'll be leaving first. Have a good night Warlord Nobunaga." The blonde got up and performed a stiff bow. Lack-2 uncurled from his position, carelessly bowed and hurried out after Surge. As for Anabel, Cynthia and Falkner, all three faces were paler by three shades.

"Please forgive his misconduct." Anabel hurriedly apologized and threw herself into a bow. "He is a soldier who took part in the Kanto civil war and he shuns traditions-"

"Leave." The Warlord commanded. His low voice sharper than a knife's edge. "I will only see you on the day of the trial." He leaned back and folded his arms. Any form of negotiation the police wanted to conduct, spiraled down the drain. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Cynthia dipped her head respectfully and left, her skin prickled, she did not like the way Nobunaga leered at her. Anabel and Falkner exited last, the sliding doors slid shut and the Warlord exhaled.

Three other men budged on their cushions and eyed the black armor clad man absentmindedly stroking the brutal pokemon slumbering in his lap. "Sire...Are you going to uphold the International Police's requests?" The Warlord of Avia voiced, his single brown eye lacked the usual, cheerful sparkle.

"Of course not." Nobunaga breathed and Noh lowered her eyes. "Those outlaws tainted the dark dragon stone. No matter what I try, I cannot coax Zekrom to join me. The dragon refuses to come out. And it is all their fault. If Hideyoshi, that monkey, manages to rally an army and march to the north, there is a fair chance he might dethrone me." Inhaling sharply, he dismissed the meeting and the alliance members got up to leave, their decorative armor pieces creaking with each movement. "Lord Ieyasu?" Dragnor's ruler called and the man turned to face him. "Have your retainers transfer those offenders to Dragnor's dungeons as soon as possible."

"...But-"

The Warlord simply smiled knowingly, his mordant expression quelling further arguments.

* * *

 **A/N:** Ah Surge, my favorite whacko, he's the only person to make fun of the nobles and come out alive. Poor Silver though, stealing the wrong keys (he does not compute.) Much thanks to all those who read and reviewed, virtual triple German chocolate cake to all. (Haven't tasted it but anything with triple chocolate in it is bound to be good."

At AceTrainerLeaf: Human dictionary? Naw, Google is my best friend. Heh, L-2 is basically fastening dead bolts to their cages…but, you could see how it all plays out :P Hmm, I guess there is an age gap between them but for some reason, I kinda see it working. Ruby would be the one who is all caught up in his fashionista work and Blue would remind him to eat and rest. As for typing my chapters out before hand, it's to prevent reviewers from swaying me in my work (I mean, some of you have some mighty fine ideas…and why didn't I think of them earlier?) Therefore, in order to stick to my story, I end up typing a sizable chunk of my story before posting. If I see an awesome idea, I incorporate it later on (who can resist?) Also, typing beforehand helps me in structuring the flow of the story. At Jack54311: Just wondering what my parents would do if I was one of them…le shudder. I'd be condemned to a fate worse than death. But yeah, they are criminals and justice shall be served.

At Silver: I need milkshake or an iced coffee, or even better, both. In an alternate story line, your Lack-2 prediction was spot on :D Congrats, but that is another, non-existent story. Platina is actually shackled; she has no idea of what is going on outside Ransei. Poor, poor girl. Norman on the other hand…heh. Leafy warlord (lol) washed his hands free. In this chapter I allude to him but Anabel wrongly assumes that Mitsuhide helped Red escape instead of Motonari. At Charon: *Puts hands up* Don't shoot! I had electricity and internet problems and hence, the chapter came out late. But I hope you enjoy it.


	85. Black Justice

**Chapter 85: Black Justice**

Afternoon

Ransei

Dragnor Castle

The courtroom hardly looked like one. Red, Green and Blue, handcuffed and escorted by a personal entourage, shuffled through throngs of people and the obsidian doors glided apart to reveal a cavernous room which, according to Ranmaru, should be a courtroom. Yellow flames danced in overhead chandeliers and brackets. As was the decorative norm of Dragnor Palace's chambers, gold leaf covered the hall's roof and when the ebony haired criminal gazed upwards, he saw his face as a distorted smudge against the metallic sheen. Civilians crammed the area, bustling, asking questions and wringing their hands. Lower ranked, International Police officers milled about, struggling to abide by the cumbersome laws of Ransei, they intermingled with the retainers of the castle and orders flew about. Sharp, one word commands rendered the air apart as the trio slunk through the masses. Boxed in by a team of countless guards, the Kanto natives failed to see their surroundings properly. They passed through the base floor of the viewer's gallery and Green spied tiered wooden benches, piled high like an amphitheater. The tightknit formation of black clothed sentries shifted slightly and Red stopped for a brief moment to peer through the gaps, his attention snared by someone. Oak sighed, no doubt his best friend ogled at Misty who stood to stiff attention next to Volkner and Blaine. A peek at his red eyed friend revealed scarlet irises swimming with regret and pockets of emotion the professor failed to fathom.

Even after all these years, Red remained a mystery to him. He briefly wondered what the fighter thought of him. Did he also think Green was an enigma? A puzzle not meant to be pieced together?

And regret? Surely they had no time for regret.

They had no time for anything at all.

A sentinel jabbed the small of Red's back, the man peeled his gaze away from Misty and continued down the aisle. She wore a policewoman's uniform, the ebony haired trainer mused; and surprisingly, it fitted her well. The ex-champion peered at Blue, her eyes were bloodshot from crying and she pressed her lips into a thin, displeased line. Blue did not accept their apology and he wished they could spend some more time together to joke around and placate her. He wanted to show his friends his birthplace, the Island of Cinnabar, perhaps they could spend a few weeks in the sun, surrounded by the other Dex Criminals in a vacation not fraught with danger? Wishful pondering, his mind sneered and he lowered his eyes to the ground. Normally, the castle sported polished, wooden tiles but here, the courtroom floor shone like a milky mirror. White against black. The Warlord of Dragnor fashioned his castle to ooze luxury and power. When one stood at the entrance of Dragnor's gates, they felt humbled in a defeated sort of way. The charcoal slate, from which the palace was constructed, radiated cruelty and the gold highlights served to intimidate and awe all those who gazed upon the gigantic domicile. Dragnor Castle sat in valley, surrounded by sheer mountainous cliffs on either side. The surroundings were devoid of vegetation and for a moment, it reminded him of a wasteland. At least Valora seemed cheery compared to the land of the Dragons. Red turned his face to Green. Clothed in a simple sleeveless tunic, Dragnor's prison issued uniform, blood red eyes studied his best friend's wan expression and Oak's jade irises, formerly fueled with passion and a need to outclass everyone, weighed down with bitterness. Red did not care about his fate; he already gave up hope for himself. But Green and Blue...

A glittering future lay ahead of Green.

Not only did Red destroy his own life, he managed to break his best friend and disappoint Professor Oak.

He exhaled.

Disappointment does not even begin to cover the consequences of his actions.

Was Green mad at him? Of course Blue hated him...She made her thoughts clear before they entered the courtroom. A swell of voices buzzed in the chamber and Red curbed the urge to stop and turn around. The tones blended into each other, conveying panic and longing. Must be parents of the other Dex Holders...

He had no one to cry for him.

Maybe it was a good thing.

After all, he would never want his parents to find out that the son they graciously gave up their lives for, wasted it on a life of heinous crimes.

The end of the courtroom loomed up, abruptly, the long rows of benches stopped and a spacious area held a platform; a seating place for the judges and areas for the lawyers and prosecutors to argue their heads off for lies. Red snorted, Ranmaru made it clear the felons won't have anyone to argue for them. As of now, the entire world hated them with a passion befitting boiling lava. Double the hatred stemmed from Ransei, as the different warlords could not summon the mythical monsters to wage war on their behalf. From the way Nobunaga's private retainer spoke, the Warlord harbored a personal vendetta against the Dex Criminals. Shoving his ingenious theories at the back of his brain, the ex-champion sailed to a stop and the guards in front of him broke away. For the first time since he entered the courtroom, he glimpsed a clear view of his environs. Engraved wood paneled the walls, but the platform constructed in front of him, swallowed the tiny detail whole. A staging of black pipes supported a circle of wood on top. The surface of the stage gleamed. On top of the stage, a team of three pairs of bisharp alighted at three different points, the pokemon were so still, they could be mistaken for statues. When the company neared, one of them rotated its head to face them and Red inhaled sharply. The metal beast's eyes resonated a harshness not seen of its kind. Typically, bisharp and pawniard emitted dark emotions; however, these six beasts exuded the essence of death itself.

Executioners.

The escorts untied the prisoners from each other and a sob escaped Blue's pursed lips. She smacked one of the guards away and grabbed Red with all her might. "Please don't do this," she pleaded in a voice so broken, it crushed him. "Please Red..." she clung on to him, fastening her arms around his body and sticking to him like glue. Her tears spilled on his black, sleeveless kimono and she buried her face and wept.

Red did not say anything, he couldn't. Forcibly, the sentinels pulled Blue away and she screeched and clawed at them. She tried to reach out for Green and eventually, the female dissolved into a weeping, hiccupping mess. The escorts dragged her up the platform and her hair, normally kept in a glossy, perfect condition; resembled dry, dead stalks. Green went up when the warden barked; he offered no resistance and simply followed his jailers up to the stage via a flight of short steps. Wordlessly, he stood between two bisharp; the creatures cast him a fleeting glance and resumed their mindless staring of the walls. The guards ushered Red last, just as he assumed his place on the platform, the doors opened and he beheld a new crowd of worried parents pouring through the entrance and searching for their children. Some of them hiked up the guards and threateningly demanded for their offspring whilst others timidly wandered around and searched. Behind the curious and distraught band of people, a platoon of weapon hefting guards marched in and scattered the crowds into the seating galleries. Directly after them, came the superintendents of the International Police and their direct subordinates, who were stationed on one side of the room, broke formation and joined their superiors. Red spied Lack-2; the teenager briskly strode inside the courtroom, his coat tails billowing dramatically around him. He donned a police hat and pulled the wide brim low over his copper tinted irises. The ebony haired man waited for the brat to raise his head. About two thirds into the room, Lack-2 did just that, his russet eyes veering upwards and rapidly confirming the presence of the three commanders.

And when the child met his eyes.

Russet on scarlet.

Red smiled. Flashing a row of pearly white teeth and inwardly pleased at the distilled terror flaring in the brown haired superintendent's irises.

* * *

One week ago, morning

Valora

Palace

For the first time during his reign, Ieyasu did not know how to proceed with his actions. A few nights ago, the alliance convened in Dragnor Castle and conducted a meeting with the International Police officers. Whilst Warlord Nobunaga agreed to their propositions, the dragon tamer had an agenda of his own. Tensions in Ransei reached breaking point and their alliance seemed to crumble from within. Warlord Mitsuhide blatantly stated his displeasure at having to meddle in the affairs of the commoners and whilst Ieyasu understood why Mitsuhide griped, the pressing concern of the deity monsters not appearing to bless Ransei's provinces, remained a tangible problem. Sitting cross-legged on a raised podium of metal, he fanned himself and watched his castle advisors argue amongst each other. They contemplated on the best course of action. At the far side, the metal laced sliding door slid open and his aggron limped inside, dragging its broken leg. Aggron, the Warlord somberly pondered, would not live long, since its fight with the escaped convict; it sustained injuries which only worsened over time. Several of its vital organs were chronically inflamed and the broken leg failed want to heal. A few retainers urged the Warlord of Valora to put the metal monster out of its misery; however, Ieyasu could not bring himself to do it. He grew up with the aggron, nursed it and the creature almost sacrificed its life to protect its domain. Shifting up, he loudly patted the area next to him with an iron staff and the beast lumbered to the source of the sound. Clawing its way up, it heaped down next to its master and promptly gnawed on the staff its owner carried.

"...Ridiculous, we have to ship those commoners to Dragnor?"

The quarrels continued and the Lord simply listened, his eyes fixated on a silk screen painting of Registeel.

"If he wants them, he can send his retainers to fetch those criminals."

"That power hungry fool is mad. I understand why Warlord Mitsuhide is so unhappy with the alliance."

"-Lost sight of his goals."

"Fool wants to command Zekrom and lay waste to Ransei. He is terrified of Hideyoshi."

"Legendary creatures..."

Snippets of conversation floated in the air and the Lord exhaled audibly. Some of the shouts died down at once. The older retainers simply kept on shouting, weighing the merits and demerits of pulling out of the coalition. Valora did not need an alliance, they argued. It was a fortress, perfectly capable of defending itself. Hearing them, Ieyasu curbed the desire to smirk, it took three outsiders to infiltrate this fortress, cripple the province's most powerful monster and escape. Till date, the Warlord regretted not marching into battle himself; his presence might have allowed the tide to turn into their favor. However, Ieyasu did not want to be present there and once the convict fled his lands, he inwardly rejoiced. The disgrace his people harbored by housing the felon was one too much to bear. The metallic room ricocheted with noise and early morning sun trickled in. Sighing once more, the ruler distracted himself from the time wasting meeting by hammering Aggron's armor into a smooth plate. The beast crooned in delight and jets of hot air gusted from its nostrils. It crouched into a more comfortable position and plucked a jewel from its skin. After squinting at it hungrily, it cut the gemstone and offered it to its master. Ieyasu pocketed the ruby and cast a glance at his retainers, the younger ones delved into silence but the older individuals raged. Sensing discomfort, the steel type opened its maw, sucked in half of the air in the spacious chamber and then roared. Chucks of cut gemstone flew out of its mouth and torpedoed into the room, sharp silvers of the brilliant ruby embedded itself on the wooden floor.

And instantly, silence reigned.

The retainers smoothed out their clothes and assumed dignified stances, meanwhile, the Warlord stowed his hammer away in the folds of his metallic blue sash and brought his hands together. Peering at each and every council member, he noted their distress and disgust. A few months after signing himself into Nobunaga's alliance, his top advisor, who also served the previous Warlord, pressed him to cut all connections with Dragnor. "I see the matter on our hands is an unpleasant situation and I strongly recommend that we do not divide ourselves by petty argument." Ieyasu's rich vocals bounced everywhere and echoed back to him. "Lord Nobunaga decreed that we hand the criminals over to him. I say we do so and thus we can wash our hands free of them." As he talked, his mind veered to the blood eyed man who crippled his aggron permanently. The Warlord of Valora wanted to keep that man; he could've served well in Valora's army. A pawn to be used should the tide turn against Valora's favor, alas, Nobunaga had other plans for the convicts. "In our alliance, Warlord Nobunaga functions as a corner stone, therefore..." dark irises zeroed in on the people slandering the dragon tamer, "it will be in your best interest not to libel his name. The man wields much power. As for his proposition, I do not know what he is planning, but I have the duty of supporting him, breaking off from this formation will anger him greatly."

"My Lord...What about the legendary pokemon?" One retainer stood up and croaked. "Ransei will fall into ruin if they refuse to visit. Why cannot we ask those convicts to remedy this situation?" The man wrung his hands and shook his head. "From what you disclosed, it seems Warlord Nobunaga has some very harsh punishment in store for them..." he broke off and meekly collapsed on the cushion underneath him.

Ieyasu admitted that the man had a point. Whatever crimes the Dex Criminals committed, the consequences of their actions must be undone. Unfortunately, no one had any idea of how to reverse the process. The antediluvian sword passed down through the generations of Valora Warlords, no longer summoned Registeel. And according to the International Police, the felons are supposed to be punished humanely. Humane punishment did not exist in Ransei, all the other torture methods abolished by the lesser regions, were still practiced in the Imperial region till today.

"We shall leave the problem for the commoner scientists and professors to solve." The Warlord finally replied and rested his chin on an elephantine fist. "If they beseech our help we can ask Kenshin to help them." Ieyasu thought for a moment and added, "Mew and Mewtwo still heed his summons and therefore it means that the criminals did not capture those pokemon." None of the retainers offered any advice and they simply shook their heads as if their Warlord's decision might damn them all. "Most of you are unsupportive of my ideas; however, I have to give them up. I will, however, request Nobunaga to pick his things up by himself." Some of the men and woman dipped their head respectfully and a peaceful atmosphere descended in the formerly chaotic room. Aggron kept up a low grumbling, wishing for its owner to continue hammering away at its hide. "You are all dismissed." The Lord exclaimed and the higher ranking members scrambled out of the door and spilled into the corridor in an orderly manner. "Munenori, before you leave, contact Ranmaru from Dragnor and relay our conditions. Also, put in a request for Kenshin and Shingen to come visit for a cup of tea. We have to discuss private matters." The retainer paused by the door and bowed to his lord.

"Consider it done my Lord." Munenori droned and left the room.

Around the same:

The Dex Criminals lounged about in their cells and racked their brains, trying to figure out new ways to drive their wardens crazy. A team of six men were now fully employed to watch over the inmates. Whilst the top trio plotted and argued back and forth, the rest of the Dex holders kicked back and enjoyed teasing the wardens. The head guard, appalled by their audacity to scheme right in front of the royal guards, suggested that they be separated and housed in individual chambers, unfortunately for him, the Warlord disagreed and asked him to endure it for two more days. Apparently, they will be shipped off to Dragnor soon. If anything, the prospect of seeing a new Imperial province excited both Green and Red. Blue did her utmost best to remind those two that they were not on holiday and if they are being moved, chances are, their new accommodations might not be as comfortable as these metal lined cells. From the rumors she eavesdropped on, Dragnor, the home of the dragons, sounded worse than Valora and she imagined Lord Nobunaga as a ruthless dictator whose only ambition was to unite Ransei under one rule. Obviously not for gracious purposes such as ending the numerous internal skirmishes, but more on the grand collusion of piecing the scattered provinces together and ruling over it akin to a supreme evil overlord. Why Green eagerly agreed with all of Red's nonsensical plans, was a mystery to her. At times, the spiky haired brunette sat on the floor and meditated by himself. Day by day, she observed the life dull from all her comrades' irises.

After lunch, she rallied the members together and to her pleasant surprise, Red assumed an active participation. Fortunately, the man showered and thus resembled a human rather than a reeking framework of waxy, pale skin and bones. He swiped his wet hair backwards and smiled gently at her, the first in many weeks. Blue, heart warming up, exchanged sarcastic pleasantries with him. Gold whistled from his cell, causing a fit of contagious giggles to spread out in the metallic corridor. Green joined in, his shoulders shaking from the effort of suppressing his laughs. Yellow watched him, covering her mouth behind her hands and grinning. Pearl and Diamond broke into one of their jokes and half of the group immediately groaned and pleaded them to stop. Whi-2 screeched at them and eventually they relented. Dia and Pearl's comedic routines were prime torture methods and although Diamond, who grew a bit too thin for anyone's standards, tired out easily, his hyperactive friend carried on the jokes by himself and the guards avoided his cell like the plague.

"So...Any headway into finalizing our escape plans?" White loudly articulated from her cell. "I'm sorry for being so useless these days...My brain is filled with other thoughts and I can't think straight." She gripped the bars of her cell and pressed her face against it, trying to see her commander. "I don't suppose they will hand Musha over will they? Well," the organizer leaned back, "it would be interesting to see how senior Red would use musharna in order to break out."

Gold whooped from his block and the other Johto natives smiled at his antics, they were grateful to see his cheerful façade. Even though the breeder sometimes muttered and cried out loudly in his sleep, when awake; he bubbled with energy and did his best to cheer up anyone who seemed down. Crystal never asked him about his nightmares. If screaming about Lack-2 and his mother were any indication, Gold endured horrible experiences whilst asleep. Swallowing her anguish, she chuckled at his jokes and the red head's lips pulled into an amused half-grin. The indigo haired female averted her eyes whenever they met Silver's, on top of the misery she already suffered, a fresh wave of pain washed over her on seeing him.

Why Silver? She often asked herself. Why not Gold who loved her to the stars and back?

Why not him?

Crystal will never know.

"Heh! Senior Red could bust us all outta here and punch that metal monster in the face with Musha!" The breeder hollered jubilantly and Red shook his head in disbelief. Green immediately fired that it would be impossible to topple the aggron and fight an army with only the dowsing monster. Gold pouted sourly. "Must you prick all my awesome theories like they are some undesirable drifloon? I'm talking figuratively here. Don't you understand figurative speech?" Oak opened his mouth to bicker back, but thought the best of it and instead, kept his mouth shut. "Excellent, you know how to retreat strategically." The golden eyed man snickered and Blue grinned. "Remember the time when Red used sunny day in the middle of the ni-"

"Here we go again!" Emerald grouched. "Yes we remember, you told us that story a hundred times already. Now find a way to distract those guards so senior Blue can bust us out of here and we get to see the spectacle in person." The blonde grumpily folded his arms over his chest and grunted angrily.

Pearl watched him, a nasty spark dancing in his flame tinted irises. "Say Emerald," he called and the midget faced him. "Can't you squeeze through the bars? I mean, you are the perfect size-"

The Hoenn native's cheeks reddened with embarrassment and he balled his fists, shaking them at the blonde, he screeched: "I'm older than you, you stupid monkey! Show some respect!" At the moment, the steel lined passageway slid open with its distinctive sound and the Dex Holders fell silent. A single person, devoid of any guards, stalked inside. The members found it difficult to judge the person's gender, the human's face resembled that of a beautiful woman and Gold's eyes periodically ran down the person's body and snapped up to their face, his brain whirring at high speed. A dragonair, wearing a collar of sapphires, faithfully slithered after its master and the black haired retainer, judging by the expensive swathes of blue silk wrapped around their form, sailed to a stop near Red's cell. Ranmaru's eyes narrowed and he whipped his head to the side, grimacing at the sight of a golden eyed man salivating over him.

"I am a man you depraved oaf." Dragnor's chief retainer spat.

Straightaway, Gold folded and retreated deeper into the cage

Inside his block, Red stirred and got up, he moved closer to the entrance. "You don't look like one," he jibed and the noble's celestial blue eyes ignited with anger. Somehow, it made him look cute. "Anyway...Why are you here?" Red's form towered over the young retainer and he enjoyed looking down at a haughty noble for once. "Let me guess...You are the messenger from Dragnor?" Another blast of indignation exploded Ranmaru's irises and the Kanto native quashed down the urge to smile. "Not the messenger? Our escort? Don't you think Lord Nobunaga is being rude to send an elite retainer to string together a bunch of criminals and deliver us to Dragnor?" The fighter's tone dripped with dry scorn, "I decline to humiliate you in such a way... _My Lord_." Smoothly, the coal haired man stepped back into his cell as dragonair's tail lashed out and hit the bars. He heard Yellow muffle a whimper and Green growled threateningly under his breath. "Please watch where you are aiming...You almost damaged precious goods." By now Red studied the retainer's expressions, privately enjoying the wrath stamped on the noble's androgynous face. Ranmaru stiffly lifted a hand and his dragon stopped denting the bars. He coolly eyed Red for another moment and without another word, strode out of the corridor. "Whew..." Red breathed and waved his hand when his friends' concerned visages peered at him. "Don't worry," he assured, "the only thing fazing me here is...Is...That." His previous confidence shattered and Green's stomach turned when he witnessed his best friend hyperventilating. Lumbering like the messenger of doom, a highly pockmarked aggron waddled inside the secret corridor and behind him, came the man mountain outline of Warlord Ieyasu.

A few days later

Dragnor

Palace chambers

The jail cells of Dragnor were nowhere as pleasant as the ones in Valora; the dungeons were situated at the base of the castle. A forgotten area no one cared to maintain. The cells were damp, slabs of unforgiving rock made up the floor and the walls. Firelight flickered in ancient brass brackets, throwing a fickle heat to the unforgiving chill infesting the jails. A crude wooden bed served as a resting place. Unfortunately for Ruby, who spent a good part of the day gaping at his inadequate surroundings, the chambers lacked hot water showers. The water trickling from the faucets were freezing cold and more often than not, contained dirt particles. A carpet of moss lined the floor and Whi-2 edged away from the corner of her cell where a colony of questionable fungi sprung up and decorated her dilapidated cell with vivid colors. The mushrooms reminded her of Foongy and as soon as she thought about her pokemon, a deep melancholy settled in her heart. Rusting iron bars sealed the entrance and some of the cell walls sported deep gashes, as if some huge claw raked over the obsidian bricks. Pearl, who intently studied these slash marks finally announced that they were made by dragons.

Once upon a time, these dungeons housed dragons.

The information did not quell the alternate waves of fright and hopelessness Crystal felt. Since coming here, they were promptly ushered into the dank environment whilst the wardens of this province whisked the commanders away to have an audience with Ranmaru. Gold became strangely quiet, he trained his dulled irises to the entrance of the compound and Silver merely rolled over on his bare bed and went to sleep. Ruby, who stopped commenting on the lack of proper commodities, sharply eyed the area and Crys felt a bit relieved when Diamond and Emerald nodded off. White and Yellow exchanged a few words and the older Dex holder silently listened as the younger female related her troubles. The indigo haired woman wished she could sort out her problems like that.

More importantly, how long was the top trio going to take before they come back? The presence of her commander would soothe her rattled nerves. Pushing herself off the dirty floor, she got up and paced the cell.

"They having tea with the Warlord or what?" Gold eventually broke the stillness with a light hearted comment. "Che, I also wanna join them, chatting with pretty serving ladies will be a richer experience than rotting in this damp dump don't you think Silver?" In spite of his airy words, his tone revealed pent up tension and frustration. The breeder's irises darted about calculatedly.

"Sure Gold," The red head drawled and heaved off the filthy bed, "I believe the Warlord might just ask you to be his son in law or something." Hearing this, Sapphire snickered and absentmindedly kicked at the bars covering the cell. To her surprise, the burglar bars dented. Ruby and the others stopped to gawk at her and she grinned confidently at them. Moving backwards, she summoned her strength and with a roar befitting a dragon, vaulted over and smashed the bars again. Pain shot up her leg, snaking into the very marrow of her bones. Sapphire shouted louder and with a defeated creak, the rusted bars snapped partially. Uttering a victorious whoop, the Hoenn native was about to kick her way to freedom when Emerald's panicked shout forced her to stop. His jade tinted eyes fixated upwards, in the gloomy heights of the dungeon. The darkness stretched infinitely and he zeroed in on a shadowy creature skimming the obscured depths.

Emerald clasped the bars of his cell and shook his head firmly. "No, Sapphire, please stay put...There...Is a dragon soaring in here. That's why it smells so bad. It also explains why there aren't any guards to check up on us. If you break out of your cell, the creature might have you for dinner. Pearl was right, this place was formerly for dragons." Hearing this, the girl squeaked in fear and retreated deeper into the cell. Her frightened response shook Ruby, normally, Sapphire laughed in the face of a challenge and plowed through her obstacles in a tribal princess like manner, now she hid and her actions were painful to watch. The fashionista held her gaze and gently smiled, he wanted to hold her hand but they were caged in like monsters. "Just wait till the rest get back," Rald sighed, "I'll ask Green to demand better lodgings for us."

"Ha...Lodgings..." Diamond stirred and giggled, his sadistic chortles bounced hollowly around the room.

Meanwhile in the upper floors, the tasteful decors of the room were lost on three individuals as they collectively glared at Ranmaru. The man, shorter than Blue, remained unfazed and his monsters, guarded the only entrance to the lavish chamber. Lucario, sporting golden bangles and anklets, donned a headpiece of glittering jewels whilst gemstone encrusted bands wreathed around dragonair's serpentine body. If any one of the three leaders entertained notions of escaping, they would be instantly incapacitated or if the noble ordered, killed. Hands bound together with heavy duty ornamental rope, the three of them knelt on decorative cushions and listened to Ranmaru. The retainer placed photographs of the Poke-world's destruction and at this Red snorted. "If you are trying to jolt my conscious...save it, I don't have one anymore." Blue straightened up in alarm at his words and she glanced at Green to see the emerald eyed man narrow his eyes. "The world will go back to normal eventually. Since the legendary pokemon were coerced from their positions and thrust into a new dimension, they are having difficulties in readjusting to their old places. A couple more disasters might take place, but nothing that involves the universe to implode." The blood eyed man shifted, working some feeling into his petrified legs, "we came here to listen to our punishments...I understand meddling with the distortion world is taboo...however, I'm not propagating a war-"

The chief retainer sighed and fanned himself with an elaborate silk fan. "You fail to see the consequences of you actions Red. You did not create a world in the pocket dimension." The noble articulated clearly and Oak listened intently. "Creating a different world is a laborious process. However, I commend you on you thinking...During ancient times, the nobles of Ransei attempted to use the distortion world for their selfish reasons and it did not end well for them. Thus, tampering with the distortion world became a prime offense. One of the greatest felons a person can commit. This is punishable by death." Opposite the retainer, the trio stiffened collectively. "Do you understand what you did? All of the inexplicable problems plaguing the Poke-verse are ultimately your doing. A ten year old child may set out for their pokemon journey only to be swallowed by the shifting forests of Sinnoh; the forest teleports them to rural areas in Kalos where they ultimately end up as a phantump. The biologists at Kalos are alarmed by unusual the surge of phantump...but this is none of your business is it?" Ranmaru's tone grew dangerously soft and he brushed his hair away from his face, "Of course you are not causing mass destruction, but personally, I believe disturbances of a micro scale are the ones leaving a big imprint behind. Before we get to you punishment, I have a proposition to ma-"

"Denied." The three droned in perfect harmony and Ranmaru's eyes dipped downwards in false sympathy. A terse silence engulfed the area. "I am sick of being a tool." Red snarled, shattering the heavy atmosphere, "I'm not a coddled boy champion and I won't do anything you morons tell me to do!"

Ranmaru snapped his silk fan shut and at the entrance, Lucario's hairs stood on end, it eyed the humans deplorably.

"Red...Calm down." Blue intervened and turned her caustic gaze at the noble. "First, tell us of our punishment." Her mouth felt like sandpaper and she desperately wanted a glass of water, however, her pride refused to beg. Inwardly, she moaned and blamed Green for rubbing his arrogant tendencies on all of them.

"All of you will be subjected to a trial."

"A...Trial?" Green raised his eyebrows in skeptically. "You are giving us a trial?" He murmured. "A rigged trial."

The retainer smirked behind his sleeve. "Of course it is a rigged trial Green Oak. Do you honestly think my Lord Nobunaga is going to forgive you for what you have done? He is furious because the dark dragon stone is tainted and refuses to heed his call. The only reason he is conducting a hearing in the first place is due to the requests of the International Police." The noble's celeste blue eyes glittered cruelly, "one of the superintendents demanded that you be treated fairly and...Humanely. So, you shall have a trial and after judgment is passed, you shall while your petty lives away as my Lord's vassals in the upcoming war. He is in despairing need of standard bearers." Hearing this, Red frowned, flag bearers? Was this punishment a joke? "Are you confused Red?" Ranmaru questioned and the ebony haired man tried to smooth his befuddled expression but failed, instead, he shrugged. "Since capturing the enemy flags ensures victory in a war...Standard bearers are the first to be slain. A heroic end to a lifetime of crime do not you think?" Suddenly, Red's chest and stomach heaved and he wanted to gag. The image of Diamond, slow and clueless, struggling to hold up a flag, surfaced in his mind. The boy marched on, sweating underneath layers of aggron hide armor. A soldier, galloping on a rapidash, runs Dia through with a sword and snatches up the Imperial standard. The fighter swallowed in an effort to keep bile rising in his mouth, they couldn't…they wouldn't. "I also forgot to mention that all the parents and guardians have been informed." Ranmaru continued relentlessly, Green's eyes flared in horror and he bit down on his lips. "You grandfather, Oak, suffered a heart attack and is currently hospitalized."

The spiky haired man slackened and stared at the oriental carpet lining the room. His vision swam. Tears blurred the surroundings. Bitter anger coursed through him and briefly, the young professor entertained notions of lashing out at Ranmaru and curling his sinewy fingers around the noble's pale throat.

"So basically...Your Lord hates us and is therefore going out of his way to make our lives miserable." Green's temper reached apoplectic proportions as his friend nonchalantly growled. Did Red even care about what happened to the rest? "I have a better proposition for Nobunaga." The blood eyed man intoned, Oak blinked back his tears and looked up with disbelief dancing in his poisoned gaze. "The International Police...And the Kanto authorities are desperate to get their hands on me. They offered a hefty prize." Red spoke with measured calmness and the noble hung on his every word. "It is true, my actions led to the loss of N's life and thus Zekrom refuses to come out. The Kanto region boasts scientists of great repute and I'm sure one of them will be able to draw out the pokemon, one way or the other. They won't be stuffy on the details. If you send them my head, they will listen to you."

It took a moment for the occupants of the room to fully comprehend what Red implied.

Green recovered first. "What..." he choked, "what are you saying? Do you even realize...Do you want to DIE Red?" His voice grew in octaves and he grinded his teeth furiously.

"..."

"RED!" Blue shrieked. "Have you gone insane?"

"...It's the only way." He indolently replied and eyed Ranmaru, "In exchange, you ask Lord Nobunaga to let each and every one of the Dex Holders go free; they have nothing to do with this. I'm the one who started it all and I will take sole responsibility..." His voice cracked and the words trembled. Steeling himself, he observed the aghast noble. "Please, they have nothing to do with this any longer. I'm begging you to consider my life instead of theirs. Dr. Fuji...He is renowned for resurrecting fossilized pokemon. You can exchange the bounty given by the authorities for information or demand them to work on the dark dragon stone." Red exhaled heavily. "Just...Keep the rest out of this and let Green visit his grandpa."

The young retainer studied the ex-champion who resolutely held his gaze. A fathomless determination swam in them and Ranmaru felt grudging respect blossom for the crimson eyed felon. How disgustingly noble and dubiously criminal at the same time. What made the man tick? He wondered. "I think...You are overestimating your worth Red."

Red blinked and his jaw hung open.

"You are overestimating your worth. One convict's life is hardly enough for a team of thirteen criminals." The retainer blandly stated, "And what if your death spurs them on to greater criminal activities? Your friends next to you do not look pleased with your proposition."

Inarticulate due to shock, Red pondered if his insignificant life was worth saving. Why did his parents leave him alone and die?

Why couldn't they take him with?

 _You are overestimating your worth..._ Ranmaru's toxic whispers rang teasingly in his head.

Worthless.

"Fine." Green hissed, "If he's not enough, then I'm offering mine as well. But the conditions are the same. You will release the others. Swear it by Arceus." Blue and Red jolted and stared dumbly at him.

"Green..." Red mumbled dazedly, "Are you out of your mind?"

"Those are my words Red." The spiky haired brunette snapped and refused to look at them. "Stop stealing my lines and don't look so shocked." His voice gained a cutting edge. "Do you honestly think I felt okay when you asked them to behead you? DO YOU?" The professor whirled around and ignored Ranmaru who uttered what sounded like a frightened squeak. Green's eyes gleamed with emerald fire and he clenched his jaws, the muscles tightened around his neck and he spat: "For as long as I know you, you only do what you want. You romp through life, uncaring about the consequences of your actions. What?" he barked, "why are so baffled? Do you feel it Red? The sheer hopelessness, anger and biting pain, Blue and I felt when you told this noble it was okay to use your head for a prize? Does it sound nice?" Red lowered his eyes and meekly shook his head, like a child given a severe scolding by their parents. "Not nice is it? You never think before running your mouth..." Green slumped and the momentum of his words decreased. "Seriously, the next time you talk, at least give your words a little more thought. Tsk, if you died on me, I'd probably have to watch Gold rip you out of your coffin...And then I'd ask Charizard to set you on fire." Straightening up, he faced the retainer. "Run along to your Lord and tell him of our proposition. And before we accept our punishment, I want a written confirmation of our terms...Signed both by Nobunaga and the International Police. Blue will keep the document in case you fail to adhere to these conditions." Uncurling from his cushion, the noble performed a stiff bow and marched out of the room. Dragonair slithered after him.

Fat tear drops slid down Blue's cheeks. None of them dared to look at each other. Green eyed the ceiling; perhaps he cursed the deity monsters for such an unfair ending whilst Red stared straight ahead, his shoulders angled downwards like the carried the weight of the world. It seemed her coal haired best friend aged during the span of the meeting, his scarlet eyes were unfocused and they reminded her of a blind person. His wrists were raw with rope burns and despite the obvious pain it caused him, the kept on rubbing his hands together. She simply broke down and a volley of silent tears coursed down her face. The tears stung and the love she held for her friends, morphed into hate. How could they do this to her? Leaving her alone to fend for herself. They never asked her if it was alright for them to die and abandon her. Instantaneously, the brown haired female felt vulnerable and scared. She pictured a life filled with inverse smiles. No Red to poke fun of, no Green to rile up. No Yellow and Green to tease. No Red to give dating advice to.

No best friends to hold her hands, hug her; and tell her the world was vividly beautiful if she stopped crying.

"So...We're gonna die together huh?" Red's disembodied voice floated in the room. "Wow...Even in the afterlife I'm stuck with you. Gimme a break Green. Don't you have a sister and a Grandfather to look after?" His voice wavered, "I'm so sorry...Green...I-" Red hiccupped and blinked furiously, keeping his tears in check.

"...Stop it Red. Stop crying, you can't let the others see you like this. And as for Grandpa...I'm sure Daisy is going to look after him just fine. What are best friends for anyway? That noble agreed to our terms, it is the best we can hope for right? Yellow, Blue and the others can finally get their lives back. The children can live out their dreams. We are doing this for Black and N...So stop getting your tears all over me." Oak turned his face to the other side and balled up his hands, he willed for his body to stop shaking.

Alas, the fear of death was not one to be easily mitigated.

"I...I'm not blind." Red sniveled, "you have tears running down your face too Green." His best friend whined. "I don't think...Arceus...I think I just turned into a murderer!" The black haired man cried loudly, at this point Blue wailed, her sobs echoed around the room. Startled by her, the two males turned to see her chest heaving uncontrollably. "Blue...Please calm-"

She glared at them with all the negative emotions she could muster. "I hate you two...How...Just How could you two DO THIS TO ME?" Her lazuline irises darted about, wild, uncanny and laced with so much grief, her two friends spied madness spilling from within. "You bartered your life for freedom for the rest of us? Tell me Red is this supposed to make me happy? Am I going to spend the rest of my miserable life trying to shoot rainbows out of my eyes?" Instead of trying to reason with her, Red moved closer and she latched on to him like a life line. He kept on whispering apologies, as if a string of sorry's were the only thing he could speak. "Please reconsider your decision Red..." she buried her face in his chest and wept. "We can be standard bearers...But please don't leave me alone. Even though I never mentioned it, you two are the ones who sustain me. Green...I'm sorry for annoying you all this time...Please...Please convince Red to change his mind." She hung on to the fighter and reached out for the jade eyed male, for a moment, she thought he may shuffle away, instead, Green moved closer and she clenched his shirt.

"Pray we go to heaven." Her ebony haired friend joked; she looked up and scowled, noting his moist eyelashes. "...You can survive without us." Red clasped her shoulders and she opened her mouth to protest. "You can and you will. We will forever be alive in your memory, right? And look after the rest of the Dex Crimi-...the Dex Holders for me. Believe it or not, Gold needs a lot of attention." He reached up and ruffled her hair. "I know an apology won't satisfy you, but, I am sorry for all the mess I have caused and the only way I can atone this...Is with my life. And I apologize for taking Green along with me. If I try to change his mind, he'll just knock me out."

Oak muttered, "Injustice...We are being punished too severely for our crimes. Heh, if I ever reincarnate...I'm going to swipe Nobunaga's head off. When we have scum for authority...That is when the world spins in the opposite direction." He sighed and a melancholic glower seized hold of his eyes. "Blue, please find it in your heart to forgive us. I most certainly do not want to die...But as you heard, our Red is pretty worthless."

"Thanks Green." Red croaked

"You are welcome. Now wipe those tears, you don't want the rest to know do you?"

* * *

 **A/N:** Title drop people! (I feel like I achieved something in my life) Anyway, Red gets the lecture of his life from Green and Blue…poor Blue. Much thanks to all those who read and reviewed, virtual mangoes to you all. I swear, this mango season is gonna give me a royal headache.

At Jack54311: From bad to worse huh? You underestimate my power. Send them to the distortion world? Eh, they'll probably starve and die in a few months' time because of the lack of sustainable food, shelter and whatnot. At HeyYouYaYou: Most fics write off Blue as a flirtatious young woman…her intellectual capacity is probably on par with Green's. I mean, it takes brains to con people right? So yeah, no underestimations.


	86. White corruption

**Chapter 86: White corruption**

Dawn

Dragnor

Palace Dungeons

Bone white beams seeped through the dank cracks of the moldy wall and threw splatters of sunlight on the moss encrusted floor. Through the rusting bars, Red observed the weak light of dawn grow stronger and the cellar like chill of the prison, softened into a damp warmth. The dungeon reeked of mildew and the stench tickled his nose, forcing several sneezes out of him. In other cages, he observed his team mates, lying on crude wooden beds and shivering under filthy blankets. A bell tolled in the distant part of the castle, the peals resounded in his ears and at once, the cloying vestiges of sleep vanished. He heard the whoosh of leathery wings and witnessed a bulky, orange dragon squeeze itself out of an open window situated high up in the tower. Despite dragonite appearing much friendlier than its other, deadlier looking dragon counterparts, the peach furred wrym almost bit Blue's head off when the guards ushered them back to their cells. Normally, the brown haired commander lashed back instead of cowering, but, unstable to the enormous amount of grief she harbored, coupled with the bottled up hatred for Red and Green, she screeched frighteningly and whipped around, burying her trembling body in Red's arms. Their spiky haired best friend, wrath bursting forth akin to a geyser, grabbed a discarded stone plinth and bashed it over the dragon's head. He spat a command at it and to everyone's astonishment; dragonite meekly shuffled backwards and never bothered them again. Gold insistently queried about the meeting and the web of lies the top trio fed him, did not appease the trainer. Silver eyed Red scornfully. The ebony haired male sighed and grinned assuredly, he told them the nobles came to an agreement and sooner or later they would all be free.

Blue cried harder at his statement. Her sniffs prompted Silver to emerge to the forefront of his cell and demand who made his sister cry. Awkwardly patting her head, Red untangled himself from her vise grasp and retreated to his cell. The gates clicked automatically shut. Deaf to her brother's worried questions; Blue mindlessly curled up in a corner of her cell and wept herself to sleep.

In the light of dawn, Green stirred in the adjacent cell. Red waited for a good few minutes before attempting to hold a conversation. He was not grateful for Green offering his life in exchange for the Dex Criminals to go free. Far from it, quiet fury simmered deep in Red's heart. His best friend did not earn this, at most, the jade eyed male could spend his life in jail or some sort of oppressive civil service; he certainly did not deserve to die.

He did not deserve to die and leave Red's legacy as a damned murderer.

The ex-champion snorted. What did he care anyway? If whatever Ranmaru told him was true, then he became a murderer quite some time ago. Children disappearing from the forests of Sinnoh and ending up as phantump? To his horror, Red found no sympathy echoing in the depths of his soul. His mind did not niggle at the thought and his conscious offered nothing at all. It remained painfully blank. The blood eyed man tried to entice some sort of regret into his being, unfortunately, his feelings offered nothing.

Nothing at all.

No regret for his actions. To him, his criminal doings did not warrant lamentation nor an apology.

Nothing...

His soul stared back like an empty, hollow abyss.

And his lack of reaction, shocked him senseless.

Red giggled, his chortles increasing in volume. He stuffed a scarred knuckle in his mouth and gasped.

"Green..." he finally screwed up the courage to speak. "I think...I think I'm going insane."

"I know Red." His best friend replied without missing a heartbeat. Instead of shame, anger flared in the fighter's chest.

"I'm not joking Green!" Red hissed desperately, wishing for the brown haired man to admonish him, at least it might exhort some scintilla of humility back into his emotionless being."

Oak exhaled and stared at the ceiling. Previously, he heard Red laugh softly. A cruel snicker reveling in hopelessness. The cold titter lacked humor and it sounded so unlike his best friend, it made Green jolt. Since he woke up from a restless sleep, the professor tried to meditate in order to soothe his frazzled nerves. On the other hand, Red displayed a calmness unsuited to the coal haired man. "I'm not joking either..." Oak let another breath loose. After they returned from Ransei, Red seemed a bit more different, his reckless actions were even more foolhardy than usual. Yesterday, the man did not bat an eyelid and outright offered his life to the nobles like it was goods for bartering. Surge almost slit his throat into two and yet he refused to divulge the secret location of their base. Green wondered what the Dex Criminals meant to Red, "you have been unstable ever since Gold and I rescued you from Ransei...I think the manas dunking procedure along with our experiences of being de-aged into children...Unhinged you." Strategy's leader spoke in a tone only reserved for Daisy and his grandfather. Thinking about his grandpa sped up his heart for all the wrong reasons. He spared a moment to gaze upon the sleeping form of Yellow. Usually the sight of her; lips parted, corn silk locks tumbling messily and her face, as serene as an angel; calmed him and brought a tiny smile to his mouth, however, today, it only served to widen the gulf between his rationality. "It's okay Red; everything is going to be fine." Green tenderly murmured and heard the male shift.

Red stared at his hands; he sported faint scars over his knuckles from when he gnawed on them at Ransei. Manas dunking...his companion had a valid point. Sleep came with a plateful of unwanted nightmares. He might as well strangle Green by himself and spare Oak from the humiliation of a public execution. "You wanna die?" The fighter growled, "Then get over here so I can put an end to your misery...Seriously, what were you thinking Green? At least, I deserved my punishment...You-" Red's voice cracked and he inhaled to maintain his composure. "You deserve better. You don't...Please don't make me into a killer. I've done horrible things...But the thought...the action of sending you to your grave. Arceus Green...Do you hate me that much?" The ex-champion grunted in frustration and the emerald eyed male pictured his comrade stewing in troubled emotions.

Closing his eyes, the professor waited till the angry grunts mellowed. "There was a time I hated you...Perhaps hate is a too strong word, I envied you, wanted to be better than you and I acted like the whole world was my playground. Hmm...Guess I paid the price for that one in the end. I am still bitter for not becoming the champion of Kanto, but, after you achieved your goal, there remained nothing for you. I just hopped on to a new profession. No, I am not envious of you any longer; I respect you Red, believe it or not and because you are my best friend, I do not want you to do this alone. Besides, I voluntarily participated in the activities and therefore have every right to be punished just as you are." Green swallowed and let his eyes drift to the wads of dirt packed between the stones plastering the floor. "Look Red...I am frightened as hell, I don't want to die and like you said, it is a way to atone for my sins. Don't make this any more difficult than it is. I made my decision and I shall carry it out whether you approve of it or not."

"You have people waiting for you! What about professor Oak? Yellow? Dais-" Red snapped and quieted when Gold stirred. "Hey Gold!" The red eyed man's falsely cheerful voice prompted the breeder to stare suspiciously at him. "Great day isn't it?" The golden eyed man grumbled and sat up straight, his raven hair sticking up in ungainly angles. "Anyway, get ready to get outta here because I hear the guards coming." Sure enough, Green spied the warden marching towards them with a ridiculously large ring of keys hanging on his belt. When he opened the heavy, slime slicked grille marking the entrance to the dungeons, the dragonite roared a greeting and the noise enticed the rest of the Dex Criminals to wake up and rub their eyes. Wordlessly, the sentinels marched to the individual cells and pulled the confounded prisoners out, some of them protested against the rough treatment and when one of the guards reached for Blue, she slapped him hard over his cloth obscured face. Lazuline irises gleaming with the touch of madness they glimpsed last night, the female kicked her captor out of the jail and snapped the bars shut.

Constellate's commander eyed the outraged sentry and spat at him: "I'll go with my best friends, try to take me out of here and I'll rake your face into ribbons." Swirling around, she stalked back to the back of her cell and resolutely sat down.

* * *

Bewildered, Yellow looked back as the armed men escorted her and the rest of the Dex Holders out of the grimy dungeons. Only the commanders were left behind in the festering area and she tried to make sense of the drastic turn of events. In a span of one night, they went from treasonous felons to free people and this fact chewed on her mind like acid. Obviously the top trio pulled strings; however, what they did remained a mystery to the rest of the members. Blue was unhappy and the blonde had yet to see her cry this much. The normally beautiful female's face puffed up and her eyes were red and bloodshot. She often sniffed and her hair plastered to her face when she neglected to comb the lusterless strands away. Red's smile appeared taut around the edges of his mouth, his crimson eyes, full of soundless contemplation, darted about guiltily. As for Green, he seemed to have the fire of his life snuffed out. His expression remained blank like a wall and try as she might; the emerald eyed man offered no reason as to why he suddenly looked like a victim of an execution. Surprisingly, Green did nothing to hide his dark emotions and he let them run rampant. Pearl and Rald never joked and his tumultuous visage weighed like a pregnant cloud in Yellow's chest.

Ready to burst or explode.

Wanting to give up and shrivel to nothingness.

A rough shove brought her back from her musings and she focused on climbing the stairs. After the damp chill of the prisoner's block, the warm and airy sunlight beaming through the cracks, heated up her body with a pleasant tingle. Her prison issued, sleeveless kimono was filthy and she briefly wondered where the guards lead them. Silently, the retainers hailed to a stop before a set of double sliding doors. The ornate decorations on the doors diffused the aura of an important room. However, when the screen doors slid open, all she saw was a vast, stark space partitioned with elaborate silk screens. The armored men pushed her and all the others through and uttered curt commands.

"Get dressed." The guard's gravelly voice grated on her ears, "And quickly. You have a trial to attend."

 _Trial?_

"Excuse me!" Gold hollered and shouldered his way to the front. Instead of waiting for him to finish speaking, the helmeted man, pinprick black eyes glinting sadistically, tried to shut the paper screen door on him. "Oi! What about the commanders? Shouldn't they come up here as well? Whose trial is this anyway?" His questions went unanswered and fluidly, one of the retainers unsheathed a silver sword and pointed the sharp tip at the breeder. Startled, he raised his hands in submission and lurched backwards. Yellow could not help but see the dirt encrusted under his long fingernails and she checked her own. The sight disgusted her.

"No questions convict. Just do as you are told." Smoothly sheathing his sword into the lacquered scabbard, the warden rotated and slunk out of the room. Gold breathed deeply, his bare chest heaving up and down. Running a hand through matted hair, he jerked his head to the individual booths and implored the rest to get dressed. Navigating through the room, Yellow peered into one stall and let loose an involuntary gasp. Her clothes sat in a neat little pile on top of a wooden platform. A wave of nausea washed over her and with trembling hands, she picked up the amulet given to her by her foster father. Scenes of legendary creatures and battles mocked her from three sides as she slowly changed back into her old clothes. The tunic fit snugly but the material felt alien. Again, her thoughts veered to Green and the commanders, were they the ones for whom the trial will be held? It made no sense. The blonde snatched her hat from the platform and absentmindedly inspected it. When Pearl emerged from his corner with a confused shout, she discarded the hat, pulled her hair from the ponytail and let it flow loose on her shoulders. Creeping out warily from their booths, the members gave each other fleeting, shaky grins and smoothed out their new clothes. Crystal kept pulling on her short shorts but for once, Gold was too preoccupied with himself to deliver a perverse compliment.

At the exact moment, the doors sailed open and a retinue of armored guards patiently waited for them. They resembled characters out of a historical fiction movie and the shiny pieces of armor creaked with each movement they made. Boxing the members in, the whole entourage traversed over expanses of polished wood. Pillars wreathed in gold blurred past, brackets shimmering with flames exuded a heady scent as the team headed up several flights of stairs. The surroundings became brighter, sunnier with each floor and Yellow found the situation to be quite ironic. Her chest hurt and her eyes prickled.

She wanted Green next to her.

The courtroom doors opened and Yellow's mouth fell open in shock. A mass of people shoved from within and next to her, Ruby inhaled loudly. From the sea of faces, she spied her fisherman uncle, his mien mirrored so much anguish and pain, she wanted the wooden floor to open up and swallow her. They know. Her mind offered. Whatever negotiations Red, Green and Blue did, it ultimately led to this. Mechanically putting one boot clad foot in front of the other; she strode inside the aeriform chamber and lowered her eyes to the floor. Her uncle said nothing. He did not need to. His pained emotions oozed out of him and painted Yellow's colorful world into dead shades of sable and grey. Gripping the jeweled pendant around her neck, the Kanto native shakily slipped the necklace off and held it to her uncle.

In another part of the room, Ruby's scarlet eyes rested to a spot slightly to the right of his aghast mother and grim faced father. His palms sweated, he fidgeted with his hat and his heart hammered so loudly, blood roared in his ears. Out of the corner of his vision, he observed Sapphire standing solemnly before her father. Birch lacked his stained, off-white lab coat and a form fitting suit contained his bulk. The Hoenn professor closed the gap between him and his child and hugged his wayward daughter. Saph buried her face in her chest and wept, no doubt spilling apologies and promising to be more honest from now on. Feeling sick to his core, the fashionista spared a fleeting glance at his parents. His mother's lips were pressed into a firm line and he noticed wrinkles near her eyes. The observation unnerved him, of course everyone grew old...But his mother always remained young and beautiful to him. Norman himself was no slacker in the appearance department, but he too, sported fine folds near his eyes. A simple apology won't suffice. Ruby thought and wondered if he would ever have a proper place next to his dad whom he once worshipped as a hero.

"Come here son..." Norman, wheelchair bound and restricted, held out his arms and Ruby inhaled sharply. When last did his father show such a loving gesture? Skeptical, the adolescent refused to budge from his position and merely scrutinized his father's fathomless expression. "Just so you know...I am not a gym leader anymore. Although it might be selfish, I did what I had to in order to get you out. I'm sorry that I can't say the same for the rest of your friends." A shudder raced down Ruby's spine. Norman...Not a gym leader anymore? "So...Come here so I can take a good look at you." The ebony haired adolescent found himself staring down at his father. Norman hugged him and whispered the words Ruby so desperately wanted to hear for the last few years of his life.

 _Welcome home son._

"Diamond...I am very disappointed in you." Diamond's mother sternly glared at her son who shamefully stared at the floor. He lost weight, the woman noted and it broke her heart when the International Police called her up in the middle of the night to inform her that Diamond was not injured in an accident whilst catching pokemon, quite contrary to what she believed, his brain damage transpired after he took a skull shattering bash from an illegal, experimental pokemon known as Black Mewtwo. For the next few hours, she sat and cried quietly to herself, contemplating what his deceased father might have said if they found out their sweet little Dia turned out to the scheming, proxy commander of the Dex Criminals. She refused to believe it, but here he stood, head bowed and mumbling apologies under his breath. His close cropped hair tangled together from dirt and stood in upright spikes. Diamond's irises, brimming with hope and emotion, now crystalized over with a guarded expression. Mistrustful and conniving. She hardly recognized her sweet son anymore. Next to her, her blonde friend glared at his son. Unlike Diamond who had the decency to cower in shame, Pearl eyed his father dead in the eye and refused to flinch. Both flame tinted eyes burned intensely.

"Why Pearl?" Palmer eventually sighed and angled his face away from his son. The blonde boy trained his gaze downwards and balled his hands. "I know I was not...The best example of a father but, you had Diamond and his mother who looked after you...What?" He asked and gestured to himself and his companion, "did we do to deserve this? What did your mother do to deserve this?" Palmer's last words dropped into a hoarse whisper and Diamond's mother heard the imperceptible crack in his tones.

"We regret nothing." Pearl forcefully answered; Diamond looked up and nodded in agreement.

"Yes..." Dia slowly articulated and piloted his attention to the far end of the room where the three commanders were situated between their executioners. "We regret nothing...If you are at not grateful for how...For what those three are doing in order to save our lives...then I have nothing to say." He pointed to the trio and shook his head. Tears welled up in his irises. "We did nothing wrong...All he wanted...was a place where everyone was treated fairly."

 _And look where it got us._

Palmer switched his attention to Diamond, the child failed to meet his eyes. "You are missing the point son..." he gently bent to the boy's level. "Take a clean, unprejudiced look at the hazardous nature of your actions. Contemplate on them and then tell me who is the unfair one here." Dia clenched his teeth; he did not need reminding of what they did. Of course they did bad things; however, he refused to acknowledge it.

For the greater good. His mind placated him.

Gold, Silver and Emerald, who for some reason, latched on to the breeder; huddled in one corner and meekly watched the pained interactions between children and their parents. "Che...Glad to know my mother is not around so I could let her down like this." The breeder muttered and the red head pretended not to hear the hurt in his vacillating voice. Silver's eyes inexplicably glued onto Crystal who quivered underneath her mother's well deserved wrath whilst Rald's jade irises oscillated between the indigo haired female, Ruby, Sapphire and his commander at the far end of the room. When they first entered, Silver's gaze was ensnared by the overwhelming number of people milling haphazardly in the chamber. His best friend however, glanced at the end of the courtroom and Gold's knees almost gave way as he spied his mentor and the two commanders standing on an elevated wooden stage at the back of the courtroom. Silver held up his friend and the breeder gaped at the sight. Shaking his head and articulating an incensed grunt, the ebony haired male tore his gaze away from the scene and settled for watching the other exchanges instead. "Think your pops got a letter in prison as well?" The breeder questioned and shoved his hands in the pockets of his cargo pants.

"...Heck if I care." Silver tucked his chin in his collar and rotated away from Gold. "Even if he did get it, thank Ho-oh he's not here."

The doors opened before them and four superintendents streamed inside the crowded room with a patrol of guards flanking them. The crowds scattered to the seating areas and Rald spied Whi-2's mother furiously dragging her child to the second floor. White crossed her arms and broke into an argument with her parents. Upon spying Lack-2, the blonde heard Gold hiss and cuss terribly under his breath. The older trainer growled like an animal and tried to shove himself through the procession of guards. Silver muttered a few choice expletives under his breath and held the coal haired trainer back. Grabbing his best friend's arm, the level headed red head seated his friend in the wooden bench and the police called for order. Soon after the hubbub died down, the Lords of the alliance sailed in. Their presence drew a deafening silence. The very air held its breath and for an instant, time slowed down.

Late afternoon

Dragnor

Courtroom

"Please Green!" Blue pleaded and clasped his hands. "Please make Red change his mind!" She inhaled rapidly and blinked in an effort to stop her emotional dam from bursting and flooding her cheeks with a waterfall of new tears. "Even if he listens to no one, he will yield to you. Just...say something to him! Make him change his MIND!" Her spiky haired comrade simply pressed his eyelids shut. She discerned an arcane fear churning in his eyes and it drove them both crazy. "Green..." she shook him lightly and a defeated grunt escaped his lips. "Talk to him."

Her pleas fell on deaf ears.

Letting Green go, Blue hugged herself, tremors racked through her body.

How could Red do this to her?

Now standing on the platform, she watched him grin at Lack-2; the boy faltered for a moment, angled his face downwards and continued to march forward. He assumed his place at the front pew. The young superintendent sat ramrod straight and she glowered at him, willing his form to spontaneously burst into flames. Whatever silver of fear Red instilled in that child, it did its job and her mouth curled wolfishly upwards on seeing the brat's russet tinted eyes dart about nervously. Moments later, Nobunaga lead the judging Warlords into the room and instantaneously, Blue felt like a coffin lid closed over her. The chamber's sounds sucked into a hollow and she gritted her teeth on detecting a thin, winning smile on Lord Nobunaga's sneering face.

May Giratina smite that pompous Warlord and damn his soul in eternal agony. Hate welled up in Blue's body and Dragnor's emperor sent her another perverse smile as he climbed on the podium behind them and seated his royal behind in an exquisitely gilded throne of black glass and gold. She bit down the urge to scream curses at him. Perhaps sensing her bitter emotions, the two bisharp stabbed their gazes into her and she shut her eyes to blot out their bloodthirsty faces from view. A hush of frightened voices erupted from the crowd in front of them and she knew the parents would hold their children close to them and weep. Thank goodness she wiped all traces of herself from the records. According to her profile, she was an orphan.

Orphan...Red had no parents, she only knew that his parents died in the Kanto Civil war and the authorities deposited him in an orphanage in Viridian City. From there Red bounced from the orphanage and foster homes till Professor Oak provided him a permanent home. Then he went on a journey and miraculously shot up to the rank of Pokemon Champion. What happened during the times he jumped from one establishment to another? She pondered and told herself she will never find out.

Teasing Green and Red over silly things won't happen anymore.

" _I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I won't tease you two ever again so please...Change...Your mind!"_

Her pleas fell on deaf ears.

"The trail shall convene now." Nobunaga's well accentuated voice sliced in her musings and brought the present into sharp relief. Red unfurled from his slouched position when Lord Ieyasu's booming voice read out the sins they committed one by one:

Kidnapping of children and forcing them to participate in the activities of the Dex Criminals against their will. Way down below, Lack-2 nodded knowingly.

Stealing of precious artifacts from various museums and highly secured places around the world; and selling them off to the black market.

Using the aforementioned precious artifacts to summon and capture legendary pokemon in illegally manufactured master balls.

Also, using the time, space and griseous orbs to summon the creation titans.

Attempting to steal the Azure Flute.

Here, the Warlord paused, a wave of angry voices erupted from the viewer's gallery. The nobles of Ransei twittered excitedly whilst the guardians eyed their children disbelievingly. Ruby, sandwiched between his parents, heard his mother stifle a sob whilst Norman's arm went rigid. The adolescent drew himself in, trying to keep himself small and insignificant.

"Silence." Nobunaga whispered and the room turned into a quiet graveyard.

Acquiring the DNA of a pseudo mythical pokemon known as Mewtwo and fashioning a clone out of it. Genetically engineering the cloned Mewtwo into a pure dark type. The creature ultimately caused a disaster in Kanto.

Mass destruction of public and private property during their thieving quests. Injuring and outright murdering civil officers when the need calls for it. On hearing this, Yellow shivered when she remembered the officer in the helicopter. Her fisherman uncle pressed his scarred palm over her trembling hands, but he did not look at her.

Tampering with the distortion world by sending the captured legendary creatures into Giratina's reverse realm.

Another ripple of gasps echoed from the audience. Blue watched their facial expressions. Some viewed them with a mixture of awe, reverence and mild contempt. Others gazed at them with distilled loathing.

Currently, an inter-dimensional scar hung over the peak of Mount Coronet in Sinnoh. The rip is maintained by a ring of psychic and dark type pokemon issued from Ransei. People cannot go close to it and due to this problem, there has been no studies conducted on the rift in the sky.

Due to the unstable legendary pokemon, it is estimated that the micro damages done by the Dex Criminals shall take more than five years to fully heal.

"Do you have any last requests?" Ieyasu rolled up the lengthy scroll and Red rotated to eye the Warlord. A fatherly tingle persisted in the man's slate grey irises and the criminal lynchpin felt a rush of unease. "Your verdict has already been decided...Any last requests boy?"

Boy...Red inwardly snorted. What did Ieyasu think of him? "First release Blue and let her go down there." A troop of guards rushed on the stage and guided her downwards. She immediately strode towards Silver who enveloped his quaking sister in a hug and sat her down next to him. Relief bloomed on his gaunt face and he gripped her hands with all the strength he could muster. Red smiled gently at her and she shook her head in disbelief. "Secondly, my pokemon must have the freedom to decide their futures. Once I am gone, you shall release them so they may choose new partners and do whatever they wish. Swear it upon Arceus." Red's voice gained a commanding lilt and Nobunaga frowned, teeth grinding over each other in quiet fury. Ieyasu and the others slowly dipped their heads in unanimous agreement. "Thirdly...Uh...I guess that's it." Valora's Warlord turned to Green who stood petrified.

"The same as Red..." His voice vibrated. "And all this...I did it of my own accord. Don't you dare slander my grandfather's name." The tone of the brunette's words changed and attained an icy edge. "My grandfather is an honest person and he has absolutely nothing do with us."

"You must be relieved he is not here...Right?" Mitsuhide looked at Green with the slightest trace of sympathy dancing in his inkwell irises. Green did not reply, instead, he cast his emerald eyes to the floor of the wooden stage and arrogantly turned his back on the panel of judges. Red did the same and the Warlord of Nixtorm sighed. He leaned back and glimpsed Ieyasu's face contorting with pity.

The sound of rustling silk pervaded the otherwise still room and Nobunaga got up. He made a good show of suppressing the glee on his face. Banging the gavel downwards, he announced:

"Execute them."

And not for the first time in his life, Red felt his life drain away and fill up with indescribable fear.

* * *

 _Execute them_

A sharp, electric throb went through Lack-2's body and he involuntarily jumped up from his hard, wooden seat and focused his surprised gaze on Nobunaga's smoldering form. "We-" his voice cracked and he sucked in a deep breath to calm his jittery nerves. An enraged howl from the back alerted the brown haired boy to the presence of Gold and suddenly the view of the courtroom tilted and spun in dizzying circles. "We did not agree to this!" The Police officer yelled and clenched his hands into fists. "Release them at once and take the entirety of the Dex Criminals to justice! You agreed to do this in the last meeting." Lack-2 shouted breathlessly and yet, Dragnor's Warlord grinned enigmatically. Her initial shock broken, Anabel tartly enquired as to why the nobles of Ransei broke a treaty and Mitsuhide's frosty reply chilled them to the bone:

"The leaders proposed an offer we could not refuse." The pale man's lips twitched in slight annoyance. "Our decision rests with Lord Nobunaga; he struck a deal with the Kanto authorities over this matter. Please do not concern yourself." Anabel continued to argue whilst Lack-2 plucked up the courage to look at his former employer. Red studied him curiously and the corners of the convict's began to lift in a feral, sadistic smile. Stomach churning, the russet eyed youth averted his eyes quickly. Did the coal haired man finally lose it? Green outright appeared terrified of his surroundings and the events playing out before him. A sheen of sweat covered his chest and his glassy, jade irises flickered uncertainly. A hush of noises rose from the crowd and the officer picked up angry mutterings and curses. Anabel and Nobunaga waged a verbal war but from the noises his chief made, she might lose stunningly. Helpless, the Unovian glanced at Surge who remained oddly quiet through the entire exchange. The blonde stared at Red and haltingly, Lack-2 followed his gaze. Red gaped at Green and his scarlet eyes misted over. Slowly, understanding dawned on the brown haired youth and Surge shook his head and ran a finger over his throat.

"He is prepared to die...In order for the others to go free." The electric type gym leader rumbled and this time Lack-2 wanted to vault over to the nearest toilet and empty the contents of his stomach into a basin. Anabel, fuchsia hair disheveled and red faced from arguing, stalked back to her seat and unprofessionally plopped herself down next to Cynthia and Falkner. Her jaw was taut with anger and indignation. Commotion broke out at the back of the courtroom and a swell of infuriated voices bounced back and forth on the oak paneled walls. A troop of guards rushed to intercept the disturbance and on the stage, preparations were made to execute Green. Surge observed the spectacle blandly; no worry, disgust or pity swirled in his electric blue eyes. The burly man simply grunted, rested his chin on a fist and watched. Appalled and not wanting to witness a gruesome beheading, Lack-2 focused his gaze elsewhere but the spectacle before him drew his attention akin to a magnet. Two masked soldiers forced Green to kneel and tied his hands behind his back. By now, the Strategy commander resembled a corpse. White with fear, his screwed his eyes shut when the bisharp veered closer to him with outstretched arms. The look of tangible triumph on Nobunaga's face disgusted the Unovian officer and slyly grinning, the Warlord leaned forward to get a better view.

Bisharp placed a polished blade-hand on the back of Green's neck and the man inhaled loud enough for Lack-2 to taste his fear. The brown haired superintendent vacated his chair for the second time and swallowed rapidly to keep his mouth from becoming bitter with bile. "Can't watch..." He hoarsely muttered to Anabel. "I'm going to patrol the isle." Thrusting his hands in his coat pockets, he turned around and marched to the entrance.

The double doors flew open and an old man stumbled in.

"Green… Green!" Professor Oak shoved himself through the throng of soldiers trying to stop him and stomped forward.

"Grand...father?" The brunet questioned disbelievingly and blinked, a few tears fell from his eyes. "What are you doing...Here?" Senior Oak at gave him a fleeting glance before stopping and looking back. The aged man's eyes widened and Green noted his grandpa's hands tremble. Ignoring his grandson's queries, he moved to the panel of judges and to the younger Oak's horror, knelt in front of the Warlords. Nobunaga beheld the elder professor like an interesting specimen that was not worth his time. Wrath flared in Green's chest as his grandfather begged for his life.

"Please...Let my Green go. I know he has committed outrageous sins, but...He is a good boy." Samuel Oak beseeched. "I will do anything to secure his freedom. My influence stretches far. I promised to his parents that I would take care of him. Please excuse him from this punish-"

"DON'T BEG!" Green screeched from the elevated stage and his wrist chains rattled, Samuel Oak picked his head up from the floor and turned around to face his grandchild, the older man's eyes were wide with fear and agony. "Grandfather...Do not beg for my life. This is my choice. You repeatedly warned me that my actions were not proper. Please Grandpa...You don't deserve a grandchild like me. Let me atone for my sins." The spiky haired male managed a shaky smile and a great weight lifted off his chest. "I don't want you to see me beheaded...So leave. And tell Daisy...tell her I love her." Oak's tone dipped. "And I love you too Grandfather."

' _You will pay for this, both of you, and you will pay dearly.'_

Mute with shock and pain, Yellow watched a retinue of guards escort the quaking Samuel Oak out of the courtroom, the man vibrated violently and cast longing glances at his grandson who remained stubbornly resolute. The next event happened so fast, Yellow failed to process it. A gleaming blade sliced through the air and with it, she witnessed blood spurt upwards and rain down on the tiles. Nausea overcame her. A headless body fell forward. And Green became no more. Her vision blurred and she pitched forward. The floor rushed up invitingly and she succumbed to nothingness. Next to her, the fisherman Uncle caught Yellow's limp body and hugged the unconscious female next to him. From behind him, a sob fraught with sorrow escaped a brown haired woman's lips.

Red watched the cleaners wipe the blood dirt stain on the floor.

 _I am sorry Blue._

They collected his best friend's lifeless body.

The vacuous expression on the corpse's face, did not suit Green.

 _I am sorry Green._

 _Why did you do this to me?_

Suddenly, Red did not want to die. He struggled against the bonds encircling his wrists and wished for venusaur or Pika to burst into the building and overthrow this outrageously unfair trial. What if the police detained the remainder of the Dex Criminals after he died? Who would stop them? Red suspected the nobles of Ransei had a hidden agenda of their own. He didn't care if they decided to destroy the world or plunge Ransei into a civil war, he only cared about the well-being of his team. The rope cut raw welts into his skin and he grunted in protest when the royal troops approached him. Nobunaga's face split into a barely contained smile and Red spat a curse at him. The grin faded and the Warlord's ebony irises held a savage gleam of victory. Digging his heels into the wooden stage as the masked men dragged him to the front, the Kanto native choked on the ball of silk stuffed in his mouth. The coppery stench of spilled blood and the sharp tint of disinfectant hovered in the air like an oppressive coffin lid. Green's execution went cleanly and in one corner, the bisharp impassively wiped its bloodied blade hand with a snow white silk cloth. The bright red stains swam like a hallucination in front of Red's eyes. It brought up images he tried in vain to bury, his best friend looked serene in the final moments of death, but the quantity of blood spilled on the floor implied Green spent the last few seconds of his life in an undeserved suffering. A sea of faces swayed in front of the raven haired man. The flames spilling from overhead chandeliers grew harsher, the room became claustrophobic and despite his heart beating like a tribal war drum, the area around Red sharpened to a high definition clarity.

 _I am going to die_. His mind simply stated and the drumbeats of his heart pounded louder still.

Leather and metal hand guards pushed the ex-champion's head downwards and the man refused to give in. He heard the panel of judges snarling; and along with it came a fleeting sting of success. The aristocrats summoned more retainers to force the convict into a bowed position but Red did not relent. He fought back, growling and rasping. The viewing gallery chittered and at long last, a cold slice of metal perched at his nape. The bisharp rested its sword hand in a delicate balance, not strongly enough to radiate a fiery pain, but oppressive enough to drain the fight out of Red. The felon stilled and the retainers warily drew away. Instead of training his gaze to the floor, the fighter obstinately raised his face and the twin bisharp accommodated their stances for the human's benefit. Cold metal slid into Red's skin and the icy silver of steel descended like a bolt of fire into the bone of his nape. When the execution started, it became apparent that something went wrong, unlike Green's clean beheading, the moment the blade bit into flesh, a gush of blood sprang up and splayed on the executioner's face. Unrelenting, the dark type sawed downwards, grinding metal through bone. With a final slice, the adolescent's head was completely severed from his body. More blood poured, a crimson fountain varnishing pure white tiles. Hastily the cleaners arrived; they covered the corpse with a cloth and stuffed the head inside a bag.

A tear rolled down the beheaded man's cheek.

The execution was over.

In the wooden pews, Gold barely registered the organized chaos whirling around him. Blue's wails echoed from a distant space. Parents grabbed their children's arms and tried to get up from the seats. A hollow numbness glued him to his chair and he wondered why everyone got up and made for the exit. Police patrolled the isles and commanded the audience to sit down in robotic tones. Through the gaps of people, the amber eyed man caught a pale faced teenager striding up and down; the male's hands were thrust deep into the pockets of the jacket he wore.

Gold felt himself getting up, the noble retainers glanced at him worriedly.

Arms outstretched, he shoved the royal sentinels aside and lunged for Lack-2 who snapped his head up at the last moment.

"Murderer!" Gold shrieked and wound his cold, stiff fingers around the officer's throat.

* * *

 **A/N:** And for all those who were waiting for the Gold vs. Lack-2 showdown, it's coming in the next chapter. Or is it? Red and Green are dead. Samuel Oak's sudden appearance stemmed from a review by Eevee (I hope you are still reading :D ) Writing these last few chapters was so difficult but thanks to all the readers and reviewers, I made it this far. Virtual chocolate cake to you all and heartfelt gratitude for sticking with this story.

But don't stop now; there are still a few more chapters left.

At HeyYouYaYou: Heh, I guess I left you…speechless (get it? Lame one, I'm sorry). At Silver: Since the story is (technically) over, I can say this, I had an alternative timeline where Lack-2 pulls strings in order to bust Red out of Ransei. Blue and Green go to rescue their best friend and the three of them debate whether to take the brat or not. They end up taking him and he functions as a double agent. Red and Green end up with life sentences and they are detained in Ransei. Nobunaga wants them dead and out of the way. At AceTrainerLeaf: Everything okay in the end? Eh, I'm sorry to shatter your expectations but there is an epilogue you can look forward to :D At Jack54311: I really, really wanted to include Platina but I didn't find an opening where I can squeeze her in. She'll be devastated but there is the tiny consolation that Diamond and Pearl are alright.


	87. Frayed threads of destiny

**Chapter 87: Frayed threads of destiny**

Glug

Glug

Glug

Misty glumly stared at a stream of water swirling down a black marble basin and disappearing into a sink inlaid with gold, she looked up to see a disheveled female staring back at her. The image in the mirror resembled a woman with ginger hair, smeared make-up and most prominently, puffy, bloodshot eyes. Misty blinked and her image reflected her action, strands of fire red hair plastered on her forehead and on her face, drops of water slid down and dripped off the ends of her chin, each droplet raced faster than its neighbor and soon she tasted salty water on her lips. Her eyes and nose stung and after muffling a sob, she opened the taps and vigorously scrubbed her face with more water. A commotion broke out in the courtroom and she heard voices, echoing like distant thunder. When Red's execution ended, she barreled past the police and crowds in the room and left drops of tears in her wake. Locating the nearest bathroom, she filled a basin with water and repeatedly washed and tried to stem her tears. The tumultuous echoes grew closer and she inhaled deeply and hiccupped. With a soft creak, the door to the ladies bathroom opened a crack and she vaulted over to bury her face in a fluffy grey towel. For several moments, the new occupant uttered no sounds and finally, the ginger haired female gathered enough courage to dig her face out of the downy mass of cotton and look up. A yellow rodent sat on the floor; half of its face remained obscured underneath a red cap. Confused, Misty took a step towards it and Pika angled its face upwards, it quickly rubbed its face with a paw and flicked away a glistening drop of moisture.

The water gym leader's knees grew weak; Red's pikachu possessed a surprising amount of intellect. Did it seek her out in order to exact revenge? The sharp tint of antiseptic surrounding the bathroom, suddenly grew oppressive and the sable tiles decorating the walls, exuded a deathly chill. Pika studied her with a scrutinizing gaze and its beady eyes bore down with tears. Articulating a weak squeak, it sprang up and clambered on to her. Startled, she held her hands out and the rodent buried its face in the crook of her arms and clutched Red's cap closer to it, it then sniffed and uttered a series of heartbreaking squeaks which Misty had no trouble translating as the mouse grieving for its trainer.

A few moments later, the bathroom door smacked open, the ginger haired female rooted to her spot and witnessed a multitude of vines scaling up the walls. Another female burst into the room and Misty shrunk under the brown haired woman's acrimonious stare. A few tendrils vines wrapped around Blue's wrist as she struggled against the sinewy tendrils of Red's venusaur. After Red and Green's beheading, their pokeballs were brought out in order to be distributed. To the noble judges' concern, Pika burst out of his capsule and streaked after a rapidly disappearing policewoman. Leaving Gold to choke the life out of Lack-2, Blue untangled herself from her brother and marched after the electric mouse, at this point, two other balls ruptured open and out popped scizor and venusaur. The plant type shot out several vines and secured them around her whilst the insectoid flashed next to her and put its guillotine like pincer in front of her. For a moment, the sight of scizor's gleaming appendages induced an ear curling scream and she looked up to see charizard soaring through the air and landing with an enraged snort next to Yellow who remained unconscious on the wooden pews. Saur, who ambled to a stop next to its new owner, soothed Blue down with a mixture of sweet fragrances whilst the rest of Red's pokemon divided themselves up between the members of Execution. Still securing Constellate's leader with a few vines, the two monsters meekly tailed her as she followed Pika's trail and ended up in the bathroom. Pika snuggled in the arms of a young woman who bore an astonished expression.

"Give him back." Blue fought to keep the venom in her voice under control, the Cerulean gym leader sported a crisp police uniform and the navy blue color brought on a wave of nausea. "You...Have no right touching his pokemon when you and your gang of police ultimately lead to his execution." Misty's eyes watered and Blue quashed down the urge to smile maniacally. The Kanto native caught her twisted expression in the mirror and stared dumbly...was she really this ugly? From Misty's arms, Pika stirred and sat up, it peered at Saur and the plant type grunted. The humans stared at the pokemon and the three beasts launched into a full debate. The more Pika squeaked and gesticulated wildly, the more Blue gritted her teeth in disbelief. "What do you mean you want to stay with that woman?!" Blue waved her arms and the seed pokemon instantly looped a few more shoots over the raving commander. "Pika! Stay with Yellow and Chuchu-"

"I will take good care of him." The police officer interjected, she looked Blue dead in the eye and her gyarados squeezed its serpentine bulk in the chamber. "I'll look after them both...You have my word." Very slowly it dawned on the brown haired female that this was the person Red secretly used to visit. She choked back a laugh, Red and Green shared so many things with themselves and kept her out of the loop. Blue blinked and exhaled. She imaged her life leaving with her breath. "I...Am sorry..." Misty continued in a wavering voice, "I never knew...I didn't...I helped him escape the first time the Police sent him to Valora." The red head reported and a small amount of gratitude bloomed in Blue's chest. "Red and two others...Green and I think...Gold. I was really upset when I found out he was the lynchpin of the Dex Criminals, I still do not understand why..." The gym leader clasped Pika closer to her chest and the rodent whimpered. "Why?" She asked Constellate's leader and fixed a questioning pair of azure irises on the brown haired woman.

Blue shook her head. "I never know what those two are thinking..." she admitted, "and now I never will."

"That's a lie..." Misty countered, "You are their closest friend and they trust you enough to remain strong without them." Venusaur pulled its vines away from its new mistress and spied clarity gleaming in her sapphire-esque eyes. This time, Blue slowly nodded and a gentle smile inched across her face. Striding over to the inert gym leader, she picked up Red's cap and twirled it in one finger; Pika woke up and grunted furiously.

"Pardon me Pika, but I'm taking this cap. If you want to see it, you will have to come visit me." Blue cheekily delivered and grinned shakily. "That goes for you too swimsuit girl." Misty flinched at her nickname and the brown haired female giggled. "Both of you can drop by at Viridian when all this is...Over" Blue frowned, "and provided I'm not placed under house arrest or restricted in legal shenanigans." Throwing Misty another curt smile, she waved the cap in the air, confidently squared her shoulders and made for the door. "Now if you excuse me...I have a final murder to commit."

Pika squeaked and tucked its head into Misty's trembling arms.

 _Good luck with the murder_ , he said.

* * *

Early evening

Ransei

Dragnor

Cold fingers wrapped around his throat and his vision blurred into white. Voices undulated, loud and soft, conveying distress and fighting each other in discordant tones. An ominous buzzing resounded in Lack-2's head as he desperately scrabbled at the murderous grip on his neck. The fingers squeezed tighter and the officer gasped for air, his nose watered and his vision tunneled, giving him a perfect view of a pair of golden eyes swimming with hate. The sheer pain prompted tears to well up in the teen's eyes and if possible, Gold choked him harder. Smaller fingers felt around bigger ones and the Unovian managed to scratch the criminal's fingers open, he caught the metallic whiff of blood. A girl with indigo and brown hair pulled and screamed at Gold to let go however, the amber eyed man's face remained devoid of any form of emotion, no, through the haze, the officer noticed the breeder smile. Gurgling, Lack-2 tried to kick out and felt a pair of strong hands cover the Johto native's pale ones. Just as Lack-2 wondered if Gold would strangle him to death, Surge forced the two apart. Not one to give up, the breeder snatched at the collar of Lack-2's jacket and furiously tore a button off. The blue and brown haired lady turned out to be two people, Crystal and Whi-2; the older woman forced her screaming best friend apart whilst Silver tried to calm Gold down. The raven haired man screeched expletives and wailed. Trembling and touching the bruise forming on his throat, the russet eyed superintendent stumbled backwards and collapsed on to a bench. At the back of the room, a vein pulsed in Nobunaga's temple.

The courtroom erupted into a spectacle. Lack-2, unable to stomach the result of the execution, promptly strode up and down the aisle as the rest of the viewing gallery watched the beheadings with morbid fascination or mild disgust. None of the beheaded commanders uttered a noise of pain, not even a grunt or a soft exhale of misery. Stewing in his thoughts and unobservant of his surroundings, the Unovian continually quashed the arguments his mind cooked up. His hand repeatedly lifted up and brushed over the lapels of his pocket, making sure the envelope tucked in there won't miraculously disappear. A deathly hush descended and he heard the cleaners kick up a fuss, they commented on the amount of blood the second commander spewed on the floor. The teen swallowed nervously and nodded to the noble retainers standing guard next to the wooden benches. A pair of amber irises followed Lack-2's every move and he tried to brush the queer sensation off.

And then, the trap sprung.

The word murder thundered in his ears and strength deserted Lack-2's legs. Gold squeezed hard and cut off his air supply. Was it possible for someone to hate so much? The boy wondered and struggled to get his mentor's hands off his windpipe. Rationality seemed to have abandoned the breeder as he hissed and wrapped his fingers tighter around the officer's throat. Silver merely watched, his face twisted into a cruel sneer, Blue waltzed after Pika who left in a blinding flash whilst Crystal tried to hammer reason into her best friend who simply grinned sadistically and pressed harder. Now Gold thrashed akin to an enraged gyarados with Crystal, Silver and Sapphire holding him down. Pearl and Diamond were dragged away by their parents and Vee followed the indolent teenager, he solemnly dipped his head at the uproar and passed over the threshold. A few minutes later Blue walked in and a guard barred her way.

Blue's body trembled, despite the bold front she displayed in front of Misty, her thoughts melted into a jumble when she stepped out of the bathroom. She came back to displeasing scene; a squadron of police and noble guards formed a line between a hysterically sobbing Gold, who clawed the air; and Lack-2 who quaked violently and clutched himself. The boy's deathly pale face assured Blue her co-worker almost snuffed the life out of the brat. Shivering in his disheveled coat, the brown haired teen looked grief stricken; like a person who lost the will to live because he had been informed that his loved ones passed away. Blue bit her lip and blinked rapidly; she stared arrogantly at the stone faced sentinel and motioned him to move aside, she needed to secure the documents...Then...She could allow herself more time to grieve.

A troop of sword wielding guards swarmed through the door and made for Gold. Roughly shoving the sentry aside, Blue clenched her hands and marched, she flipped her hair backwards and glared; the soldiers paused and reluctantly gave her a wide berth. Surrounded by a ring of Ransei officials, Gold, his fingers tangled in matted hair, clutched his head and howled on the floor, he hiccupped and fumbled with the plastic button in his hands. Tears and mucus ran down his face and irritably, he wiped them away on his sleeve. Crystal crouched next to him and talked soothingly whilst Silver scrabbled with the chain around his neck and cast bitter glances at the barricade of police. An officer gingerly moved forward and declared Gold would be brought in for attempted murder. The other Dex Criminals froze, slowly, Yellow woke up and charizard pushed his head in her arms, seeking comfort for the death of its trainer.

"Attempted murder..." The amber eyed trainer slurred and sniffed. "I'll give you a deal..." his lowly voiced, "how about you allow me to send that brat six feet under and then you arrest me? I'll make it quick." The retainers shifted backwards and Surge shouldered through the ranks and glowered at the grimy form of Gold. The breeder sat on the marble tiles and gasped for air. Face twisting into a leer, the he flicked the plastic button in the blonde soldier's face; the grey disc bounced of Lt. Surge's eyebrows and fell back to the floor. "The heck are you doing here scum?" Gold swore and bared his teeth, "I didn't kill anyone...Red and Green..." his voice cracked, "offered up their lives so the rest of us can get immunity...don't look at me like that, I'll tear your eyes out!" Hissing, the raven haired man trained his gaze back to the floor.

"We...did not warrant this." Surge spoke and Gold twitched. "That brat you tried to strangle always retained information from us; according to his health advisor...He suffers from Stockholm's syndrome." Sitting next to Cynthia who draped a kimono jacket over his quivering form, Lack-2 jolted and quickly eyed the blonde woman, she simply squeezed his hand in reassurance. "There was an agreement to punish all of you equally for your crimes. Life sentences or forced into unpaid civil service...However, your three commanders cooked up a different scheme-"

Gold shot up. "OH! So it's their fault now?" He bellowed in Surge's face and the older man wiped the spittle flying out of the breeder's mouth. "You're gonna tell me you could not force the alternative on them and thus they had to die? Will this get that stupid brat a promotion? Is he going to be the chief officer for being able to finally capture the Dex Criminals when you old timers couldn't? Heh..." The Johto native leaned back and toppled. "Well done Surge." he sneered. "And well done...Lack-2. Congratulations, as of now, I hope to never see your face again. I might end up next to Silver's father if I do." The red head grimaced and reached out when his companion swayed backwards. "Get outta my face, I'm taking Poli and I'm going to spend a nice, quiet life in Johto."

Lt Surge nodded slowly, wary of Gold swaying unsteadily on his feet. The black haired man turned around and threw himself over Silver who staggered under his weight. His shoulders shook as he dissolved into another bout of weeping. Blue averted her eyes and turned to Anabel who watched the events with cold detachment. The Constellate commander demanded for the agreement and the fuchsia haired female handed the gold tipped parchment over. "We...I apologize-" Blue irritably waved a hand. "...I am sure you are aware of the contents of the document and the price of your best friends'..." Anabel trailed off

"Heads?" Blue finished icily. "Yes I do, please, spare me the sorrow; I've had enough for one evening."

Anabel closed her eyes and opened them again. "Your friends struck a grave deal..." Blue smirked knowingly and the chief resisted the urge to groan. "They transferred the right to limitless research over to the nobles of Ransei and...They left you and the rest of the Dex Criminals unsupervised. Clearly you are not a problem for the Ransei officials...You are a problem to the rest of the regions." Anabel smoothed out her sable kimono and continued, "We agreed on another issue, you and all the other Dex Criminals shall be branded for the safety of the regions." The earlier smirk left Blue's face and wrath seized hold of her normally mellow features. "You are not in a position to be angry, understand it is a way of preventing the disaster currently plaguing Sinnoh. The Dex Criminals are extremely dangerous and if left alone, you will gather the remnants together and build a new organization...After all, this is why they insisted that you do not die...right?"

The Kanto native believed her friends might have left her alive for a more emotional purpose, however, the chief's words made much sense. Blue ruminated on the officer's words, her companions left her the perfect building blocks to create a devastating Organization...no doubt, a vengeful Gold would be more than an excellent commander for the passion and battle fuelled Team Execution. Unfortunately, Anabel caught on the plan and quashed the fickle flame before it had a chance to bestow light. "I suppose you are right." Constellate's leader shrugged, "but by all means, my friends are human...And I believe they did not want to see me beheaded...Because they care about me." Her tone wavered and she brushed a tear off her face. "Not sure about your group though. Nice work with Lack-2...If we think of converging, let him loose, he'll sniff us out and deliver us nicely into your hands." Flipping her hair back, the brunette spun around and moved off. Anabel gritted her teeth and let out a breath she held. Already, she held two resignation letters and the thought made her blood boil. Misty handed hers this morning, Falkner, unapologetic, thrust his into Anabel's hands before the execution began.

Seated at the back of the room, Mitsuhide folded his arms and coolly stared at the drama unfolding between the courtroom's oak paneled walls. Two seats away from him, Warlord Nobunaga clutched a sheaf of papers and the corners of his lips lifted into a self-satisfied smile. He possessed the rights to unlimited research; whatever happened to the Dex Criminals was of no concern to him. If the scientists could coax Zekrom out of the Dark dragon stone, the war on uniting Ransei shall tide into his favor. Onyx irises shifted and the Nixtorm Warlord came into view. Nobunaga clenched his jaw, the pale man's impassive visage unnerved Dragnor's Lord on many levels. Mitsuhide constantly expressed his distaste for the way Nobunaga did things and once threatened to break away from the alliance. He was a wild card and the dragon tamer did not know whether to trust the icy retainer or not. Straightening up from his position on the black marble throne, his presence forced a hush inside the room. The other Warlords followed his lead and the cleaners hastily scrubbed the floor and dried it. Haughtily, the Lords descended and their private retainers cut a swathe amongst the crowds. Nobunaga motioned to the Dex Criminals and a member of the army hastily bowed.

"Make it quick" The Lord's gravelly tones diffused in the tension clogged air. "I want to meet the scholars as soon as possible." Standing near the entrance with Pearl, Diamond glared distastefully at the procession as they glided out. His lazuline irises pinned the man donned in black silk and golden threads. The Sinnoh native exhaled and bunched his hands up into fists, an indescribable emotion coursed through his veins and he tried to name the feeling. Too sheer to be called hate and too shallow to be described as sadness. He accepted the fact that Red was gone and despite Pearl's jeering, the blonde stared rivetedly at an opposite wall, his mouth opening and closing like a feebas. Diamond swerved his attention at Yellow and he meditated on her form. Unlike the others who wallowed in pity, she seemed to try and control the pain of losing someone dear to her.

Sorrow...

It clicked, his feelings could only be described as half-accepting. An emotion he was not well acquainted with. A few meters away, his mother and Palmer argued with the guards. Apparently, the Dex Criminals were not allowed to leave. Grabbing a petrified Pearl's hand and dragging him inside the courtroom, Diamond weaved his way through people and came to a stop next to Blue. She focused her attention in an intricately penned scroll and on seeing them, she hastily rolled it up and smiled sadly at him.

Sorrow...

Diamond noted on her face. Vee comfortingly winded its forked tail around his leg and Pearl irritably swatted at a machamp flexing its muscles. Undeterred, Green's pokemon moved closer to its new owner and used one of its many hands to ruffle the human on its head.

"What do we have to do?" Pearl mechanically spat out a question and trained his gaze to the floor. "...I hoped to see Platina-"

"Platina?" Blue and Diamond simultaneously spoke up and exchanged worried glances. "Pearl...Why would Missy be here?"

The flame eyed teenager spent a moment internally cursing at himself. "That Warlord in royal blue silk and armor pleats hails from Nixtorm...He's Platina's...Father in law." More crushing sorrow expanded in Diamond's chest, tears welled up and coursed down his cheeks. Gold's broken sobs sung a mournful tune and the black haired teen invariably turned to Blue and sought for a hug. She did not disappoint him, sweeping her graceful arms around his less than chubby form, she embraced both him and Pearl, Dia buried his face in her chest and stifled his cries.

His future loomed up black and shapeless and he wondered if he and Pearl would ever make jokes again.

Awake and groggy, Yellow fumbled with the pendant, next to her, the fisherman Uncle remained deadly quiet. His gnarled hands rubbed over each other and his breaths came in laborious gasps. A few seats in front of her, Sapphire quietly rocked in her father's arms and the man gently soothed his distress stricken daughter with consoling words. Ruby sat sandwiched between his parents and he fiddled with his hat whilst eyeing his father out of the corner of his blood red irises. Norman rapidly typed into his PokeNav and the device vibrated as countless messages poured in. Ruby's mother folded her hands in her lap and pressed her eyes shut. The adolescent bit his lip guiltily, his father was not a gym leader anymore and the man traded the position for his son's freedom. A retainer wearing a mask strode up to them and exchanged a few words with Norman, nodding stiffly; the retainer helped the cripple man up and proceeded to escort them out of the courtroom. Pairs of accusing eyes followed the fashionista as he shrunk under vindictive stares. Blue and Sapphire's celeste gazes stabbed him, questioned him and wondered who gave him the right to hobble out of the courtroom without being questioned. Norman eased himself into his wheelchair and Ruby gripped the handlebars much to his mother's astonishment, he trained his eyes to the floor and pushed. The plastic grips felt rough on his palms.

But they were nothing compared to the pain and ache in his heart.

Yellow turned the jeweled pendant over in her fingers and examined the bright red shard nestled in a sophisticated lattice of gold. Next to the ornate piece, Green's pendant looked painfully unornamented, two pieces of polished ovals set into one another and the tag hung on a fine, silver chain. Grasping her necklace, she pulled it off her neck and pensively held it out to her family figure. The old man grunted an incensed, animalistic growl of misery; he wiped his face and shook his head. "Keep it...I gave it to you and I'm not taking it back." Charizard snorted softly and used a milky white claw to poke at its owner's possession. Reaching up, Yellow, with some difficulty, threaded the pendant around its neck and the beast quieted down. It curled up, folded its wings and brought a feebly flaming tail closer to its body. The once proud dragon emitted an odd rumble and gingerly kept on poking the thread of silver around its neck.

"I don't deserve it Uncle." Yellow watched the Dex Holders gather around and knew that sooner or later; the nobles will summon her as well. "Please...Find it in your heart to forgive me. For now, take it back, I will reclaim it once I manage to redeem myself." She got up and dropped the pendant in her Uncle's lap; fraught with the pain of betrayal, his whole body trembled when he gently picked the piece of jewelry up and pocketed it. "Stay safe uncle, I will be back shortly." Patting the charizard rumbling charizard, she joined the rest of her friends as they marched out into the decorated hallways.

* * *

Past midnight

Dragnor

Palace interior

The clamor inside the courtroom dimmed into a buzz. Near the back, the cleaners scrubbed the tiles, polishing them to a white, mirror-esque sheen. A cold breeze wafted from beneath the doors and tendrils of icy wind seeped from the cracks of glass windows. The sun had long dipped behind the range of Dragnor's craggy mountains and the room bathed in the warm glow of overhead flame chandeliers. People, guards and police jostled about, running up and down to complete last minute requests and orders. Gripping the thick kimono jacket closer to him, Lack-2 stared straight ahead and willed his body to stop shaking. The bruise on his throat grew so worse, it hurt to swallow. He waited for chief Anabel to finish her business with the Lord Nobunaga and the Dex Criminals. Near him, Lt. Surge nonchalantly flipped through a magazine he borrowed from the plane. The glossy cover showed a gun and a bouquet of roses but to Lack-2, the red flowers resembled a dark stain of blood. Thankfully, the blonde soldier refused to comment or jibe at the younger superintendent. Drained and fatigued, the Unovian would not have the energy to spit a few words should the older man taunt him. A blanket of cold descended in the gigantic chamber and the space grew exponentially larger when the servants packed the execution platform away.

Lack-2 tried to erase the image of a grinning Red from his mind.

Even worse, Gold would never forgive him.

Joints stiff and painful, Lack-2 heaved himself up from the bench and the Kanto native peered at him, waving dismissively, the teen dragged himself through the long aisle and straightened up his collar, he did not want people ogling at the finger marks encircling his throat. Outside the courtroom, the air grew frostier and he beheld Falkner holding a conversation with Nobunaga's most trusted retainer. Ranmaru's dragonair, full of pride and dripped with bands of gold, slithered irritably on the polished wooden floor and flicked its tail angrily. Warily skirting around the serpent, Lack-2 sauntered to a hidden alcove directly in front of a flight of stairs and crouched into it, hiding himself from view. His behavior made him snort; this is exactly the type of pathetic mannerisms he abhorred.

A faint clicking noise grew louder and he identified it as Anabel's heels clacking on the tiled floor. Straightening up, the pulled the kimono off his shoulders and gave it an experimental sniff. The perfume coaxed tears to his eyes and the scent unearthed his quashed loneliness. He thought of his parents and then violently buried his emotions. Folding the jacket carefully, he squared his shoulders and strode out in the open. Chief Anabel hailed to a stop before him and he gestured to one of the lacquered pillars holding up the domed ceiling. Handing the kimono jacket over, Lack-2 briskly treaded to the secluded spot and a knot formed on the Kalosian female's eyebrows. Wearing her jacket, she followed him and he abruptly halted in the shade cast by the pillar. The teenager held out an envelope and Anabel stared, her eyes open wide. Neatly scrawled in Lack-2's immaculate handwriting, the cover bore the words: Resignation letter. The chief did not want to believe another superintendent would be retiring today.

"Are you kidding me Lack-2?" Anabel fought to keep her breathing even. "I'd like you to ponder on your actions before-"

"I do not kid." Lack-2 answered monotonously. "I'm resigning, I'm tired and I'm done playing chase. Wire my last payment directly to my account and we will call it even. I do not want anyone of you to call me up for favors. I'm washing my hands clear of this fiasco. Please..." his strident tone wavered, "let me go."

Suddenly, the chief saw him as a younger teen, the one who stumbled in the International Police headquarters all those years ago. Young Lack-2 clutched a gun, identification papers and a badge belonging to his father. Scrawny but brimming full of vengeance and a will unmatched by others, Lack-2 swore he will cleanse the world of corrupt people and put each and every felon in their place. And for the next few years he climbed the ranks like none before him, hammering primordial fear, hints of jealousy and igniting competition in his co-workers. He became the pride and joy of the International Police force and with each new accomplishment to his name, the smiles from his eyes faded. Anabel and accepted the envelope from his hands. "I will honor your decision. But, what are you going to do after this Lack-2? You are not exactly safe if you venture outside. If you decide to at least stay with the local police we may be able to grant you some sort of protection, however, if you cut all your ties with us..."

The corners of his lips lifted subtly, "I want..."

 _What do I want to do?_

For the first time in his life, the voices in his head stopped arguing.

He looked up, "I want to be friends with the Dex Holders..." he replied and the superior gawked at him. The superintendent pulled out a pale blue device from the folds of his clothes. "I was part of them and now I want to take a break from policing activity in order to investigate the dimensional scar hanging over Mount Sinnoh, with any luck, I'll try to fix the problem. As a side job, I want to be an investigator." A playful smirk danced on his parched lips. "I'm available for hire...provided you pay the right price." The previous spark in his russet eyes died and he stowed the electronic encyclopedia away in a pocket. "I am very serious in my future, chief. You can keep a tab on me, but I will not do you any favors..." he trailed off and inhaled deeply. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to make new living arrangements. Goodbye." Chin tucked in the collar of his jacket, Lack-2 slinked down the hallways. A troop of people poured out from a side door and he trained his gaze on them. The Dex Criminals paraded out and winced in pain, some cursed; others held their hands and faces. Spying Gold, a throb of fear flared in Lack-2 before he calmed down and continued to stride forward. Upon passing the breeder, the teen heard him snarl and to his horror the handsome man's cheek was marred with burnt, parallel scores.

The ebony haired man looked up and their eyes met. Copper on gold. However, Gold did not smile.

His burning, amber gaze conveyed nothing other than distilled hate and an insane spark of sadness.

* * *

 **A/N:** The end. Much thanks to MassXP and brtnvm for alerting the story, I hope it was an entertaining read for all. Words cannot really describe how happy I am to see people actually reading and commenting on my story, for all those who read from beginning till the end, you have my gratitude, it's thanks to the reviews that I didn't give up. Virtual Devil's food cake to all.

At Magic111: The alternative storyline…when my laptop crashed, I lost all my planning and notes for the alternative line, not to mention I'd have to re-write huge chunks of the fourth arc…and… You know what? I'll do it! I'm all fired up! (and I'll start as soon as I finish the current story I'm on). At HeyYouYaYou: And here is another, final, ka-boom. At AceTrainerLeaf: What have I done? I've become a murderer! Yes, they are dead and it's no dream. But hey, they'll be alive in memories right? At Silver: You know, I'm kinda sad I won't get to read any theories for this story since its finished :( Eh, though, I will look forward to your next chapter. At Jack54311: I have this niggling feeling that the overdue showdown with Lack-2 and Gold was a bit one sided…oh well.

I have a question: Is anyone else interested in Lack-2's alternative storyline? Just curious.

And don't go away, there is an epilogue coming up.


	88. Epilogue: Shooting stars

**Epilogue: Shooting stars**

 **When wishes and reality do not collide**

Five years later, afternoon

North of Virbank City

PokeStar Studios

The afternoon heat rolled off the pavement and struck his face in hot blasts. In the middle of the park, a grand marble fountain spewed jets of water and the spray evaporated under a merciless sun. Next to the elevated square, the sea stretched out in a carpet of endless blue, lapping on the craggy bank in rhythmic splashes. The PokeStudio Park was crammed full of people and tourists and a huge crowd congregated in front of the banner board. Breaking his attention away from the willowy form of an actress, splayed in dazzling colors across the board, his gaze swept through the bustling park, to the ice-cream stand and its garish balloons and landed on the adolescent sitting next to him. In the periphery of his vision, he witnessed a teenager, black, chin length hair parted in the middle. The youngster squinted fiercely and thumbed a portable game controller. Heaving a sigh, he went back to his thoughtless gazing of the PokeStar studios and absent mindedly licked his ice cream cone.

"Are you sure she's gonna be here Lack-2?" Next to him, Hugh squirmed in his seat and a red visor shaded his eyes. "We have been here since the morning, I feel like a fried human. What are we doing here anyway? I doubt it's to catch up on the latest movies. Last time I checked-" The lilac haired man peered into his cracked leather wallet, "we don't have enough funds for an extra cup of instant noodles…Much less an attendance of a grand premiere." His friend merely grunted and perked up when he spied a man walking up to the adjacent table. The teenager with the gaming console, muttered an apathetic greeting to the well-dressed individual and continued to ignore him whilst Lack-2 peered at the good looking stranger suspiciously. "Casteliacones cost money; you better pay me back for the dozen you wolfed down just now." That statement caught Lack-2's attention and the brown haired man turned fully, his russet irises gleaming with mock pain. "Don't look at me like that!" Hugh growled, "We live in a trailer on Route five and thanks to you, I was forced to give up joining the league circuits because I had no money to stay in hotels. Next thing I know, you ate a huge chunk of my savings and thus I can't pay my gym battle participation bills."

The brown haired man snorted and grinded the rest of the frozen confectionery between polished teeth, his gaze veered towards the table and he observed a hushed conversation taking place between the adult and the teen. A group of fans inched closer to the cyan haired man and the black haired boy irritably shoved the older man off. "Yeah, I get we live in a homeless trailer...Still doesn't explain why Whi-2 decided to move in with us last month." Lack-2 muttered distractedly and quickly looked away, the boy graced him with the foulest glare the former officer had the displeasure of seeing. "I am a private investigator...Meaning, I'm on a high profile cas-"

Hugh cut in and flexed his hands: "You are a hobo who does nothing but chase odd leads around and you absolutely refuse offers from the International Police. One day, they are so going to wring your neck. If it weren't for their protection, you'd have to constantly watch out for those scattered team Plasma grunts who'd happily gut you." The lilac haired man grunted incomprehensibly and frantically dug into his waist pack. His fingers twitched and convulsed oddly. Unable to watch his friend dissolve into a mess of warbled words and erratic gestures, Lack-2 reached over and pulled out a foil sheet of capsules. Hugh instinctively opened his mouth and the brown haired male popped two pills and handed him a bottle of water. From the adjacent table, the raven haired teenager fixed his emotionless gaze at them and Lack-2 curbed the urge to snarl at him. Hugh swallowed and leaned back into his chair, apparently drained of energy.

The teen eventually eased up from his wooden seat and placed a maroon peak cap on his head. He spun around and despite Lack-2's best efforts to concentrate on Hugh, whose muscles subtly twitched, he found his sight veering to the foreign featured boy. The child walked briskly and lazily waved at a woman standing at the palm tree intersecting the giant studio into four compartments. For a moment, Lack-2's breath caught in his throat and he sent another fleeting glance at Hugh who tiredly reached for the water. Passing the bottle to him, the copper eyed man whispered a few words and broke into a run, he spent the last two years searching for a lead on her and he was not about to let her slip through his fingers. Unfortunately for him, he forgot about the teenager. As he passed the hunched boy, the coal haired child straightened up and delivered a vicious kick into his abdomen. Lack-2 doubled up, fought down the urge to moan in pain and swallowed rapidly. His Casteliacones demanded for a way out.

"X!" The woman screeched; her familiar voice sent a tingle up Lack-2's spine, "what do you think you are..." She broke off and the Unovian unfolded from his crouched position. Despite five years passing since he last saw her, Blue's face remained the same. Her lazuline eyes, fringed with thick eyelashes, carried a hint of concern, pain and mostly disbelief. Clothed in a knee length gossamer gown, her thick mane of hair was curled at the ends and he noticed a black glove covering her right hand. The teenager, identified as X, slunk towards her and glared at Lack-2.

"He's been coming here for the last couple of days...Since he looks so much like a moron; I thought he might be some sort of a stalker." X drily drawled and shifted his blue-grey eyes to listlessly examine his game console. "Where's Ace?"

Blue momentarily turned to pin the boy with a disciplining glare. "X...we have talked about this."

"Fine." The child snapped. "Where's Dad?"

Confused by the weird turn of events, Lack-2 watched, slack jawed as Blue moved closer to the boy and smoothed out his crumpled clothes. She spoke soothingly and the frown gracing X's face melted. Abruptly grabbing the youngster's hand, Blue rotated and marched away from Lack-2. "Wait!" The Unovian called and once again, the teen whirled around and speared him with a look of utter loathing.

"What..." X forced through gritted teeth, "do you want with my mom you police scum?"

 _Mom?_

"Mom?" Lack-2 did not see any resemblance between Blue, her husband and the child in front of them. The boy's features were not Unovian; he looked distinctly Kalosian, with pale skin and a lithe build. And besides, he contemplated; the teen was too old to be Blue's biological child. "Pardon me; I fail to see how you two are related." The Unovian stated crisply. "Your dad has blue hair..."

The Kalosian rolled his eyes, ignored him and carried on walking with his mother. "I'm adopted," he threw back over his shoulder, "and stay away from my mom, she's been clean for the past five years and is now part of showbiz." The moment he uttered those words, a black car swerved down the road and Lack-2 retreated to the pavement. Behind the wheel, a stunning male with a mop of unruly, cyan hair opened the doors and Blue and X hopped in. The actor gave Lack-2 a sardonic frown and then tires squealing, peeled out of the studio. Blinking and cursing his bad luck, the private investigator grinned wolfishly and pulled out a portable computer from the pocket of his jeans. A red, pulsing dot pulled out of the gate of PokeStar studios and made for Virbank city. Lack-2 jogged back to Hugh who sighed when he spied the devilish smile on his best friend's face.

"Let me guess, you actually found the woman you are looking for and she told you to go away...now you are going after her and I have no choice but to follow you right?" The russet eyed man nodded exuberantly and quickly shouldered his backpack. "Quick question," the lilac haired man unstrapped his visor and stuffed it into his bag. "Just who are you obsessing over anyway? Is she pretty or..." Lack-2 pointed at the banner board and Hugh's face split into a grin. "Huh...for a hobo...you sure have expensive taste."

A few hours later:

Blue poured tea with a heavily scarred hand. Lack-2, unable to tear his eyes away from the parallel scores burnt deep into her skin, briefly flashed to five years ago where he glimpsed a similar, smoking mark flush against Gold's cheek. The investigator let his gaze roam around the spacious lounge. Leaning against the door frame and casually munching on an apple, Ace fixed his celeste blue eyes on Lack-2 who did not feel flattered in the least. On the white leather couch, X kicked off his shoes and sprawled across the sofa with his trusty game console tucked between his hands. The mansion smelled of flowers and fresh air, silk curtains framed floor to ceiling length windows and a lush cream carpet sat underfoot. An array of books and a porcelain vase full of flowers decorated the glass topped coffee table and the russet eyed youth focused on the intricate patterns on the vase. The cup of tea he accepted from the former commander felt comfortingly hot between his palms. Urging X to head to his bedroom, Blue slipped a glove over her hands and Ace stalked inside the room, disdain stamped on his mien.

"Nice of you to visit me Lack-2" Blue's words lacked mischief but it dripped with dry sarcasm. "If you wanted to interrogate me, you could have left a note. I have to regularly visit the police precinct anyway." She blew a strand of hair away from her face and leaned back, the couch depressed beneath her weight.

"Is there a problem officer?" Her husband chimed in with a baritone most females melted for. "Like X informed you, Blue is clean for the past few years. If you don't have any other matters to discuss, I suggest you get out, police officers make her nervous." Ace sighed and oblivious to their discomfort, Hugh asked for a refill and an autograph, Blue smiled at him warmly, signed on his pokeball and refilled his cup. Lack-2 decided he will have to snip a lock of his best friend's hair and keep it as a good luck charm. When Blue opened the door to her home and saw Lack-2, she almost shut the heavy oak door in his face and only the presence of Hugh stopped her. She invited the lilac haired adolescent in; Hugh grinned smugly, bowed and entered through the door.

Exhaling, the investigator placed his empty cup on the table and brought out a sheaf of papers. "If you don't know that I quit the International Police five years ago, then you two must be living under a rock." He jibed, "I came here for a different purpose," he handed a few papers to Blue who examined them critically, "I am a private...investigator." Hugh snorted at this and chortled mirthfully whilst Ace arched a perfect eyebrow on his sculpted face. Blue ignored them, "currently, I am trying to locate all the members of the Dex Holders so I could gain some information about the spatial rip on top of mount Coronet. My search is not going well, however, I managed to find out how to collapse the tear, theoretically speaking, I need more intel though." Lack-2 finished and the brown haired woman quickly handed the stained papers back to him and accused him of lying. The facial muscles on her spouse's face tightened with anger and Lack-2 demanded. "What do you mean I'm lying? I don't even have money for a decent jacket! Ask Hugh! I'm living off him and Whi-2 now-" he paused, trying to keep himself from exploding. Five years, he reminded himself, he's been searching for them for five years, if he made a wrong impression on Blue, she might refuse to divulge the location of the rest. "...look, I am not part of the International Police, for some reason I cannot get into Sinnoh and I have no idea what Cynthia is doing. I just...need to find out where the others are and some more info about the reverse world-"

"You are lying Lack-2" Blue cut in firmly and the copper eyed adolescent bit his lip. "You only came here seeking for forgiveness." She pushed the papers away. "I...have been thinking you know. When-" her voice wavered, Ace eyed concernedly and gently squeezed her hand, "when Red and Green were beheaded, I wanted someone to blame and eventually, I directed all my anger to you. But digging through the records of the International Police revealed the decision to kill them was solely from the Ransei officials. Despite their agreement, they came after me and I fled to Kalos. I met my son there." A mellow smile tugged at her lips and the corners of Lack-2's mouth lifted subtly. "Then I met Ace and-"

She stopped speaking and large tears slid down the curves of her cheeks.

Lowering his eyes, the brown haired male profusely apologized and she laughed shakily.

"I forgave you a long time ago. Currently, I am happy with my life but unfortunately, we are branded," she showed him her palm, "I am forbidden to contact the others, no matter the circumstances. I haven't seen Silver in five years. I don't know what the others are doing. White is in Kalos, she is a famous movie director and I am currently working with her, unfortunately, she won't return to Unova for another six months. I can't tell you anything else about the former members, we are scattered and we do not exist in the databases." Lack-2 nodded and pulled Hugh's hand away when it inched towards a particularly expensive looking paperweight.

"Thank you," he softly intoned and got up. "I'll try my best to find the others...And hopefully...Bring photograph of Silver." Blue beamed at his words and he dipped his head respectfully.

Several months later

Johto

Route thirty four

The day care resembled a zoo. Slightly intimidated by the noise, Hugh scowled deeply and clamped his hands over his ears. A couple of passing teenagers pointed at the trembling adolescent and Lack-2 bent down to retrieve a broken branch from the grassy ground. He threw it. The twig somersaulted in the air and struck the freckled brat square on the nose. Satisfied, the Unovian peered at the sign board hammered in front of the domicile which resembled partly a greenhouse, a playground for pokemon and a stone mansion. Behind the building, a park stretched out endlessly and pokemon lumbered around, frolicking in the grass or splashing in a huge swimming pool. Smoothing out the form fitting shirt he wore, Lack-2 swallowed nervously. No doubt this was Gold's place...A day care suited the golden eyed man. Running a hand through his shock of greasy hair, he motioned at Hugh, stepped through the double glazed, sliding doors and into the cool interior of a brightly lit foyer. The juicy aroma of crushed berries wafted to his nose and he walked through the empty reception area and alighted at the wooden counter.

"Your hair..." Lack-2 gaped at the red headed receptionist. "It's short."

Silver's hair, chopped short to the point it stood up in stiff spikes, tilted his head imperiously. Recognition replaced his polite expression. "Lack-2" he hissed lowly and sent a fleeting glance to an open door leading to the back areas. "What are you doing here and how did you find us? If Gold figures out you paid a visit, he's gonna ask me to chop your head off and mount it on the wall." His voice dipped into a guttural tone. "Get out and stay out." The older man returned to his magazine and flipped through the glossy pages with a hand covered in a fingerless, leather glove. Guilt welled up in Lack-2's chest but he persisted on seeing the amber eyed man. Shutting the book with an incensed noise, Silver crossed his arms over his chest and the Unovian gazed at him warily. No longer the gaunt, perpetually underweight phantom thief, the person standing before Lack-2 wore an apron sporting pictures of nauseatingly cute baby pokemon. Couple that with a leather, biker jacket studded with faux metal spikes; and the russet eyed youth did not know if he should laugh or cry. If Silver wanted to look intimidating, he'd best ditch his apron. "I'll get Gold...If he comes for you with a machete; I'm not going to stop him." The red head warned.

He walked behind the wooden counter and ducked into the open doorway. Inside the second room, Silver's glare softened as he watched a couple of newly hatched pokemon tumbling about on the carpeted floor. In one corner of the gigantic chamber, near the windows, Gold watered a potted berry bush and cooed to a vulpix nestled in the crook of his arm. A chick swablu nested in the breeder's hair and he looked up inquisitively when his best friend entered.

"You have a guest waiting for you in the reception area." Silver droned.

"What?! Did your fiancé finally miss me?" Gold jubilantly hollered and the silver eyed man flushed as he walked out.

"Crys is not my fiancé."

"Well she would be if you screwed up enough courage to give her the ring that's hiding at the bottom of your drawer." Gold triumphantly declared and crossed the sun dappled room with the wailmer pail in his hand. A group of young pokemon immediately reached out for the breeder.

The red head gritted his teeth. "I warned you not to go through my stuff!"

"I needed a new pair of underwear!" Gold screeched back and Lack-2's heart pounded, he rotated to see Hugh peering interestedly at the pictures lining the walls. "Tsk, can't you propose to her already? I want grandkids!" The breeder's words grew increasingly louder as he drew closer.

"What?!" Silver sputtered comically, "how the hell does me having...Children..." he tried to roll the idea around his head, "make you a grandfather?" His best friend grinned perversely and the red head decided he did not want to know. "Anyway...Like I said, you have a guest waiting for you." Gold flashed him a sunny grin and entered the reception area whilst the swablu on his head cheeped.

And he froze.

His mouth pulled into a grimace and with a furious roar, he hurled the half full wailmer pail at Lack-2 who ducked at the last moment. The can sailed through the air and smashed into the opposite end. It broke and shards of pottery scattered across the granite tiled floor, the water marked a wet starburst on the pale pink walls. "You..." Gold growled and his hand automatically jerked up to his scarred cheek. "How dare you show your face in here!" The amber eyed man thundered, the chick on his head cried out in distress and promptly launched itself off his head. Alarmed, Silver dove down to catch the baby pokemon as it fruitlessly flapped its wings in a vain attempt to fly. "Silver!" The raven haired man spun around and his companion coolly held his infuriated gaze. "Why the heck did you allow him in here? Break his bones and toss him out!" Gold wore a similar apron to the red head but the picture did little to soften his demonic aura. A latticework of scorched marks covered one side of the man's face and the lines converged into a strange crest. Hugh, his crimson irises flaring with telltale signs of his former anger, clenched his hands into fists and marched to the front. Lack-2 held out his arm in an attempt to stop his friend from rupturing. After his manas dunking experience, Hugh morphed into a level headed individual, but if provoked, he exploded like the volcanoes of Cinnabar Island.

The purple haired adolescent resolutely strode forward and glowered at Gold. "I admit...Lack-2 can be irresponsible and utterly useless at times but, he spent months looking for you; he spent sleepless nights searching up on you guys and he finally found you. At least listen to what he has-"

"I'm not listening to a murderer!" Gold bitterly spat.

"Oh yes you are!" Hugh howled back. "At least listen to what he has to say. And don't call him a murderer, he did what he had to and you have no right to condemn his actions when you are no better you stupid pervert! All of his gross habits are from you!" The purple haired Unovian suddenly launched into a full, screeching assault of Lack-2's habits and momentarily stunned by his passionate outburst, Gold calmly listened. Lack-2 fixated on his former mentor and the breeder's fuming visage eased into an interested scowl. "He goes out in the middle of the night and where do I find him? The casino! He uses my hard earned money to buy cream...Get it: CREAM for his pichu. That thing is so spoiled; it needs to be carried to the toilet. All requests from the International Police are ultimately rejected and if a pretty officer happens to make a request, he flirts with her! I am sick and tired of your influences!"

The breeder nonchalantly bored a finger in his ear. "Dude, chill down...Who are you anyway? I don't think I've ever met you so how do you know about me?" Still spitting expletives, he irate trainer dismissively gestured to Lack-2.

"He's been mumbling about the Dex Holders for the past few years and running around in an effort to close the dimensional hole atop Mount Coronet." Hugh replied and rifled through his bag for pills. "After visiting Blue, he resumed his investigation and eventually traced you here. Though seeing your friend was a bonus. So yeah...He's not the same anymore. Still an obsessive workaholic, but not the same."

"My sister." Silver interjected with a strained voice. "How is she?"

Lack-2 boldly answered him: "Actress, married and has a pre-teen child."

The red head nodded slowly then frowned. "Wait...What? Sis is married?" His breath hitched. "She has a...A...Kid? A pre-teen?" Blood drained from his face. "That's impossible...How." Depositing the sleeping swablu back on Gold's head, Silver strode forward and roughly grasped Lack-2 by the shoulders. "Are you toying with me? I'll snap your neck if you are lying."

Groaning, the russet eyed adolescent shook his head. "You heard of him...Ace. Blue is married to a famous actor and her child is adopted...he's a Kalosian by the name of X." Straightaway, Silver gripped his hair and moaned about how some rich dude conned his sister into marrying him. From the counter, Gold barked a short laugh and intoned that it might have been the other way around. The two men exchanged looks and unanimously agreed that it must have been Blue swindling the actor.

A silent spell descended on them.

"So...what do you want?" Gold finally directed his gaze at Lack-2. The investigator's breathing fluctuated. For the first time in five years, the breeder finally looked at him with something either than distilled hate.

* * *

A few weeks later, early morning.

Sinnoh

Sunnyshore Airport

"Stop getting your snot all over the ticket." Hugh tersely barked and promptly burst into tears next to a weeping Lack-2. "Thanks to you...I had to sell my stupid caravan to Whi-2." The adolescent sucked in a breath and added, "Thanks to you, we are now employees, modeling for her boutique and do you know how uncomfortable it is to pose like a mannequin inside her cramped store? I have girls touching me all the time!" The wind buffeted the two and they shivered in the early morning chill. "And would you stop spontaneously bursting into tears every time you see that slip of paper? I get it, it has Gold's signature on it and he said you were welcome to pay him another visit. Seriously, we need the document thing to see the Champion of Sinnoh; don't screw our chances up and for Zekrom's sake! Stop! Crying!" The spiky haired individual dug out a wad of tissues from his pack and dabbed at his cheeks. Hobbling next to him, Lack-2 quickly wiped his own tears and stowed the piece of paper away in his shirt pocket. All vestiges of a sniffling mess gone, he briskly hiked up to an information board and checked the city map and bus schedules.

Veilstone's Convention Center hosted a private meeting with the Champion of Sinnoh. Influential families from all over the region shall gather to discuss the future of Sinnoh's lucrative prospects, or so, everyone is told; Lack-2 knew the families congregated in order to garner favor with Cynthia and he wondered why she barred him from entering the region, was she still mad at him for abruptly retiring from the International Police? He decided to find out today. However, the ticket scrawled with Gold's signature, bothered him. Why did the airport officials allow him in after seeing the slip? The more Lack-2 pondered about the reason, the more puzzled he became till a hand on his shoulder pulled him from his thoughts, muttering an apology, the russet eyed youth picked out a route and marched to the bus ticket office.

The ride to Veilstone offered pleasant views of sloping valleys and lush, wooded forests. It also brought on the unpleasant view of the infamous dimensional rip, resting atop Mount Coronet's peak like a cherry on top. Lack-2's stomach churned. A team of Ransei's psychic and dark pokemon maintained the rip and as he studied it, the tear seemed a little smaller than it was five years ago. Piloting his attention back to the panoramic views of forests and sheer slopes of rock, he heard a soft snore next to him. Tired from the numerous experiences the investigator subjected him to, Hugh fell fast asleep. Grinning, Lack-2 reached over and covered his friend with a sheet and then he too, bundled down for a well-deserved rest.

A smooth, electronic voice roused him up and he pulled the sleeping mask off to peer bewilderedly at his surroundings. A warehouse pierced the skyline with its huge satellite dishes and a display of colorful flags fluttered atop a metallic mast. Disembarking with a groggy Hugh in a tow, Lack-2 located a seating area and grabbed his companion's waist pack. His best friend's mouth slackened and slowly hung open. Finding the right medication, he popped the pills in Hugh's gaping mouth and pressed a bottle of water into his hands. A few minutes later, the spiky haired man tiredly exhaled and thanked him.

"No problem, I know we are ahead of schedule, but I want to meet her before the center becomes crowded." Hugh asked if Cynthia would be here this early. "Yeah, I think so, she take her duties very seriously." Veilstone's Convention Center loomed up, the building, a mixture of traditional and modern architecture, crawled with cameras swiveling on ancient styled pillars and domes. Bouncers, clad in sharp, black suits, patrolled the entrances and when the sliding doors slid apart with a whine, the Unovians stepped into the air-conditioned vestibule and shivered. Several guards turned to face them and Lack-2 hurriedly dug out his slip of paper and showed it to him. A bald man directed them to a set of swinging doors tucked away behind a short corridor. Thanking him with a curt nod, the duo set off again. Inside the meeting chamber, the air turned warm and stuffy. The room appeared as an expensive lounge; lights dotted the low ceiling and washed the room with a mellow glow. A thick, maroon carpet muffled footsteps and in the middle of the cloth draped room, Lack-2 noticed a throne-esque chair. A young man sat on it, his head bent over the gold plated Poketch encircling his wrist. For some reason, the individual seemed very familiar. Around his fancy chair, clusters of tables and chairs were set up, like small islands swimming in the vast sea of maroon. After scanning the chamber, the russet eyed man failed to see the presence of the Sinnoh Champion. Exhaling and not about to give up, Lack-2 located the nearest guard and hiked up to him, meanwhile, Hugh roamed the opulent room, pausing to admire the crystal vases and elaborate light fixtures

The guard turned to face Lack-2 and the Unovian spied his reflection on the dark sunglasses, "You are looking for the champion of Sinnoh?" The bouncer asked, his voice gruff. "That's him right there...they call him The Fortress." He looked like he wanted to say something else but Lack-2 turned around to peer at the young man. Sinnoh has a new champion? Why did not anyone inform him of this? Smoothing out the crumpled slip of paper, he cautiously edged towards the individual. His senses screamed at him, warning him to be cautious. The reclining man lifted a huge smartphone to his ear and rapidly spoke into it:

"Yes senior Emerald, the watch you gave me is working fine; it's got a bunch of other apps and programs that I'm still trying to figure out. Hmm? No, Moo once rolled over it..." Lack-2 stopped dead in his tracks and ducked down, hiding himself in the confusing tangle of chair legs and table cloths, still eavesdropping, he crawled forward and situated himself directly behind the throne. "I'm very busy Emerald and I can't just pop into Hoenn without a valid reason. What about senior Sapphire? She's with Yellow? I see. Then why don't you ask her to deliver the stuff to me? I'll be in a meeting for the next few hours and she'll have to come here to participate in the concert two weeks from now. Yeah, tell her that, I'm still slated to write a thesis on my battle tactics...I don't even know how to start. Apparently people are intrigued by my formation Alpha. Pearl? He's attending the event as an entert-"

"Eavesdropping is bad you know" Hugh crouched next to Lack-2 and admonished him

"Then stop doing it!" The investigator snapped, he immediately doubled over and clutched his head. A wave of pain rolled over him, so intense, it was nauseating. He checked Hugh. Not good. His best friend's mouth opened in a silent scream of agony and he clutched fistfuls of lilac hair and tore it out. Biting his lips to numb the extrasensory bombarding his brain, Lack-2 pulled himself over to Hugh who now banged his head on the floor. Shrieking softly, the brown haired man pulled his comrade closer and pinned his arms to the side. Veins pulsed in the blood eyed individual's head and neck, his eyes rolled over in his sockets and he gasped for air. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

Lack-2's head cracked apart, he imagined blood pouring out of his ears and nose.

And in another split second, the pain stopped.

"Vee, that's enough." An all too familiar voice commanded, "Come back here." Peering over the fake jewel encrusted back-support, a pair of ultramarine irises speared into the duo and the male smiled. The grin on the man's face did not look very friendly and it was an expression Lack-2 had seen a fair share of.

Disgust.

Contempt.

Sheer loathing.

The champion of Sinnoh leaned on his high backed chair and picked up a cream covered cupcake, brought to him by one of the waitresses, opposite him, Hugh crammed his mouth full of delectables and Lack-2 discreetly punched himself in the stomach, he was not letting hunger get in the way of pride. The aroma of baked goods, hot coffee and a range of mouthwatering savories, over powered the investigator and yet, he refused to budge. Instead, he took time off to study the champion. On the man's slender fingers, a large diamond ring ensnared his attention. Diamond. The once chubby boy resembled nothing of his older self; his normally close cropped hair grew longer, brushing his nape and forehead in thick, wavy strands. Dia still sported a scarf around his neck but the silver of red silk was tucked into an immaculate charcoal suit. His indolent countenance evaporated and a guarded expression darted about. Calculative and analytical. The Champion's face grew sharp and angular and Lack-2 failed to see the slightly overweight child Diamond had once been. A couple of badges and merits glittered on his blazer and the male smiled. A distorted smirk betraying his distrust for the world. Dia nudged another tray at Hugh who paused in his wolfing to thank him, the older man smiled and offered a hot cup of chocolate to Lack-2 who finally caved in and accepted it with an imperceptible nod.

Dia licked his fingers and checked his expensive watch. "So much for my efforts of keeping you out." The investigator choked on his hot beverage. "After I assumed my role as the new champion of Sinnoh, I did everything in my power to bar your entry to Sinnoh. I suppose it worked." Diamond furrowed his brows and rested his chin on a gloved hand. "But then you had the audacity to visit Senior Gold and he informed me you were coming...I am forbidden see anyone of the Dex Holders, apart from Pearl since he's a famous comedian, but Gold always found a way to break the rules. The officials respond to his signature and let him in. I guess he gave a ticket to you as well." Diamond mused and Lack-2 nodded, "Do you want anything else? The bagels are delicious." Hugh muttered his gratitude and proceeded to dump a few of those bagels on his plate. Dia watched, the prim grin on his face softening. "Lack-2, to put it bluntly, I do not appreciate seeing you." The champion's voice carried a razor edged threat, "I would be happy if you removed yourself from my sigh-"

"DIA!" The man exhaled when a loud screech cut into his speech, Pearl, who also sported a pristine figure, beamed widely and crossed the room in long strides. The moment he reached them however, it looked like the light in his face turned off. Lack-2 suppressed the urge to groan and hide underneath the table. Just how many times would he have to see the dour expressions on his former comrades' faces?

 _You sold them out._ His mind viciously delivered.

 _You split them..._

 _You inadvertently killed the ones they held dear._

 _STOP!_ He ordered himself and inhaled deeply to clear his head. _Forge on_. He renewed his resolve. _You can do this._

Pearl and Diamond exchanged looks and the former sunk himself into a luxurious sofa next to his best friend. Dia bent over and the two exchanged a few whispered words. Moments later, Pearl loosened his necktie and Lack-2's gaze veered to his fingers. Like Diamond, the entertainer sported a band encrusted with different shades of pearls and a cream colored glove concealed his left hand. "What brings you here?" The blonde queried and drunk a healthy swig from a crystal flute. "Dia says Gold sent you here. Amnesty?" Pearl's flame irises flickered with savage mirth. "You are fortunate we don't hold grudges." Diamond slowly nodded at his friend's words and reached for another article of food, his habits made Lack-2 wonder how he sported such a slender figure. "We've also been informed that you have information regarding the spatial tear on top of Mount Coronet." Pearl added and set his flute down with a soft clink on a polished tray, "Is this true or are you just bluffing in order to get to us? Pardon my skepticism, but nothing good came out of trusting you." The blonde waved a waiter away and implored them for privacy, bowing, the servers shifted to the edges of the vast room. "The former Champion of Sinnoh buckled under the pressure to retire, she refused and asked the Pokemon Association to reroute the league. They did so and sent Diamond through to test it, fortunately he came out without a scratch but in his first try he toppled Cynthia and assumed the rank of Champion." Pearl paused in his narration and absentmindedly stared into a random direction. "Then he used his newfound authority to land me the career of my dreams...It's a pity...I couldn't do the same for him." The blonde's orange eyes rested heavily on Lack-2 and he shrunk under the intense gaze. "Do you understand what your actions ultimately lead to? Our lives are scattered, torn. Dia is stuck in a tribute for Gold who couldn't become a champion..."

Hugh stopped eating and faced Lack-2. "Say something," he ordered, "I did not sell my trailer only to come all this way and watch you get cold feet."

The investigator composed himself. Like scars of old wounds, his neck and throat tingled, the phantom pain surfaced every time he thought about how Gold almost throttled him to death. The duo seated before him sized him up, predators scanning their prey. Lack-2 wondered if his journey to locate the missing Dex Holders has been worth it. Each person he came across drove a clear message home: We do not want to see you, get out of our life and stay out. Despite Gold inviting him for a day out, the breeder's expression remained bland and guarded. Shoving apprehensive contemplations to the back of his still aching head, he said: "I have information regarding the dimensional rip, but I suspect you have more than me." Diamond did not nod; he simply twisted the large ring on his finger. "I will give it all to you, basically, it is theorized the Unown will be able to seal the rip and send the distortion world back to its rightful dimension, unfortunately, the Unown answer to no-one. Theoretically they will follow Arceus' instructions..." he broke off and sent the coffee stained envelope over to Pearl who wasted no time in rifling through it. "According to seniors Silver and Blue, the Unown may respond to the creation trio, the problem is how to summon them."

Pearl skimmed through the papers and handed them to his companion. "I suppose that should be a problem," He admitted, "after all, the summoning orbs shattered when senior Green...Used them. We have to explore more options."

Lack-2 got up and unashamedly packed some of the foodstuff splayed in the trays in front of him. Hugh, getting the message, did the same and the two older males eyed them with a hint of amusement. Well, the russet eyed Unovian grumbled to himself, they could laugh all they want. Who could resist free food? "The Sinnoh authorities can do whatever they want." His eyes veered to Dia, "I am not allowed in here remember? So I'll take my lea-"

"Wait."

His voice sent a chill down Lack-2's spine. It was full of quiet, commanding authority.

Diamond extracted a pen-drive from the folds of his tailored suit. "Here, this will tell you the locations of the others. As for Black, the white stone has been taken to Ransei. Don't ask." The champion warned when Lack-2 raised an inquiring eyebrow, "I am not entitled to divulge the details." He turned to Hugh and presented the lilac haired adolescent with a paper thin electronic card. "This is an invitation to a medical facility situated in Canalave City. It's a project funded by the Sinnoh government and it's where I go for my treatment. You should drop by sometimes, hopefully they will take you off those medications." The corners of Dia's eyes crinkled in a heartwarming smile and Hugh thanked him profusely. As soon as the champion rotated to Lack-2, the warmth in his face vanished. "Take care of yourself and please; don't ever come back here unless you need to." Dia pulled out his oversized smartphone and tapped rapidly in it whilst Pearl fiddled with his cuffs. The servers and bouncers set to work, clearing the trays and sweeping the carpet. A heavyset man ambled towards the Unovians and after grabbing a doughnut with this free hand, Hugh and Lack-2 shouldered their backpacks and hightailed out of the building.

Three days later

Unova

Route 5

Booting up a portable computer, Lack-2 reached out with a free hand and grasped a plastic cup from the overflowing table. The cup felt half empty, shrugging and sparing it a glance, his eyes strayed back to the monitor and he read through the contents carefully. A sip of the mug's contents told him that it was strawberry milkshake. Quickly, he scrambled up from the spindly chair, placed it back on the table and tried to pick up discarded snack packets, too late he saw Whi-2 stroll inside the cramped room and eye him deplorably. Sheepishly, he smiled, his pichu squealed and he whipped around to see Hugh rolling over on the battered couch and squashing his precious rodent underneath. Gingerly, he skirted over a pile of clothes dumped on the floor, a small cabinet, an upturned chair and a coffee table; reaching the sofa, he reached out for his pichu. The mouse shocked Hugh for good measure before gleefully hopping into its masters waiting arms. It squeaked and Lack-2 shuffled towards the kitchen area. Holding his breath, he crawled past Whi-2.

Alas.

Here it comes. He prepared himself for the outburst threatening to explode out of her. Unfortunately for him, Whi-2 stood there, hands on hips, dressed in an off-shoulder top and her cheeks blown up like an angry igglybuff. She looked cute. His mind supplied and he desperately wished for Hugh to wake up and calm her. If anyone can stop a threating explosion it had to be his quilfish friend. The investigator frowned, since when did he come to rely on Hugh so heavily? "Whi-2...I can explain..." he gestured to the mess on the floor. "You see, I'm on the edge of cracking another case." His tone dipped dangerously low and inwardly, he cursed; Lack-2 did not want to scare his friends. "And well, Hugh and I will fix things in no time. I promise. I'll even cook dinner. Just don't...just don't make me stand in Join Avenue in only a pair of boxers. I've had enough humiliation for a lifetime." He pleaded, Whi-2 exhaled, laughed merrily and the corners of his lips twitched into a smile. She asked him where he would go next. "Hmm...Hoenn I guess. Want to come with us? You'll get to meet senior Ruby and Sapphire, perhaps the midget as well if we are lucky." She shook her head, a few strands of hair escaped her voluminous ponytail and framed her face beautifully.

"And who's going to fund your trips if I quit my job?" Whi-2 queried and fixed her appearance in a half broken mirror. "Don't worry, bring me a few pictures and I'll be happy." Her expression turned stern. "Look after Hugh properly alright?" Lack-2 nodded and stroked his crooning pichu. "And clean up the mess, I finally get the disgusting inside cleared and you two undo all my hard work in what...Two days?" She shook her head disbelievingly. "Make sure Hugh takes his pills."

The spiky haired individual stirred on the couch and woke up. A stretch of faux brown leather stuck onto his cheek and peeled off the sofa as he assembled in a sitting position. "I'm not a baby." He grouched and irritably peeled off the piece of leather stuck to his face. "I can take care of myself just fine." Lazuline eyes softened at seeing her childhood best friend, Whi-2 beamed at both of them, grabbed her strawberry milkshake and headed out, her boots clunking on the short, rickety staircase leading down to the street. Lack-2 waited, the grip on his pichu grew suffocative...

"LACK-2!" Whi-2 hollered and he let out a breath he didn't know he held. "You touched my milkshake didn't you?!" He heard her fling the cup on the asphalt.

"Hugh drank it up!" He lied and his best friend sent him a crude gesture. Whi-2 huffed some more before stomping off to the general direction of Join Avenue. Hugh unfurled from the sofa and sent him a glare. "Come on! We all know you drank half of it." The russet eyed adolescent defended himself.

"And you took a giant sip out of it knowing the consequences." Hugh accused, his blood red eyes glinting. "Cleaning duty is on you today. Come on Pichu." The rodent squeaked and hopped on to his head. "Let's go see what's for breakfast." Lack-2 weakly called for them but both his monster and companion had already disappeared beyond the partition.

* * *

Mid-morning sunlight filtered through a large window set into the back of a spacious chamber. The room smelled faintly of varnish and the laminated floor gleamed like a wooden mirror. Surrounded by scrolls depicting wisdom and the importance of balance, a black haired man, hands gripping a pair of scissors, carefully adjusted his framed spectacles. A delacatty growled softly in delight as he snipped her fur and brushed it. He heard a stiff breeze whistle past his gym and the woody trees behind the domicile waved in the wind. A telephone, set on top of a wooden plinth and tucked into a corner of the gym leader's room, broke the serene silence with a cacophony of monotone beeps. Eyeing the device petulantly, Ruby set down his grooming kit and stood up, briefly eyeing his wooden sandals in disgust before sighing and clip-clopping to the corner. The phone should not be ringing unless it was an emergency call from the Pokemon Association's headquarters, of course, it could also be his mother. Ruby amassed a few of his League issued paychecks and used them to send his parents off on a luxurious tour of Kanto's Sevii Islands. Wiping his hand on a cheered apron he picked up the phone and answered: "Hello, this is Ruby, gym leader of Petalburg gym. How may I help you?" The crimson eyed male scratched his scar. After taking over the gym, he stopped trying to hide his disfigurement and now wore it proudly as a token of survival. "Rald..." he hissed, "I told you not to prank call me. The next time you do so, I'll ring up Steven Stone and tell him to fire you. The C.E.O of Devon does not need a technician who black-markets their products!" On the other end, the midget chuckle cheerfully. Emerald told him to check his PokeNav before abruptly hanging up. Slamming the cradle into the receiver, Ruby pulled out his PokeNav, eyed it and paled.

Over fifteen missed calls from Sapphire, Yellow, Emerald and Silver.

He groaned. Why did people see fit to call him during work hours? The scarlet eyed individual exhaled and the pitiful moan echoed back to him from the empty chamber. Glaring at the doorway, he watched delacatty clean up the fur and mess on the tatami mat flooring. Too silent. The only noises came from outside, from the cries of pokemon surrounding his gym and the people rushing about, lost in their day to day lives. Adjusting his glasses, which often slid down the bridge of his nose, he decided to call Sapphire first. A small smile tugged his lips when the call went through and he listened as she yelled a greeting. The previous melancholy evaporated and he grinned wildly. Sapphire's voice always managed to make him happy.

"Sorry for not picking up your calls, I was busy." Ruby stared out of the windows. "To make it up to you, how about a date?" He smirked; he could feel Saph blushing furiously on the other end.

"No dates." Sapphire blandly stated and Ruby winced, her words punched him in the gut. "I'm currently doing fieldwork for Papa and senior Yellow is assisting me. Next week, I must head to Johto and then fly to Sinnoh to deliver a package for Dia...What does Gold take me for? A courier? I still have to practice for the super contest that I wanna participate in. Yellow's being a big help, although Professor Oak keeps on telling her to come back to Kanto to help him. Senior Crystal is there for the moment but...She's returning to Johto soon 'cause of her wedding." A pause followed her sentences as she spoke with someone in the back ground. "Oh yeah, what are you busy with?" Ruby deflated further when she snidely queried. "You hardly get participants in your gym...Tsk tsk, your dad lectures you about balance and you still floor every opponent walking through your doors. Pretty soon, the League will tell you to step down for not restraining yourself." Sapphire laughed airily and he gritted his teeth, he was about to fire an argument, however, the entrance to the gym leader's room rung a ditty and his lips pulled into a victorious smile.

Ruby crossed the wide chamber. "Hold on, I'll call you back later. I have a challenger." He heard her sputter indignantly as he cut the call. Dropping his PokeNav into a pocket of his oversized t-shirt, he fumbled the apron off his person and slammed a hand on a button. The door whirred open.

Even after gifting the gym leader with the most fashionable article found in Whi-2's boutique, he still was not pleased to see them. However, Ruby, delighted with his new present, ran off at once to change into the slim fitting shirt. To the older man's credit, he looked fabulous but a twisted expression of anger soon replaced his earlier elation. "I am not a member of the International Police." Lack-2 drawled and watched the wrath mellow in the glassy pools of the Hoenn native's eyes. "So spare me the killer looks." The Unovian observed the stark, minimally decorated chamber and pondered how it clashed with the flamboyant individual's tastes, his gaze veered back to the gym leader and beneath a mop of sable hair, Lack-2 spied a scar, his eyes must have lingered there a tad too long because Ruby spoke up:

"I haven't been branded; Dad pulled some strings to make sure." He explained, "You are looking at a scar I got when I was a kid. Most of Dex-holders have their brands on the back of their hands. Saph and Dia have it on their palms whilst Gold...Holy Groudon, he ruined his face. Rald stamped his back." The gym leader waved dismissively. "So you two came for a visit huh?" Hugh absentmindedly nodded and continued to decipher the wisdom penned abstrusely on the hanging scrolls. "…Welcome to Petalburg Gym. I hope you paid your participation bills at the counter because I am not letting you leave here without challenging me." At his words, Hugh turned around, his ruby irises brimming with passion and fire whilst Lack-2 merely shrugged. "Go on, take your places, I'll duel you both." The gym leader declared confidently.

The investigator shook his head; Ruby was being a tad too overconfident. "Are you sure?" Lack-2 asked and rifled through his bag for the pokemon belt, his fingers brushed over the cold metal of a handheld crossbow and he stiffened for a moment. Pulling his thoughts together, he delved deeper into the tangled mess and extracted his belt. In one capsule, Pichu puffed steam and shook its tiny fists about. "Not to undermine your skills but...Hugh is a finalist of the Unovian League and he is very capable." The spiky haired individual tossed a pokeball in his hand. "And I...I am not too shabby either." Lack-2 quickly added and decided he did not want to think about his past self. Better leave those bitter memories where they belong. Ruby nonchalantly walked back to a raised podium and pressed a few buttons. The doors slid shut automatically and the desk spat out a drawer. Inside the drawer, cradled in velvet padding, sat six pokeballs. Selecting two, the gym leader ambled to his position and motioned for the others to do the same.

Hugh gripped his pokeball tighter; heart tossing in an erratic beat, his body warmed up and blood pulsed violently in his veins. Blood vessels stood out visibly on his forehead and neck and he resisted the urge to scream. When Lack-2 unceremoniously plopped into his life four and a half years ago, Hugh forfeited his dream in order to support his best friend. All the prim and proper former officer did, was laze around, sleep like a comatose patient and spend his rapidly dwindling savings on expensive food and chasing phantom leads. Quitting the league circuit, Hugh toted his depressed comrade and purchased a trailer on Route five. There, the duo set up a little base of sorts and the lilac haired male suggested Lack-2 make peace with his past, no matter how difficult it might be. Spurred on by his words, the investigator slowly changed and now, a small part of Hugh regretted it. He shoved his selfish contemplations aside, after his best friend fulfilled his dream, it will be Lack-2's turn to fund Hugh's goals. The trainer smiled to himself; meanwhile, he had a target to mop up. Although, the gym's pristine flooring hardly needed a cleanup. Throwing the pokeball in the air, Hugh watched Emboar erupt out in a flash of light, the fire type stomped the floor and breathed a stream of hell heated flames. Next to him, Samurott, disciplined and proper, tumbled out and regarded the leader with an analytical stare. Opposite them, Ruby let loose two pokemon: A swampert and gardevoir, the psychic twirled and Ruby retrieved a brush from the pocket of his slashed jeans; he immediately fell over his beast and brushed her fur clean. Hugh grimaced, what was wrong with this dude?

"Cool sandals." Lack-2 taunted and pointed to the traditional wooden clogs Ruby wore. The man swore silently, flung his brush behind him and clapped. Once. A barrage of energy spheres catered the ground next to Emboar and the fire type squealed in terror and dove to the corner. Ruby grinned and pushed his glasses up, Hugh roared and commanded Bo to execute a flamethrower, in good time too as the swampert spat a water gun at him. Breathing heavily, both Hugh and his monster observed the gym leader warily. "Are you okay?" Lack-2 inquired, his eyes never leaving the fashionista, the spiky haired man nodded slowly, he would have to take the man seriously. "Wow...I never expected..." the investigator broke off and calculated his actions. "Samurott, ice-beam," he worded and pulled out another pokeball. "Are we allowed to use another one?" Ruby nodded his consent, "then, genesect, use infestation and follow it up with shadow claw." The crimson eyed leader arched an eyebrow at Lack-2's choice of monsters but refused to comment. Streaking in a blur of tyrian purple, the modified beast whipped past the guarding swampert and plunged its claw into gardevoir's creamy white fur and skin. The psychic beast howled, an unearthly string of notes battered against Lack-2's skull. With uncharacteristic viciousness, it smacked genesect aside and whaled on the Paleozoic pokemon with a flurry of punches and psychic attacks. The reinforced armor covering genesect dented and a focus blast shattered one of its eyes into silvers of crystal. Even as infestation seized hold of the embrace pokemon and tiny maggots crawled over its skin, it kept on fighting. Ruby glanced at his pokemon and a sardonic smile graced his face.

Hugh attacked. Heatcrash flung the psychic type away from genesect, the insectoid panted and its dented body emitted steam. Gardevoir somersaulted through the air and samurott struck. Pawing the ground, it opened its mouth and let a pillar of water rip at the psychic. The gym leader barked a command, ordering the swampert to protect its companion. Lack-2 simpered and nodded at Hugh, with a harsh, guttural cry; Bo swung forward and aimed a fist at the mud-fish pokemon.

A colossal pillar of water bounced back from a reflect and devastatingly shot into Bo as it prepared to attack. The mega fire pig reeled backwards, fighting the deluge of ice-cold water. Grinning like its master, swampert opened its cavernous maw and added to the pressure. A jet of muddy water shot out and emboar gave in, the floorboards creaked, the fire type swept backwards and the heat from its body rapidly drained away, it smacked into the wooden walls and the panels cracked. The water stopped.

And Bo fainted.

"So that's one down" Ruby declared, finality stamped in his announcer-esque voice, "and two more to go." When Lack-2 swerved his attention back to samurott, he cringed. His beloved partner lay on its side, exhausted and a knot of grassy tendrils tangled at its feet. Apparently gardevoir recovered and it primly waved off the insects buzzing around her. Genesect coughed and Lack-2 recovered his beast, it was in no condition to fight. "Zuzu, use hammer arm." The leader commanded, both Hugh and Lack-2's eyes bulged in horror. The latter screeched, begging the fashionista not to hurt his partner. Zuzu did not step down, pulling back a mast like arm, it smashed it next to the water type and the wooden floor boards splintered in half. "Match over." Ruby intoned and recalled his beasts. He placed the pokeballs back into the drawer, smugly strode back to them and pressed the Balance badge firmly in their palms. Bewildered, the Unovian duo looked down, at the metallic badge gleaming dully in their palms.

Hugh turned the badge over and scrutinized it. "Why did you give this to us?" he demanded, "we just...Lost to you." His pride suffered a severe blow, even worse was the realization that even if he brought out more pokemon, the flamboyant man would find a way to crush them both...Effortlessly.

The gym leader angled his face away; his eyes scanned the damage inside the room. "You two put up a good resistance." Lack-2 glared at the older male and Ruby crumbled. "If my old man finds out I went through two months without handing a single badge to anyone, he's going to kill me..."

"With the way you fight, I'm surprised people actually come here." Lack-2 stated, the scarlet eyed man twiddled with his scar. "You hardly get challengers do you?" the russet eyed adolescent pressed and Ruby dejectedly nodded. "...You battle really well. To be honest, I'm astonished." The leader shrugged dismissively and typed into his PokeNav. "Your battling strategies are similar to...To Senior Red."

A heavy silence hung in the air and Ruby stowed his navigator away. "I'm honored to be compared to him, Saph says the same thing. My battling skills...I owe to my dad, he taught me everything I know." The raven haired male smiled. "How about we head out for lunch? Senior Yellow is currently in Hoenn and we can meet up with Rald." His smile turned sadistic. "Sapphire is dying to see you."

The investigator moaned and his stomach did a back flip.

 _Dying to kill me more like_...He muttered to himself and followed Ruby out.

* * *

Afternoon

Hoenn

Mauville

As usual, the food court bustled with people, teenagers, young couples and families. Suddenly feeling very alone for no explicable reason, Lack-2 trundled after Ruby who changed his clothes into something more appropriate to his style. A pair of designer sunglasses rested on his head, effectively hiding his scar. When they gathered in the center, a group of people waved at them. The investigator had no trouble recognizing the midget, Emerald, whose long hair swung in a high ponytail as he marched across the room with Yellow in a tow. Sapphire moved faster. Her skirt flared behind her and she launched into a race, flying over the tiles. For a moment, Lack-2 thought she might be coming for Ruby. His mind sneered in disagreement. She swerved; arm outstretched and her fist came to a deadly stop just a few centimeters from his nose. The rest of her friends froze; except for the technician who seemed to privately enjoy the spectacle. Lack-2 petrified to his spot, wanting desperately to move away, he searched for Hugh who remained wide eyed next to him.

"Can I punch him? At least once?" Sapphire asked and the russet eyed individual caught a whiff of her perfume, she appeared resplendent in a layered skirt and a midriff bearing top. Her hair flowed loosely around her shoulders. Next to her, Yellow shook her head in disagreement. "Just once." Sapphire insisted.

Luckily for Lack-2, Hugh thawed out from his frozen state. "No." He firmly stated. "I don't have enough money to pay for the medical bills." Frowning, Saph pulled away and settled for lacing her hands behind her back. Heaving a sigh of relief when she faced Ruby and enquired about his gym, Lack-2 swallowed several times and sent a fleeting glimpse of gratitude to his best friend. Hugh stared at the complex, his face twitching and jumping, he dug out a few pills and popped them into his mouth. Meanwhile, Yellow and Emerald steered the band to one of the tables dotting the periphery of the court. Outside the complex, aromatic wind whipped the Unovian's hair and he eased himself into a chair. He felt queasy. Nauseous. He expected more hostility from Yellow, or Sapphire or even the midget, but snippets of amiable conversation floated in the air as they basked in the warm afternoon sun and sipped drinks. Ruby, done placing orders at the counter, joined them and listlessly stirred the bright contents of his plastic cup with a straw. The feeling of unease, rooted into Lack-2's stomach since he first stepped foot in the complex, slowly let up and dissipated. As usual, when the food arrived, Hugh wolfed it down, blowing on the chewy strands of noodles before shoving them roughly in his mouth. Yellow watched him, her hazel eyes lighting up with mild amusement before Lack-2 saw Sapphire doing the same. Ruby eyed her, sighed and dug into his own food.

The atmosphere mellowed. In the distance, birds chirped, people rushed along the pavement, talking rapidly in their PokeNavs, walking their pokemon or heading to school. Groups of teenage trainers hollered down the streets, some of them pausing and darting into the food court to buy a sandwich or coffee. At the table, Ruby glued his PokeNav to his ear and talked to someone who sounded suspiciously like Silver, complete with Gold's screeching in the background, Yellow mediated a quarrel between Sapphire and Emerald, and the former leaned back in her chair after dabbing her lips in a lady like manner. Emerald sneered at her and commended her on become more human, Ruby won't have to fear the wrath of a cave-woman wife anymore. Instead of bristling and hissing, she flushed, replied with a curt comment and continued to eat daintily. For his part, the gym leader, still locked into a conversation, seemed oblivious. A desperate question rose in Lack-2's throat, one he was extremely afraid to ask. But he did anyway.

For Hugh's sake.

For the sake of his friends.

Pulling out a worn, pale blue Pokedex, he placed it on the tabletop. The noises died. Sapphire stopped eating; a scowl unfurled on Emerald's face. Yellow's visage screwed into one of perplexity and Ruby abruptly cut his call. "I was wondering..." The Unovian began and gulped, licking his chapped lips; he reached for the glass of water lying teasingly out of reach. "I was wondering...If we could have a reunion..." Blood roared in his ears, his face heated up and the world became deafeningly silent. "I am sorry for everything I have done." Lack-2 apologized and the vice on his heart loosened. "I wanted a reunion of the Dex Holders...I'd like, to see each and every one of you again." _I want to see smiling faces and hear insults being hurled at each other. I want my hair to be ruffled; I want to witness Pearl admonishing Diamond for being a stooge._

They said nothing. They simply stared, unblinking.

Anabel's words, said to him five years ago, echoed back like a haunting memory:

" _Congratulations Lack-2"_ She handed him a badge as he stood to stiff attention. _"From this day onwards, the Dex Criminals have dissolved, they are no more."_

* * *

 **A/N:** The End. Seriously this time. I butchered my favorite character. Poor, sweet Diamond…heh, no regrets though. This chapter is really long but I hope it managed to tie in loose ends (well, some loose ends). I had great fun in writing this story and once again, Thank you all for reading, the reviews and support is extremely appreciated.

At Forevalone: Of course, I've read your fanfic and it well done. Still, I'm flattered you considered writing a sequel for this story. Thank you. At Magic111: There won't be a version where they win (since they are supposed to be the villains of the story) however…eh spoilers, I'm not going to tell. Thanks to you though I have another shot of villianizing the Dex Holders. Heh, this time, I'm making it darker, hope you don't mind. At Jack54311: Funnily, they all ended up with awesome jobs…but the governments are putting hard brakes on the former commanders. Who knows what they'd do if they were given a second chance? At AceTrainerLeaf: I was about to post this when you arrived with your review :D Unfortunately, no one else dies and Lack-2 is rather on a quest for forgiveness…next thing you know, he turns into a hermit. (I'm joking)


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